Preface

Three deceptively plain and workaday adjectives may help to convey the exceptional worth of this book—useful, reliable, needed. Students surveying the history of music theory will find here the names of the many early writers who in their treatises have bequeathed a legacy of musical thought distinctive of their time. Each theorist's name is followed by a succinct and informative essay designed to provide an initial acquaintance with his main concerns and most notable contributions. In the event...