Editor’s Message
Dear MTO Readers,
It is with great pleasure that I announce the publication of MTO Volume 19.3, with six articles, one essay, and four book reviews—available, as always, in open access format. The issue is wide-ranging, with topics from Zarlino (theory and practice) to interval permutations (a new contribution to set theory), and from MOOCs (massive open online courses) to Music21 (software for computational analysis).
First, the six articles:
We are honored to publish the 2011 SMT keynote address by Cristle Collins Judd, “‘To Discourse Learnedly’ and ‘Compose Beautifully’: Thoughts on Gioseffo Zarlino, Theory, and Practice.” Excerpts from performances of Zarlino’s motet Pater Noster by Ensemble Plus Ultra and Singer Pur, using Judd’s own editions, accompany the article.
Murray Dineen links species counterpoint and compositional practice in “Species Counterpoint with a Moveable Tenor (SCAMET): Comparing Species Counterpoint and Polyphonic Music Without a Cantus Firmus.” Dineen presents a step-by-step methodology with the aim of making counterpoint instruction more vivid.
Drew Nobile finds and fills a surprising gap in set theory in his article “Interval Permutations.” Nobile explores the permutation of intervals in ordered pitch-class sets and finds aurally significant relationships between sets that are not related by transposition or inversion.
Musical sentences and linguistic analogues are the subject of Michael Callahan’s “Sentential Lyric-Types in the Great American Songbook.” Callahan presents compelling analyses of text and music in songs by Gershwin, Kern, Loewe, Porter, and Rodgers.
Christine Boone provides a guide to the genre of popular-music mashups in “Mashing: Toward a Typology of Recycled Music.” Comparisons between mashups and other forms of “recycled music” help to situate the genre broadly.
Bryan Parkhurst explores the nature of analytical utterances in “Fraught with Ought: An Outline of an Expressivist Meta-Theory.” Parkhurst argues that analytical utterances are not statements of fact, but rather statements meant to engender action and experience.
“To MOOC or not to MOOC” is the title of the essay in this issue, by John Covach. MOOCs (massive open online courses) have engendered much debate in higher education; Covach reflects on his experience teaching two segments of a History of Rock course with combined enrollments of over 70,000.
Finally, the four reviews in this issue:
Matt BaileyShea reviews Michael L. Klein and Nicholas Reyland, eds., Music and Narrative since 1900 (Indiana University Press, 2013) and Peter Kivy, Antithetical Arts: On the Ancient Quarrel between Literature and Music (Clarendeon Press, 2009).
Christopher Brody reviews Matthew Dirst, Engaging Bach: The Keyboard Legacy from Marpurg to Mendelssohn (Cambridge University Press, 2012).
Suzannah Clark reviews Susan Wollenberg, Schubert’s Fingerprints: Studies in the Instrumental Works (Ashgate, 2011).
Dmitri Tymoczko reviews Michael Cuthbert, Music21: a Toolkit for Computer-aided Musicology.
My sincere thanks to Karen Bottge (associate editor) for working with me diligently and wisely on all aspects of MTO, to Steven Rings and Kyle Adams (book reviews editors) for bringing us timely, informative, and expertly edited reviews, to Brent Yorgason (managing editor) for his tireless work behind the scenes, to all members of the editorial board for their thorough and constructive reviews, and to the editorial assistants for their dedication, hard work, and attention to detail.
We would like to encourage new and creative submissions to MTO. Although we are especially well suited for the publication of articles that incorporate recordings, videos, and other media, we also welcome submissions in any number of formats, including full-length articles, shorter essays and commentaries, conference reports, and entire special volumes.
Comments in response to this issue’s articles may be submitted to the Editor for publication in the next issue. Also, please refer to our submission guidelines, if you are interested in submitting.
We host job listings and a dissertation index; please submit announcements for both to MTO.
All MTO volumes dating back to our first issue in 1993 can be accessed from the contents page at http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/issues.html. Thank you, as always, for your support of MTO - a Journal of the Society for Music Theory.
