Course in Musical Composition: 1 - Tapa dura

A French composer and educator of the preûWorld War I era, Vincent d'Indy differed from contemporaries Debussy and Ravel in his conservative political and philosophical ideas and in his musical style. This redaction and English translation of his Cours de composition musicale includes the introductory lectures for the course he taught at the Schola Cantorum in Paris.

D'Indy's ideas about composition, best articulated in the lectures presented here, were unique in their combination of historical concepts and music theory. He taught that church music provides the foundation for all true art and that making music is an expression of faith. For d'Indy, technical proficiency in, say, playing an instrument was only the first step in the attainment of true mastery. By studying the origins of music, its styles, its masterworks, and its performance practices, a musician could achieve true "expressive capability."

This is the first publication of d'Indy's work in English. In addition to a faithful translation, Gail Hilson Woldu provides annotations that clarify d'Indy's often complex concepts and correct his occasional errors of fact. In her wide-ranging introduction, Woldu places d'Indy in the world of French music education at the turn of the twentieth century, identifies the chief musical influences on the composer, and discusses the political and religious controversies surrounding the Schola Cantorum and the Paris Conservatoire. The volume concludes with the pioneering work of d'Indy scholar Merle Montgomery, who was the first to translate the Course into English. Her study offers a comparative framework for understanding d'Indy's place in the history of music composition and theory.

This volume introduces students and scholars to a little-explored but influential teacher and prolific composer of the early twentieth century.

Gail Hilson Woldu is Associate Professor of Music at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut. She has authored numerous articles on Gabriel Faure, Vincent d'Indy, and leading schools of music in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth century France.

Native Oklahoman Merle Montgomery (1904-86) earned a Ph.D. in music theory from the Eastman School, Rochester University, and began her career as a music educator and promoter of the arts at Carl Fischer, Inc., and the Oxford University Press Music Department. The National Music Council, the Black Music Colloquium and Competition, Music Education for the Handicapped, and the National Federation of Music Clubs are among the many organizations and causes that benefited from her leadership and love of music.

A. Robert Johnson is Artistic Director of the New York Philomusica Chamber Ensemble, of which Merle Montgomery was a Founding Director.