Medieval Music, Magical Minds

MEDIEVAL MUSIC, MAGICAL MINDSIt has only been since the Age of Reason that human beings consider music to be strictly an aesthetic experience. Up until that time, however, music was both intended and designed to have a specific effect upon the mind and emotions of the listener. Religious chant was designed to raise consciousness. Dance music was meant to celebrate fertility, both human and that of the Earth, and to bring earthly joy and ecstasy to those both dancing and listening. This groundbreaking book fulfills two purposes. The first is to introduce interested musicians to the increasingly-popular field of medieval music. The second is to trace the history of all music, as well as its effect upon the level of awareness of the listeners. Internationally-noted soprano Mary Devlin, a great lover of medieval music expounds upon both her studies and her experience with that genre to try to recreate the thoughts and feelings of the people in the Middle Ages who once composed, performed, and lived that music.