Andrew Hicks, Composing the World: Harmony in the Medieval Platonic Cosmos, Critical Confunctures in Music and Sound 1. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017. xix + 321 pp. GBP 34.99. ISBN 978 0 19 065820 5.

Abstract

and commentaries, drawing upon a wide knowledge of patristic texts and biblical exegesis. That the explanations are occasionally rather wordy is hardly a drawback, given the nature of the material and the clarity of the exposition. The riches of these volumes extend right to the end. There is a word concordance with over 1,400 entries, an index of proper names, another of divine names, a fourteenpage bibliography, an index of sequences by Latin incipit (not just Notker’s but all others cited as well), an index of melody titles with classificatory codes to denote their distribution and an index of manuscripts. Bower’s hives are indeed well stocked. My enthusiasm for this magnificent achievement will have become obvious. Calvin Bower has at last provided for these remarkable compositions the edition they deserve. And much more than an edition: a comprehensive exposition of what Notker’s creative effort signified, of the intellectual and spiritual world in which it was accomplished and of the musical dimensions of this liturgical poetry. I should not omit to point out that these volumes, by including a fully fledged musical edition, mark a significant new departure among the publications of the Henry Bradshaw Society (henrybradshawsociety.org). It is no coincidence that the Chairman of the Society’s Council, Susan Rankin, is herself a musicologist with an unrivalled knowledge of early St Gall chant books. It bears repeating that Notker would not have composed his texts the way he did if the melodies had not already been ringing in his ears. He wrote many other Latin works, including the famous prose Gesta Karoli Magni, a metrical life of St Gallus, and some office hymns in conventional metre. The longissimae melodiae presented a quite different challenge, which Bower never lets out of his sight. These volumes raise Notker studies to a quite new level, one to which I sincerely hope not only medievalists but also musical performers may rise. I was interested to note Bower’s recollection of singing the pieces from an older edition some four decades ago. To scale the celestial heights of Congaudent angelorum chori, to chant the whole history of redemption in Laudes salvatori, is indeed a wonderful experience for any singer. Notker’s sequences could enliven many a Mass. Who could fail to respond to the culminating assertion of the Dedication sequence Psallat ecclesia: ‘Hac domo Trinitáti laus et glória semper resúltant’ (‘In this house praise and glory to the Trinity re-echo without end’)? May Calvin Bower’s ‘libelli’ persuade us to enter these gates of rich musical as well as scholarly experience.