Review of The Oxford Handbook of Critical Concepts in Music Theory, edited by Alexander Rehding and Steven Rings (Oxford University Press, 2019)

Abstract

[1.1] In their introduction to The Oxford Handbook of Critical Concepts in Music Theory, editors Alexander Rehding and Steven Rings explain that the word “critical” signals two guiding principles for the collection. First, the selected terms are foundational—“theorists cannot do without them.” Second, despite their fundamental nature, the authors approach them “not as se led knowledge but as sites for critical scrutiny” (xv). The authors in the first section, “Starting Points,” take up this cause with gusto, invoking historical narratives, mathematical equations, and emergent perceptual phenomena to illustrate the complexities of seemingly simple concepts. In this sense, the essays are delightfully varied, bold, and rich. They are also uniformly well wri en (several authors have an enviable talent for wordplay) and beautifully typeset.(1) Below, I a empt to do some justice to each of the seven essays, although space will only allow a full summary of a few, before concluding with some general thoughts on the section.