Table of Contents

1. General Stylistic Aspects
Texture
Text Setting
Notation and Performance Practice
Rhythm and Meter
Note Values
Rests
Dots and Ties
Harmony
General Observations
Accidentals (Musica ficta)
Cadences
Chords
Melody
General Observations
Intervals and Treatment of Leaps
Other Aspects of Melody
Typical Quarter-Note Idioms
2. Two-Voice Counterpoint
General Observations
Rhythm
Texture
Phrase and Form
Motivic (Thematic) Organization
Technical Details
Motion Relationships
Intervallic Relationships
Cadential Idioms
Comments on Two-Voice Composition
Imitation in Two-Voice Texture
General Observations
Invertible Counterpoint at the Octave
Invertible Counterpoint at the Twelfth
3. Three-Voice Counterpoint
General Observations
Texture and Rhythm
Harmony
Dissonance Treatment
Cadential Idioms
Imitation
Comments on Imitation
Comments on Three-Voice Composition
4. Counterpoint in Four Voices
5. The Motet
General Observations
Imitation
Comments on Motet Writing
Suggestions for Further Study
Appendix: An Anthology of Complete Works
Bibliography
Discography
Index

About the Author

Thomas Benjamin

Reviews

"Here, at last, is a book that dealt with the modal contrapuntal style in a musical and compositional way... the emphasis is always on the music itself and... on the craft of composing in this style. This is a very significant addition to the library of books on modal counterpoint." -- Dr. Robert Nelson, Professor of Music Theory and Composition, University of Houston
"The author is quite well-respected in the field, known as a composer but even more particularly as a teacher devoted to issues of effective pedagogy. This is a thoughtful and significant contribution to the study of Renaissance (or modal) counterpoint." -- Dr. Sharon G. Levy, Professor of Theory and Composition at Peabody Conservatory

"Here, at last, is a book that dealt with the modal contrapuntal style in a musical and compositional way... the emphasis is always on the music itself and... on the craft of composing in this style. This is a very significant addition to the library of books on modal counterpoint." — Dr. Robert Nelson, Professor of Music Theory and Composition, University of Houston"The author is quite well-respected in the field, known as a composer but even more particularly as a teacher devoted to issues of effective pedagogy. This is a thoughtful and significant contribution to the study of Renaissance (or modal) counterpoint." — Dr. Sharon G. Levy, Professor of Theory and Composition at Peabody Conservatory