Includes bibliographical references (p. 417- 464) and index.

Plainsong / Susan Boynton -- Enriching the Gregorian heritage / Michael McGrade -- Early polyphony to circa 1200 / Sarah Fuller -- The thirteenth century / Mark Everist -- The fourteenth century / Elizabeth Eva Leach -- England / Peter M. Lefferts -- Italy to 1300 / Marco Gozzi -- The trecento / Marco Gozzi -- Iberian peninsula / Nicolas Bell -- Music east of the Rhine / Robert Curry -- Music and liturgy / Sam Barrett -- Vernacular poetry and music / Ardis Butterfield -- Latin poetry and music / Leofranc Holford-Strevens -- Compositional trajectories / Peter M. Lefferts -- Ecclesiastical foundations and secular institutions / Rebecca A. Baltzer -- Theory and notation / Dolores Pesce -- Music manuscripts / Emma Dillon -- The geography of medieval music / Christopher Page -- Reception / Lawrence Earp.

From the emergence of plainsong to the end of the fourteenth century, this Companion covers all the key aspects of medieval music. Rather than presenting merely a chronological view of the history of medieval music, the volume instead focuses on technical and cultural aspects of the subject. In nineteen chapters, seventeen world-leading scholars give a perspective on the music of the Middle Ages that will serve as a point of orientation for the informed listener and reader; the book is a must-have guide for anyone with an interest in listening to and understanding medieval music. --Book Jacket.