Emma Dillon, The Sense of Sound: Musical Meaning in France, 1260–1330 (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012). xxvi+368 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-973295-1.

Abstract

tion remains to be seen. Grier’s claim that the same scribe notated the whole of the first layer of Pa 1121 is similarly difficult to verify. The simplest initial comparison is with the Proser (fols. 196–201) as many of the same sequence melodies are recorded there, albeit now texted with accompanying prose. In general terms, the notation in the Proser is thinner in the width of its strokes and the vertical strokes in both text and notation are more upright. These general features can be observed in the sharper ascent and acuter descent in the clivis, and the more erect quilisma and liquescent pes. An additional difference in formation can be observed in the flatter execution of the final stroke of the pes stratus. Significant caveats may therefore be raised about Grier’s claim to have identified Adémar’s neumes throughout the bulk of Pa 1121 and Pa 909. This is not to say that his claims are wrong; the point is rather that his assertions remain unsubstantiated. It might be that Grier goes on to prove his case in the promised forthcoming palaeographic study. Until he does, the claim that this edition represents the opera liturgica et poetica of Adémar of Chabannes must await further elucidation.