A Notable Occasion: Introduction to the Marcabru Double Issue

Abstract

A NOTABLE OCCASION Introduction to the Marcabru Double Issue This special issue of Tenso appears on the cusp of what we hope and expect will be a renewed interest in Marcabru inaugurated by the monumental new edition by Simon Gaunt, Ruth Harvey, and Linda Paterson. The Société Guilhem IX has responded with enthusiasm by sponsoring a panel on the Marcabru edition at the Kalamazoo Medieval Congress in May 2003. The articles published here all reflect direct and indirect engagement with the reception of Marcabru as seen in the new edition. Recognizing the essential link between text and music, this issue includes two articles on Marcabru's music. Vincent Pollina's "Marcabru the musician" offers a concise introduction to the subject and provides complete transcriptions of all four extant melodies , indicating pitch but not duration. From there, John Haines' "Irregular Rhythm in the Music of Marcabru" explores the problem ofduration and mensuration in these texts in light ofcontemporary understanding of medieval music theory and with reference to polyphonic repertoires where idiosyncratic and often unorthodox mensuration occurs frequently. In a detailed study of declension in eleventh- and twelfth-century Occitan manuscripts, William D. Paden questions the conclusion about declension by the Marcabru editors, a study which reveals standard patterns and special exceptions. This suggests an approach to deciding which non-normative inflexions might be authorial or not. Future editors of Old Occitan will have to reckon with Paden's findings and approach the grammar of their texts with greater care and thoughtfulness. It is regrettable that the great Marcabru scholar, Aurelio Roncaglia, passed away just after the new edition appeared and before this special issue came together. For at least four decades he had dominated this subject and contributed much useful and enduring schol- MARK N. TAYLOR arship. All of these writings are presented in a bibliography, together with a memorial to the late Italian professor. My lengthy review analyzes the new Marcabru edition point by point. As such, its scope goes beyond evaluating this particular edition to reflecting on the multiform tasks ofediting the troubadours. Although I pick at the details, my holistic appreciation is one of tremendous awe, respect, and wonder. It is my great pleasure to offer these choice first fruits of a new era in Marcabru scholarship. Mark N. Taylor Berry College ...