Gustave Reese
Gustave Reese | |
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Born | New York, NY, US | 29 November 1899
Died | 7 September 1977 | (aged 77)
Academic background | |
Alma mater | New York University |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Early music |
Institutions |
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Gustave Reese (/riːs/ REESS; 29 November 1899 – 7 September 1977) was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications Music in the Middle Ages (1940) and Music in the Renaissance (1954);[1] these two books remain the standard reference works for these two eras, with complete and precise bibliographical material, allowing for almost every piece of music mentioned to be traced back to a primary source.
Early life and education
Reese was born in New York City on 29 November 1899.[2] He was an avid scholar and had interests in many areas outside music, including art, architecture, and literature. He studied law at New York University, graduating in 1921. Though he was admitted to the New York State Bar, he opted to re-enroll and pursue a Bachelor of Music from NYU, which he received in 1930.[3]
Career
In 1927, however, he was already teaching classes at the university in medieval and Renaissance music. He continued teaching there intermittently until 1974, and he became Professor Emeritus in 1973. He also served as a visiting professor at a number of universities, including
Also active in the music publishing industry, he headed the publication department of
Gustave Reese had a profound impact on many generations of music students through his passionate and insightful teaching. He has left a valuable legacy in Music in the Middle Ages and Music in the Renaissance. These two pillars have incited a revival of interest and scholarship in the areas of early music. He is often perceived to have 'raised the bar' of musicological scholarship with his thorough research, intellectual rigour and comprehensive bibliographies. He commissioned other people to contribute specialist sections to these books, such as Igor Buketoff's piece on Russian chant in Music in the Middle Ages.[5]
Personal life
Reese married Fine Arts administrator and cookbook author and editor Carol Truax in 1974. He died, aged 77, in Berkeley, California.[6]
Publications
Books
- Reese, Gustave (1940). Music in the Middle Ages: With an Introduction on the Music of Ancient Times. Lanham: ISBN 978-0-393-09750-4.
- —— (1954). Music in the Renaissance. New York: ISBN 978-0-393-09530-2.
- Fourscore Classics of Music Literature: A Guide to Selected Original Sources on Theory and Other Writings on Music Not Available in English. New York, Da Capo Press, 1970. ISBN 0-306-71620-8
Articles
- Reese, Gustave (January 1934). "The First Printed Collection of Part-Music: (The Odhecaton)". JSTOR 738710.
- Reese, Gustave. "Josquin Desprez (biography)" The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. ISBN 1-56159-174-2.
- Macey, Patrick; Noble, Jeremy; Dean, Jeffrey; Reese, Gustave (2011) [2001]. "Josquin (Lebloitte dit) des Prez". ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
Others
- Reese, Gustave; Noble, Jeremy; Lockwood, Lewis; Owens, Jessie Ann; Haar, James; Kerman, Joseph; Stevenson, Robert (1984). The New Grove High Renaissance Masters: Josquin, Palestrina, Lassus, Byrd, Victoria. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: The Composer Biography Series. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-393-30093-5.
- Essays in musicology in honor of Dragan Plamenac on his 70th birthday. Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, c1969. ISBN 0-8229-1098-5
- A compendium of musical practice. New York, Dover Publications, 1973. ISBN 0-486-20912-1
References
Sources
- ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- Roesner, Edward H. (October 1977). "Gustave Reese (1899-1977)". JSTOR 741726.
- Steinzor, Curt Efram (1989). American Musicologists, C. 1890-1945: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook to the Formative Period. New York: ISBN 978-0-313-26197-8.
- "Gustave Reese, Honorary Head Of the Musicologicai Society, 77". The New York Times. 13 September 1977.
Further reading
- Evans, Beverly J. (2010). "Reese, Gustave". In Classen, Albrecht (ed.). Handbook of Medieval Studies: Terms – Methods – Trends. Berlin, New York: ISBN 978-3-11-021558-8.
- Hamilton, David (January 1978). "Tributes to Gustave Reese 1899–1977". .
- JSTOR 831046.
External links
- List of publications by Gustave Reese at the Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music
- The Gustave Reese Papers in the Music Division of New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.