Materialities: Books, Readers, and the Chanson in Sixteenth-Century Europe by Kate van Orden

Kate van Orden's 'Materialities: Books, Readers, and the Chanson in Sixteenth-Century Europe' offers groundbreaking insights into the material culture of music during the Renaissance by analyzing printed chanson books. The study challenges traditional assumptions about music printing and publishing, suggesting that some attributed to Christophe Plantin may not have been his actual productions. Van Orden's approach combines bibliographical analysis with music-historical narrative, examining distribution networks, sales records, and ownership patterns from archives like the Plantin-Moretus Museum. This method reveals new perspectives on the commercial and cultural significance of printed music, bridging gaps between scholarly disciplines. The work also highlights the selective survival of musical texts, providing a nuanced understanding of their historical impact.

Brannon, S. J. (2017). Materialities: Books, Readers, and the Chanson in Sixteenth-Century Europe by Kate van Orden. Notes, 74(1), 69–71. https://doi.org/10.1353/not.2017.0083