Music, Discipline, and Arms in Early Modern France

"This book is a brilliant, learned, and convincing advance in the understanding of Renaissance history and European culture in general."--Orest A. Ranum, The Johns Hopkins University

"A very impressive and engaging work of scholarship. Music, Discipline, and Arms in Early Modern France argues that music played an important part in changing the character of the French ruling elite during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. In particular, it contributed to the broad process of behavioral and cultural disciplining that the French nobility underwent during this time. Van Orden shows wide knowledge of sixteenth-century literature and a great understanding of the technical realities of early modern warfare."--Jonathan Dewald, State University of New York, Buffalo

"Music refines manners, according to a French proverb. We know relatively little about the role music played in war, or about how closely it was connected to the military arts. However, music could not avoid being drawn into the training of the military and the pedagogical and civilizing demands of their profession. From troops to officers, from the general staff at court right up to the Royal Commander in Chief, music, musicians, singers, instrumentalists, and dancers actively participated in the machinery of modern civilization. Kate van Orden's book is an innovative, original, and convincing addition to this field. It successfully leads the reader in a seductive and sensitive rediscovery of the noises and sounds of war in a bygone age."--Daniel Roche, Coll��ge de France

"Outstanding research and publications have taken place in the realm of French seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music for the last forty years or so, especially in the States. However, there are few individuals in the Anglo-Saxon intellectual community who possess the 'finesse d'esprit' so dear to the French and so necessary to communicate the essence of French cultural history to English and American readers. Kate van Orden is equally at home with France and its complicated social and cultural history. Her research is impressive, her writing is elegant, and her overview of music and the role it played in the aristocratic society of the 'Grand Si��cle' is fresh and important."--William Christie, music director, Les Arts Florissants

"This book takes music from its insulated aesthetic niche and positions it within a world in which sound served to reinforce power and to produce real effects on nobility and populace alike. A professional performer of early repertories, van Orden brings her experiences as a musician to bear on conversations usually dominated by political and military historians. Her innovative point of view will provide insights and new directions for a wide range of disciplines."--Susan McClary, University of California, Los Angeles