Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Figured bass period
(771 words)

Since the early 20th century, the historiography of music (Music, historiography of) has faced the same challenges as other cultural histories. Disciplines aimed at characterization of an historical style reflect on the abstract common distinguishing features of a canon of unknown works considered crucial for a specific epoch. Wilhelm Dilthey's Einleitung in die Geisteswissenschaften (Leipzig 1883, “Introduction to the Humanities”) presented a strong stance on this: he declared concentration on musical texts the only basis for historiography of…

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Waczkat, Andreas, “Figured bass period”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_019867>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20180126



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