Author Description

The History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography was first published in 1949 and has for ten years been the standard textbook on this subject. Recent progress in this field, however, due in part to the author’s own work, has made a second revised and enlarged edition necessary. The sections on Byzantine liturgy and on Byzantine notation have been rewritten and considerably extended. New chapters have been added on the melismatic style and on liturgical chant proper. Thus, for the first time, the entire field of Byzantine musicology has been covered and the second edition will be indispensable not only to all those interested in Byzantine studies but also to students of Eastern liturgy. Egon Joseph Wellesz (1885-1974) was an Austrian composer, musicologist, and teacher. His importance as a composer rests chiefly on his stage works and symphonies. While his creative career was divided between Vienna and Oxford, his musical style was unpredictable, showing his affection for beautiful melo