Dimitrie Cantemir and the book of the science of music, an unprecedented musicological document in the history of music.
Dimitrie Cantemir and the book of the science of music, an unprecedented musicological document in the history of music.

Summary/Abstract: Dimitrie Cantemir, a European encyclopedic scholar, composer, musicologist and theorist had a major contribution to the history of music by writing the first scientifically structured work dedicated to the Oriental music, designed in an erudite, European style. His Book of the Science of Music, a collection of over 350 compositions, nine of which were his own, outlined the theory and patterns of the 17th and 18th century Ottoman music, being written in a notation system which was also created by Cantemir himself. His document majestically reveals over the centuries Istanbul’s three major ethnic communities, Turkish, Armenian and Sephardic, with their both secular and religious music.

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