Der Choral-Gesang zur Zeit der Reformation, oder Versuch, die Frage zu beantworten: Woher kommt es dass in den Choral-Melodien der Alten etwas ist, was heut zu Tage nichte mehr erreicht wird? Von P. Mortimer (Peter Mortimer). (Choral Singing at the Time of the Reformation, or an Attempt to Answer The Question: How is it that in the Choral Melodies of the Ancients there is Something that is Not Achieved Today? By Peter Mortimer) BERLIN : Bei Georg Reimer, 1821. First Edition. In two sections. Part 1 contains critical musicology text, Part 2 contains scores of 163 chorals. Plain blue paper wrappers (original printed wrappers lacking), perfect bound text, textually complete, 4to. 8 1/8 x 9 5/8 inches (21x24.5 cm), deckled front and bottom page edges. Pagination: [1 leaf] title page, blank verso; vi (bound of sequence); 153 pages (text), 112 pages (musical scores). Engraved portrait of Luther by L. Meyer after Cranach, on title page. GOOD condition: foxing and age toning / browning throughout but text and scores remain bright and clear; page edges are somewhat wavy and darkened from age; latter pages have some edge wear and corner creases; general signs of handling; most pages are uncut. A complete, presentable copy of this important, scholarly work on Reformation Chorale Music. Though functional in its perfect bound blue wrappers, the book would look incredible stitch bound in leather covers! Are you up for the task? PETER MORTIMER, b. 1750 d. 1828, was an English born Moravian organist, composer, conductor, and musicologist, who spent most of his life in Germany, in the Moravian settlements of eastern Saxony. In this work on the early church modes, or Gregorian modes, he explored the reasons for their superiority over the modern modes in the realm of choral music. Mortimer established that three modes governed Reformation chorale music, the hypodorian, hypophrygian (hypoionische), and hypomixolydian modes, and that the music had to be understood harmonically in that context. Considering the paucity of examples available to him at that time, Mortimer's musicological analysis was exceptionally astute, being fundamentally sound. (Eitner VII, 74-75; Kümmerle, Encyklopädie der evangelischen Kirchenmusik (1890) II:307-8).