Counterpoint

Counterpoint manuals have long been central to the music education of composers, historians, and theorists. In this book a conductor uses counterpoint exercises to aid musicians in becoming sensitive to the fundamental ingredients of good music making. Markand Thakar takes the reader step by step through the composition and performance of the counterpoint species, from unaccompanied lines to complex three-part exercises. Each genre of counterpoint is preceded by a discussion of the musical element it introduces: line (cantus firmus), harmonic interval (two-part counterpoint), dissonance (second to fourth pieces), and rhythm (fifth species). 'Write-throughs,' which illustrate the composition of an exercise from start to finish, are included for each species. Throughout, Thakar focuses on the magical, transcendent experience of musical beauty, and he recognizes that it results from the contribution of both composer and performer. Thus each exercise is successful only when it is composed, and performed, so that it allows this experience. And as each new element of music is introduced, its effect on the experience of beauty is considered. This book has value for a wide range of readers, from accomplished soloists and composers to near beginners. It advances conscious understanding of the principles of good music making, yet the reader needs to know little more at the outset than the major and minor scales, a few key signatures, and the names of intervals. Markand Thakar has conducted orchestras in the United States and Europe, including the Munich Philharmonic and the Romanian State Philharmonics of Sibiu and Satu Mare. He is the music director of the Great Lakes Festival of Musical Arts and the director of orchestras at the Ohio University School of Music.