Masci tells the captivating story of Catel’s harmony treatise and how it shaped the discipline of music theory at the Paris Conservatoire, the most admired institution in the nineteenth century. It’s a thrilling story of power, personal and institutional relations, and what it means to be a musician.

Alexander Rehding, Harvard University

?The French Revolution brought us many of the ideas and institutions of the modern world. It gave us both the metric system and the Paris Conservatory. That state-sponsored music school needed to reconcile an inherited, Italian-influenced tradition of practical music making with a French tradition of speculation about harmony. The year 1801 saw not only a truce between Napoleon and the Catholic Church (the Concordat) but also the official approval of the Traité d’harmonie of Charles-Simon Catel?. From that point on, 'harmony' became part of the discipline of formalized music training. It is a fascinating story of music, power, and institutions, well told by author Michael J. Masci.

Robert O. Gjerdingen, Northwestern University

Masci investigates Catel's Traité, the official unified harmony textbook at the Paris Conservatoire, from an original perspective, exploring whether the work stands as a compilation of contemporary theory or as an entirely original work. Masci highlights the theoretical content in a comprehensive historical and critical investigation which sheds new light on Catel’s place in an institutional process of knowledge production.

Rosa Cafiero, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

By focusing on Catel’s treatise as the foundation of a new ‘discipline’ of harmony, promoted by the Paris Conservatoire, Masci makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the origins of modern theories of tonal syntax. The book offers a fascinating addition to the growing body of work that asks how historical lessons and practices, such as partimento, might enhance the learning of music theory today.

Nicholas Baragwanath, University of Nottingham