A. Kozubova

On the Way of Reconstruction of Scientific Knowledge of the Past: from Translation – to Source Study

The article raises the problems related to the musicologist’s translation activities. The author believes that so far the translated musicaltheoretical literature has not been the subject of detailed study, and its role in reaching the wealth of many generations has been underestimated. The existing practice of interpreting old treatises, facsimiles, textbooks, letters, speaks of the constant interest of modern scholars in the theory of music of previous eras. The author identifies the main types of texts, including translations with various types of scientific analysis and commenting, namely: a complete translation of the original source, accompanied by scientific historical and theoretical research, lexical analysis, glossary and commentary; translation of verbal texts of musical works, accompanied by scientific commentary and linguistic analysis; research without the presentation of a holistic translation of foreign works, but with a wide reliance on citation and other types of texts. The article discusses some issues and difficulties of scientific translation of ancient musical treatises, as well as emphasizes the interrelation of translation from one of the main branches of musicology - source study. An example of the technique of translating a fragment of the work of J. B. Martini on a fugated counterpoint, an analysis of the works of musicologists directly related to translation activities, allowed the author to highlight the specifics of the reconstruction of the scientific musical theoretical knowledge of the past. The author believes that when translating an original source, a musicologist should be able to convey the content of a scientific foreign language source, convey the meaning of special terminology, and preserve the integrity of the text.

Key words

musicology, interpretation of translation, music theory, reconstruction of scientific knowledge, source study.

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