- Chabanon e la querelle sulla “sinfonia degli Antichi” nei Memoires de l’Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres di Parigi

The article examines the discussions about the use and knowledge of polyphony in ancient music which took place in France between the end of the seventeenth century and the end of the eighteenth century, with a special focus on the writings conceived within the walls of the Parisian Académie des inscriptions et belles lettres. The first section deals with the authors and their published works on the topic of whether the ancients knew counterpoint, while the second part offers an interpretation of the meaning of this dispute. The aim of the article is to show that this querelle had an interesting impact not only on the foundation of a musical historiography, but also on some of the aesthetic conceptions that were being born precisely at that time.