A Concise History of Western Music

by Paul Griffiths

• ISBN13: 9780521133661
• ISBN10: 0521133661
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-12-14
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Engaging, clear and informative, this is the story of western music - of its great composers and also of its performers and listeners, of changing ideas of what music is and what it is for. Paul Griffiths shows how music has evolved through the centuries, and suggests how its evolution has mirrored developments in the human notion of time, from the eternity of heaven to the computer's microsecond. The book provides an enticing introduction for students and beginners, using the minimum of technical terms, all straightforwardly defined in the glossary. Its perspective and its insights will also make it illuminating for teachers, musicians and music lovers. Suggestions for further reading and recommended recordings are given for each of the 24 short chapters.

Table of Contents

Acknoweldgements	p. ix
Prehistory	p. 1
Time whole	p. 5
From Babylonians to Franks	p. 8
Time measured 1100-1400	p. 19
Troubadours and organists	p. 22
Ars nova and Narcissus's clock	p. 32
Time sensed 1400-1630	p. 43
Harmony, the light of time	p. 47
The radiance of the High Renaissance	p. 57
Reformation and heartache	p. 68
To speak in musk	p. 81
Time known 1630-1770	p. 95
Baroque mornings	p. 98
Fugue, concerto and operatic passion	p. 111
Rococo and reform	p. 123
Time embraced 1770-1815	p. 135
Sonata as comedy	p. 138
Revolution's momentum	p. 150
Time escaping 1815-1907	p. 163
The deaf man and the singer	p. 166
Angels and other prodigies	p. 177
New Germans and old Vienna	p. 190
Romantic evenings	p. 202
Nightfall and sunrise	p. 215
Time tangled 1908-1975	p. 227
To begin again	p. 231
Forwards and backwards, and sideways	p. 244
The people's needs	p. 258
To begin again again	p. 270
Whirlwind	p. 286
Time lost 1975	p. 299
Echoes in the labyrinth	p. 303
Interlude	p. 314
Glossary	p. 317
Further reading and listening	p. 329
Index	p. 341
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