Music in the Western World: A History in Documents

From the Back Cover: Here is a rich selection of source readings that are not only important historical documents, but also fascinating eyewitness accounts of musicians and music-making from ancient Greece to the present day. More than 200 letters, notes, reviews, biographical sketches, memoirs, manifestos, works of criticism and theory, and a wealth of first-hand descriptions bring alive every musical period-and nearly every major theme, topic, controversy, and development in music history. Assuming no formal music background. Music in the Western World feature: More than 200 selections, many in fresh translations by the editors, ranging in length from a paragraph to several pages; Writings by composers, critics, philosophers, poets, religious leaders, historians, theorists, performers, and others-many in their first modern translation; Illustrations chosen to demonstrate the close links between the visual arts and the music of the period; Chronological organization designed for easy use and maximum flexibility; Witty, detailed headnotes that set each and every selection in its historical context. From the emergence of polyphony to the "death" of tonality-from composers' impassioned artistic statements to their revealing (and often delightfully malicious) letters-from the court music of Renaissance Ferrara to the heady cosmopolitanism of "Les Six"--Boethius to Babbitt-performance to politics-Music in the Western World is an essential guide to understanding the full scope of music history.… (more)