The Development of Western Music: A History

by K. Marie Stolba

An abridged version of a text which presents the history of music in the western world. The text emphasizes the most important styles, composers and works. Features include: timelines; maps; anthologies; recordings; and insights which offer sidelights on topics ranging from Europe's National beginnings, to the Theremin and Ondes Martenot. The text is intended for music students, and is written in a clear and accessible style.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction

553 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 1990

Reviews

[David]

Since, of all art forms, I find music to move me the deepest I thought I would explore some of the technical theory behind it. The relationships to math are astounding, who knew that harmonics and patterns with mathematical cores could have such profound impact on the soul. MATH>>>>SOUL.

A lot of the structures of early Western Classical music is related to the Catholic church- I learned a fair amount about the structures of Catholic ritual and the accompanying music. So much devotion.

The book gave me a good primer but I will not actually finish it- its a text book and I'm not in a class- who was I kidding?

[mensch]

An excellent and comprehensive overview of the development of Western music through the ages, starting from the Greeks to dodecaphony and further. The book is rather technical at times, so some passages are not easy to follow for someone who can't read notes or is oblivious to the musical jargon. One should get a hold of the separate, optional audio anthology as some of the musical examples are best explained by listening to them.