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Introduction to Musical History
Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso
Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
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About the author
Jack Westrup
38 booksSir Jack Westrup (1904 -1975) was an English musicologist, writer, teacher and occasional composer.
He was knighted in 1961. His collection of 4,500 books on music history and musicology became the basis of the Westrup Library at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama which awards a Jack Westrup Prize in Musicology..
He was knighted in 1961. His collection of 4,500 books on music history and musicology became the basis of the Westrup Library at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama which awards a Jack Westrup Prize in Musicology..
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 4, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in June 1998.
This book is not an introduction in the sense of a basic textbook of musical history, but an attempt to look at musical history and its methods to help students evaluate and understand both musical history texts and source materials of various kinds.
Jack Westrup looks at what the source materials can tell us, with a brief look at the development of notation, and develops an attack on many early attempts at musical history (particularly that of Burney) for their biased and subjective approach to the subject. His criticisms are not solely reserved for past writers; he takes modern historians to task for merely repeating statements from earlier work (particularly for making judgements where they clearly didn't listen to sufficient music themselves), and for taking at face value statements in musical memoirs. (He quickly shows that Berlioz's memoirs, to take one example, are more concerned with presenting the Berlioz as a particular kind of artist in a Philistine environment than with the truth.)
The second half of the book consists of brief examinations of some major themes in musical history, and the particular pitfalls that can be fallen into by the careless historian; these themes include the role of the church and patronage, both areas where the statements of composers and chroniclers are particularly likely to contain inaccuracies for political reasons.
A very thought-provoking book, which will influence the way in which I read musical history.
This book is not an introduction in the sense of a basic textbook of musical history, but an attempt to look at musical history and its methods to help students evaluate and understand both musical history texts and source materials of various kinds.
Jack Westrup looks at what the source materials can tell us, with a brief look at the development of notation, and develops an attack on many early attempts at musical history (particularly that of Burney) for their biased and subjective approach to the subject. His criticisms are not solely reserved for past writers; he takes modern historians to task for merely repeating statements from earlier work (particularly for making judgements where they clearly didn't listen to sufficient music themselves), and for taking at face value statements in musical memoirs. (He quickly shows that Berlioz's memoirs, to take one example, are more concerned with presenting the Berlioz as a particular kind of artist in a Philistine environment than with the truth.)
The second half of the book consists of brief examinations of some major themes in musical history, and the particular pitfalls that can be fallen into by the careless historian; these themes include the role of the church and patronage, both areas where the statements of composers and chroniclers are particularly likely to contain inaccuracies for political reasons.
A very thought-provoking book, which will influence the way in which I read musical history.
January 15, 2019
This is obviously dated since he states that the gramophone is a new exciting innovation, but there also is some timeless information all musicologists should know.
April 13, 2020
An excellent book! An enjoyable read (especially as it was actually quite witty, certainly made me laugh quite a few times) and I would highly recommend to anyone with a serious interest in music. It raised many interesting quandaries for me. (although good luck finding a copy...)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews