A Brief History of Music in Western Culture / Edition 1

by Mark Evan Bonds PhD

Overview

Suitable for all courses in music history. This brief and accessible text provides undergraduates with a conceptual framework for understanding stylistic and social developments in the history of music from classical antiquity to the present. This text allows the student to grasp the richness and importance of musical history in two important ways. It combines narrative with primary sources in a lively and engaging manner and it traces key concepts of musical style and the uses of music across time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780131838604
Publisher:	Pearson
Publication date:	01/07/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Mark Evan Bonds teaches music history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds degrees from Duke University (B.A.), Christian-Albrechts-Universitat Kiel (M.A.), and Harvard University (Ph.D.). His publications include Wordless Rhetoric: Musical Form and the Metaphor of the Oration (1991), After Beethoven: Imperatives of Symphonic Originality (1996), and A History of Music in Western Culture (2003). He has also edited Beethoven Forum and written numerous essays on the music of Haydn and Mozart.

Read an Excerpt

This book is an abridged and slightly altered edition of A History of Music in Western Culture (Prentice Hall, 2003). Like the original text, A Brief History of Music in Western Culture rests on the premise that the history of music is best conveyed by focusing on a carefully selected repertory of musical works. Once familiar with a representative body of music, students can better grasp the requisite names, dates, and concepts of music history, including an understanding of the evolution of musical styles and music's changing uses within the Western tradition. Even more importantly, students will gain a sound basis from which to explore other musical works and repertories.

A Brief History of Music in Western Culture builds its narrative around the core repertory represented in the accompanying two-volume Anthology of Scores and corresponding set of twelve compact disks. This text is not an encyclopedia. My goal, rather, has been to help students gain a broad understanding of the nature of music, its role in society, and the ways in which these have changed over time.

Finally, A Brief History of Music in Western Culture seeks to challenge students to think critically about its subject. The history of music is too often presented (and learned) as one long series of indisputable facts. I have tried to integrate into this text enough documents—primary sources—to demonstrate that the raw materials of history are often open to conflicting interpretations. Indeed, the most interesting historical issues tend to be precisely those about which experts disagree.

FEATURES OF THE TEXT

The narrative of A Brief History of Music in Western Culture is closely integrated with the accompanying Anthology o f Scores. Every work in the anthology gets a discussion in the text, called out with a note in the margin, and the anthology is ordered to follow the sequence in which those discussions occur within the text.

Following a Prologue on the music of classical Antiquity, the text is divided into six parts, each corresponding to a major era in music history: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, 19th century, and 20th century. The text concludes with a brief epilogue on music today.

Each part begins with a prelude that summarizes the historical and social background of each era. The first chapter in each part provides an overview of the major stylistic characteristics and theoretical concerns of the music of the era. Parts 4 (Classical period), 5 (19th century), and 6 (20th century) conclude with a brief survey of all the major composers of their respective eras.

The text also offers a variety of features and pedagogical tools:

• The opening pages of each prelude include a comparative timeline that lists major musical events side by side with other significant historical events.
• An outline at the beginning of each chapter gives students an overview of the content of the chapter.
• Key terms are highlighted in each chapter and defined in a glossary at the end of the book.
• Significant composers are featured in composer profiles that include key biographical information and a survey of principal works.
• Primary evidence boxes contain excerpts from relevant contemporary documents, exposing students to some of the raw materials of music history.
• Focus boxes highlight important information that expands on aspects of the core narrative.
• Numerous examples, tables, and diagrams help students grasp key points and visualize musical structures.
• The last chapter in each part concludes with a set of discussion questions designed to stimulate reflection on broad issues in music history.

Finally, the detailed captions to the illustrations in A Brief History of Music in Western Culture reveal the wealth of information—about music, composers, and their role in society—embedded in these images. Four inserts with more than 20 color illustrations are distributed throughout the book.

ABOUT THIS BRIEF EDITION

This book is aimed at instructors and students who must cover the entire history of Western music in one or two semesters. I have retained the basic narrative of the original text: no composer or work has been eliminated from the discussion, though contexts have necessarily been reduced here for reasons of space and time. This Brief History highlights fewer documents and presents a more limited number of diagrams, focus boxes, and illustrations than does the original text. Students will nevertheless find here the essentials of music history presented in such a way as to be grasped within a limited amount of time.

SUPPLEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

The supplementary print and multimedia materials available for the original text are also applicable to A Brief History of Music in Western Culture.

Anthology of Scores in Two Volumes

The more than 250 works in the Anthology of Scores to A History of Music in Western Culture have been carefully selected to represent the developments in music history elucidated in the text. Every work in the Anthology of Scores is discussed in the text. Volume I covers Antiquity through the Baroque Era; Volume II covers music of the Classical Era through the 20th Century.

Recordings

Two sets of six compact disks complement the text and Anthology of Scores. Produced by Naxos of America in close coordination with Prentice Hall, the two compilations are arranged chronologically and mirror the content of the Anthology.

Instructor's Resource Manual

The Instructor's Resource Manual with Tests provides a summary, bibliography, a bank of test questions, and suggested discussion topics and activities for each chapter of the text. These are carefully organized to ease class preparation, instruction, and testing.

Companion Website^™ (www.prenhall.com/bonds)

The Companion Website^™ for A History of Music in Western Culture provides students an opportunity to delve more deeply into the ideas and personalities discussed in this briefer edition. Students can evaluate their progress with study and essay questions and report the results to the instructor. The site also includes an array of historical documents to complement those in the text. Many of the documents that appear in abbreviated form in the text appear complete on the site. Essay questions accompany each of these documents.

Table of Contents

PROLOGUE: ANTIQUITY.

Music in the Biblical World. Ancient Greece. Music in the Roman Empire. The Musical Legacies of Antiquity.

I. THE MEDIEVAL ERA.

Prelude to Part I.

1. Plainchant and Secular Monophony.

The Emergence of Plainchant. The Elements of Plainchant. The Expansion of Plainchant. Secular Monophony.

2. Polyphony to 1300.

Organum. Clausula. Motet. Conductus. Mensural Notation.

3. Music in the 14th Century.

France: The Ars Nova. Italy: The Trecento. England. Instrumental Music.

II. MUSIC OF THE RENAISSANCE.

Prelude to Part II.

Renaissance Humanism. The Protestant Reformation. Renaissance Painting and Sculpture. Music in Renaissance Society.

4. The Emergence of Renaissance Style.

Consonance and Dissonance: Trusting the Ear. Sonority: The Contenance Angloise. Texture: Pervading Imitation. Josquin's Ave Maria...virgo serena and the Style of the Renaissance.

5. The Genres of Renaissance Music, 1420-1520.

Sacred Vocal Music. Secular Vocal Music. Instrumental Music.

6. Music in the 16th Century.

Secular Vocal Music. Sacred Vocal Music. Instrumental Music in the 16th Century. Mannerism.

III. THE BAROQUE ERA.

Prelude to Part III.

War, Revolution, and Colonial Expansion. The Scientific Revolution. The Musical Baroque.

7. The New Practice.

Searching for the Secrets of Ancient Greek Music. The Florentine Camerata. The Seconda Prattica. Music in the Baroque Era: A Stylistic Overview.

8. Vocal Music, 1600-1650.

Secular Song. Opera. Sacred Music.

9. Vocal Music, 1600-1750.

Opera. Sacred Music. Conceptions of the Compositional Process.

10. Instrumental Music, 1650-1750.

Instruments of the Baroque Era. Instrumental Genres of the Baroque Era.

IV. THE CLASSICAL ERA.

Prelude to Part IV.

The Age of Enlightenment. War and Revolution. The Industrial Revolution. Music in Enlightenment Society.

11. The Art of the Natural.

Music and the Idea of Nature. Music in the Classical Era: A Stylistic Overview. Style and Form in the Mid-18th Century.

12. Instrumental Music in the Classical Era.

The Language of Instrumental Music. Sonata. String Quartet. Cyclical Coherence. The Symphony. Concerto.

13. Vocal Music in the Classical Era.

The Rise of opera buffa. Opera Wars. Gluck and the Reform of Opera. Mozart and the Synthesis of Operatic Styles. Sacred Music. Song.

V. THE 19TH CENTURY.

Prelude to Part V.

Progress and Dislocation. Ideas and Ideologies. Reaction, Reform and Revolution. The Musical World of the 19th Century.

14. The Age of the Tone-Poet.

Romanticism and the New Prestige of Instrumental Music. The Composer as High Priest. Originality and Historical Self-Consciousness. The New Dichotomy of Absolute and Program Music. Nationalism and Music. The Growing Division Between “Serious” and “Popular” Music. Music in the 19th Century: A Stylistic Overview.

15. Orchestral Music, 1800-1850.

Bigger Halls, Bigger Audiences, and Louder Instruments. The Symphony. The Concert Overture. The Concerto.

16. Piano Music, Chamber Music, Song.

Beethoven's Piano Sonatas and String Quartets. Song. The Character Piece.

17. Dramatic and Sacred Music.

Opera. Operetta. Sacred Music.

18. Orchestral Music, 1850-1900.

Music for Dancing and Marching. Ballet. The Symphonic Poem. The Symphony.

VI. THE 20TH CENTURY.

Prelude to Part VI.

The Impact of Recorded Sound. Modernism: the Shock of the New.

19. The Growth of Pluralism.

Fragmentation versus Diversity. Past versus Present. Recorded versus Live Music. Authenticity. The Uses of Music in the 20th Century. Music in the 20th Century: A Stylistic Overview.

20. The Search for New Sounds: 1890-1940.

Impressionism. Challenges to Tonality. Primitivism. Ragtime, Jazz and Country Music. Nationalism. New Timbres.

21. Beyond Tonality.

Atonality. Serial Composition.

22. The Tonal Tradition.

Neo-Classicism and “The New Objectivity.” Orchestral Music. Film Music. Ballet. Chamber Music. Song. Musical Theater.

23. New Currents after 1945.

The Quest for Innovation. Combinatoriality. Integral Serialism. Aleatory Music. Electronic Music. Rock Music. Folk Music. Jazz. Minimalism. Postmodernism.

Epilogue: Music at the Beginning of the 21st Century.

Preface

This book is an abridged and slightly altered edition of A History of Music in Western Culture (Prentice Hall, 2003). Like the original text, A Brief History of Music in Western Culture rests on the premise that the history of music is best conveyed by focusing on a carefully selected repertory of musical works. Once familiar with a representative body of music, students can better grasp the requisite names, dates, and concepts of music history, including an understanding of the evolution of musical styles and music's changing uses within the Western tradition. Even more importantly, students will gain a sound basis from which to explore other musical works and repertories.

A Brief History of Music in Western Culture builds its narrative around the core repertory represented in the accompanying two-volume Anthology of Scores and corresponding set of twelve compact disks. This text is not an encyclopedia. My goal, rather, has been to help students gain a broad understanding of the nature of music, its role in society, and the ways in which these have changed over time.

Finally, A Brief History of Music in Western Culture seeks to challenge students to think critically about its subject. The history of music is too often presented (and learned) as one long series of indisputable facts. I have tried to integrate into this text enough documents—primary sources—to demonstrate that the raw materials of history are often open to conflicting interpretations. Indeed, the most interesting historical issues tend to be precisely those about which experts disagree.

FEATURES OF THE TEXT

The narrative of A Brief History of Music in Western Culture is closely integrated with the accompanying Anthology o f Scores. Every work in the anthology gets a discussion in the text, called out with a note in the margin, and the anthology is ordered to follow the sequence in which those discussions occur within the text.

Following a Prologue on the music of classical Antiquity, the text is divided into six parts, each corresponding to a major era in music history: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, 19th century, and 20th century. The text concludes with a brief epilogue on music today.

Each part begins with a prelude that summarizes the historical and social background of each era. The first chapter in each part provides an overview of the major stylistic characteristics and theoretical concerns of the music of the era. Parts 4 (Classical period), 5 (19th century), and 6 (20th century) conclude with a brief survey of all the major composers of their respective eras.

The text also offers a variety of features and pedagogical tools:

• The opening pages of each prelude include a comparative timeline that lists major musical events side by side with other significant historical events.
• An outline at the beginning of each chapter gives students an overview of the content of the chapter.
• Key terms are highlighted in each chapter and defined in a glossary at the end of the book.
• Significant composers are featured in composer profiles that include key biographical information and a survey of principal works.
• Primary evidence boxes contain excerpts from relevant contemporary documents, exposing students to some of the raw materials of music history.
• Focus boxes highlight important information that expands on aspects of the core narrative.
• Numerous examples, tables, and diagrams help students grasp key points and visualize musical structures.
• The last chapter in each part concludes with a set of discussion questions designed to stimulate reflection on broad issues in music history.

Finally, the detailed captions to the illustrations in A Brief History of Music in Western Culture reveal the wealth of information—about music, composers, and their role in society—embedded in these images. Four inserts with more than 20 color illustrations are distributed throughout the book.

ABOUT THIS BRIEF EDITION

This book is aimed at instructors and students who must cover the entire history of Western music in one or two semesters. I have retained the basic narrative of the original text: no composer or work has been eliminated from the discussion, though contexts have necessarily been reduced here for reasons of space and time. This Brief History highlights fewer documents and presents a more limited number of diagrams, focus boxes, and illustrations than does the original text. Students will nevertheless find here the essentials of music history presented in such a way as to be grasped within a limited amount of time.

SUPPLEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

The supplementary print and multimedia materials available for the original text are also applicable to A Brief History of Music in Western Culture.

Anthology of Scores in Two Volumes

The more than 250 works in the Anthology of Scores to A History of Music in Western Culture have been carefully selected to represent the developments in music history elucidated in the text. Every work in the Anthology of Scores is discussed in the text. Volume I covers Antiquity through the Baroque Era; Volume II covers music of the Classical Era through the 20th Century.

Recordings

Two sets of six compact disks complement the text and Anthology of Scores. Produced by Naxos of America in close coordination with Prentice Hall, the two compilations are arranged chronologically and mirror the content of the Anthology.

Instructor's Resource Manual

The Instructor's Resource Manual with Tests provides a summary, bibliography, a bank of test questions, and suggested discussion topics and activities for each chapter of the text. These are carefully organized to ease class preparation, instruction, and testing.

Companion Website^™ ( www.prenhall.com/bonds )

The Companion Website ^™ for A History of Music in Western Culture provides students an opportunity to delve more deeply into the ideas and personalities discussed in this briefer edition. Students can evaluate their progress with study and essay questions and report the results to the instructor. The site also includes an array of historical documents to complement those in the text. Many of the documents that appear in abbreviated form in the text appear complete on the site. Essay questions accompany each of these documents.