a concise history of western music engaging, clear and

A CONC I S E H I STORY OF WESTERN MUS IC

Engaging, clear and informative, this is the story of western music –of its great composers and also of its performers and listeners, ofchanging ideas of what music is and what it is for. Paul Griffithsshows how music has evolved through the centuries, and suggestshow its evolution has mirrored developments in the human notionof time, from the eternity of heaven to the computer’s microsecond.The book provides an enticing introduction for students and begin-ners, using the minimum of technical terms, all straightforwardlydefined in the glossary. Its perspective and its insights will also makeit illuminating for teachers, musicians and music lovers. Suggestionsfor further reading and recommended recordings are given for eachof the twenty-four short chapters.

Born in Wales, Paul Griffiths has written books on music, novelsand librettos. Among the first are The Penguin Companion to Classi-cal Music and The Substance of Things Heard, a selection from thereviews and essays he produced during more than thirty years as amusic critic in London and New York. Composers with whom hehas collaborated include Ludwig van Beethoven, Elliott Carter,W. A. Mozart and Frances-Marie Uitti.

© Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press0521842948 - A Concise History of Western MusicPaul GriffithsFrontmatterMore information

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A CONCISE HISTORY OF

WESTERN MUSIC

PAUL GRIFF ITHS






CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESSCambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo

Cambridge University PressThe Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.orgInformation on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521842945

© Paul Griffiths 2006

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exceptionand to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,

no reproduction of any part may take place withoutthe written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2006

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication dataGriffiths, Paul, 1947 Nov. 24–

A concise history of western music/Paul Griffiths. – 1st ed.p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN-13: 978-0-521-84294-5 (hardback)

ISBN-10: 0-521-84294-8 (hardback)1. Music – History and criticism. I. Title.

ML 160.G823 2006780.9 – dc22 2005029842

ISBN-13 978-0-521-84294-5 hardbackISBN-10 0-521-84294-8 hardback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs forexternal or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee

that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.






168700

for Anne






Contents

Acknowledgements ix

0 Prehistory 1

Part I Time whole 5

1 From Babylonians to Franks 8

Part II Time measured 11110000–11440000 19

2 Troubadours and organists 22

3 Ars nova and Narcissus’s clock 32

Part III Time sensed 11440000–11663300 43

4 Harmony, the light of time 47

5 The radiance of the High Renaissance 57

6 Reformation and heartache 68

7 To speak in music 81

Part IV Time known 11663300–11777700 95

8 Baroque mornings 98

vii






9 Fugue, concerto and operatic passion 111

10 Rococo and reform 123

Part V Time embraced 11777700–11881155 135

11 Sonata as comedy 138

12 Revolution’s momentum 150

Part VI Time escaping 11881155–11990077 163

13 The deaf man and the singer 166

14 Angels and other prodigies 177

15 New Germans and old Vienna 190

16 Romantic evenings 202

17 Nightfall and sunrise 215

Part VII Time tangled 11990088–11997755 227

18 To begin again 231

19 Forwards and backwards, and sideways 244

20 The people ’s needs 258

21 To begin again again 270

22 Whirlwind 286

Part VIII Time lost 11997755– 299

23 Echoes in the labyrinth 303

24 Interlude 314

Glossary 317Further reading and listening 329Index 341

viii Contents






Acknowledgements

Penny Souster asked for this book; Lucy Carolan saved it frommany errors. They have my lasting thanks.

P.G.Manorbier, November 2005

ix






a concise history of western music engaging, clear and

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