Synopses & Reviews
MUSIC IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION by Wright and Simms places music in the context of the politics and personalities, and the arts and humanities of each period of Western intellectual history. The importance of cultural context is evidenced by chapters entitled "Richard Strauss in Berlin," "Johann Sebastian Bach: Vocal Music in Leipzig," and "Music in Medieval Paris: Polyphony at Notre Dame." The writing is crystal clear, and student comprehension is increased by means of boldface Key Terms and by concise chapter summaries. The eighty-three brief chapters allow instructors to pick and choose which material they wish to emphasize, and it is available in three formats: comprehensive edition, 2 volumes, and 3 volumes. Moreover, the text is as comprehensive as it is clear. All major composers, styles, and genres are covered. 224 pieces are discussed, with additional commentary and complete musical scores in an accompanying anthology prepared by Professor Timothy Roden. The anthology is available in a two-as well as a three volume set to meet the needs of various course structures. Recordings of all 224 pieces are available on the 13 CDs, and student exercises and analysis questions are found in a companion Student Workbook. In sum, the text of Wright and Simms will revolutionize the teaching of music history because it situates music in its cultural context, yet does so in a way that is clear and easy to understand.
Review
"[The writing] was the book's principle strength. It is a truly accessible book...Students might even become better writers by reading this textbook! It's probably alone in its field in this respect, and I can't praise it enough."
Review
"Finally a textbook that examines the history if music in the wider context of Western civilization. The reader gets a clear sense of how music functioned in society."
Review
"The writing is focused, vivid, and engaging---the strongest I have seen in a college textbook for majors studying Western art music. The author excels at breathing life into the works of prominent composers, and at setting in sharp relief the historical and cultural circumstances that engendered them."
Review
"Short chapters delineate material into "user-friendly" segments."
Synopsis
Understand music in context with MUSIC IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION, VOLUME A: ANTIQUITY THROUGH THE RENAISSANCE! Clear and easy-to-understand, this music text provides you with the tools you need to succeed in this course. With a focus on the history of music in the wider context of Western civilization, you will see how study of music history is important to the practice and performance of music today. Numerous full-color photographs, maps, and timelines give you a sense of the place of music within the arts and humanities in the West. Class preparation is made easy with the book-specific website that contains features such as additional musical selections, a music glossary, unit resources, and more.
About the Author
Craig M. Wright received his Bachelor of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music in 1966 and his Ph.D. in musicology from Harvard University in 1972. He began his teaching career at the University of Kentucky and for the past 40 years has been teaching at Yale University, where he is currently the Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Music. At Yale, Wright's courses include his perennially popular introductory course "Listening to Music," also part of the offerings of Open Yale Courses, and his selective seminar "Exploring the Nature of Genius." He is the author of numerous scholarly books and articles on composers ranging from Leoninus to Bach. Wright has also been the recipient of many awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Einstein and Kinkeldey Awards of the American Musicological Society, and the Dent Medal of the International Musicological Society. In 2004, he was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Chicago. And in 2010, he was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, joining fellow inductee banjo player Steve Martin. Wright has also published LISTENING TO MUSIC, CHINESE EDITION (Schirmer Cengage Learning/Three Union Press, 2012), translated and simplified by Profs. Li Xiujung (China Conservatory, Beijing) and Yu Zhigang (Central Conservatory, Beijing), both of whom worked with Wright at Yale; THE ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC (Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2012); and MUSIC IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION, MEDIA UPDATE (Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2010), with coauthor Bryan Simms. He is presently at work on a volume entitled MOZART'S BRAIN: EXPLORING THE NATURE OF GENIUS. Bryan R. Simms (Bachelor of Arts, Yale University, 1966; Ph.D., Yale University, 1971) has taught since 1976 at the University of Southern California, where he has been director of graduate studies and is currently chair of the department of musicology. He is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fulbright Foundation. He is the author of books and articles on topics in twentieth-century music and music theory, including MUSIC OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (Schirmer 1996) and, most recently, THE ATONAL MUSIC OF ARNOLD SCHOENBERG, 1908-1923 (Oxford University Press).
Table of Contents
PART I: ANTIQUITY AND THE MIDDLE AGES. 1. Music in Ancient Greece. 2. Antiquity to the Middle Ages: Music in Rome, Jerusalem, and the Early Christian World. 3. Music in the Monastery and Convent. 4. Music Theory in the Monastery: John of St. Gall and Guido of Arezzo. 5. Later Medieval Chant: Tropes, Sequences, and the Liturgical Drama of Hildegard of Bingen. 6. Troubadours and Trouvères. 7. Early Polyphony. 8. Music in Medieval Paris: Polyphony at Notre Dame. 9. Music in the Cathedral Close and University: Conductus and Motet. 10. In the Parisian Master's Study: Music Theory of the Ars Antiqua and Ars Nova. 11. Music at the Court of the French Kings. 12. Fourteenth-Century Music in Reims: Guillaume de Machaut. 13. Avignon, Symbolic Scores, and the Ars Subtilior. MUSICAL INTERLUDE 1. FROM MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT TO MODERN PERFORMANCE. PART II: THE LATE MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY RENAISSANCE. 14. Music in Florence, 1350-1425. 15. Music at the Cathedral of Florence. 16. Music in England. 17. Music at the Court of Burgundy. 18. Music at the French Royal Court. 19. Music in the Low Countries. PART III: THE LATE RENAISSANCE. MUSICAL INTERLUDE 2. MUSICAL HUMANISM AND THE RENAISSANCE. 20. Popular Music in Florence, 1475-1540: Carnival Song and Lauda, Frottola, and Early Madrigal. 21. Josquin Des Prez and Music in Ferrara. MUSICAL INTERLUDE 3. MUSIC PRINTING DURING THE RENAISSANCE. 22. Music in Renaissance Paris. 23. Renaissance Instruments and Instrumental Music. MUSICAL INTERLUDE 4. MUSIC THEORY IN THE RENAISSANCE. 24. Music in Three German Cities: The Protestant-Catholic Confrontation. 25. Rome and the Music of the Counter-Reformation. 26. Music in Elizabethan England, Part I: Early Vocal Music. 27. Music in Elizabethan England, Part II: Instrumental Music and Later Vocal Music. 28. The Later Madrigal in Ferrara and Mantua: Gesualdo and Monteverdi.