The Story of Music
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:3rd Oct '13
Should be back in stock very soon
Published to accompany Howard Goodall's major new BBC TV series, this is an accessible history for all music lovers
Accompanies BBC2's TV series and The Story of Music in 50 Pieces on Radio 3. The author leads us through the story of music as it happened, idea by idea, so that each musical innovation - harmony, notation, sung theatre, the orchestra, dance music, recording, broadcasting - strikes us with its original force.
*** Accompanies BBC2's major new TV series and The Story of Music in 50 Pieces on Radio 3 ***
In his dynamic tour through 40,000 years of music, from prehistoric instruments to modern-day pop, Howard Goodall leads us through the story of music as it happened, idea by idea, so that each musical innovation – harmony, notation, sung theatre, the orchestra, dance music, recording, broadcasting – strikes us with its original force. He focuses on what changed when and why, picking out the discoveries that revolutionised man-made sound and bringing to life musical visionaries from the little-known Pérotin to the colossus of Wagner. Along the way, he also gives refreshingly clear descriptions of what music is and how it works: what scales are all about, why some chords sound discordant and what all post-war pop songs have in common.
A lively zip through some 45 milennia -- Christopher Hart * Sunday Times *
Goodall is an engaging and erudite guide and this work is both accessible and illuminating -- Caroline Jowett * Daily Express *
Great length but still leavened with lively wit -- Sameer Rahim * Telegraph *
[Goodall] knows his stuff, and tells it well -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *
Highly knowledgeable, and a brilliant communicator, Goodall has an infectious enthusiasm and is genuinely respectful of all forms of music * Good Book Guide *
Now comes Howard Goodall and all of everyone's prayers are answered ... He is sharply witty and entirely on the ball, but he never acts the smart ass and, most importantly, he obviously has deep knowledge of what he is talking about ... I prophesy that it will not only win prizes but change lives -- Rupert Christiansen * Daily Telegraph *
An accessible guide to roughly 42,000 years of music in just over 300 pages that manages neither to sacfrifice precise detail nor pugnacious opinion ... Goodall is unfailingly acute ... a clever, engaging read -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *
There is a Jumpin’ Jack Flash liveliness in Goodall’s approach -- Iain Finlayson * The Times *
Who better to demystify the origins of music and trace the evolution of this most universal of artistic disciplines? -- Neil Norman * Express *
The Story of Music is a lively zip through some 45 millennia … jumping back and forth between classical, folk and pop -- Christopher Hart * Sunday Times *
ISBN: 9780099587170
Dimensions: 196mm x 129mm x 23mm
Weight: 283g
368 pages