A History of Western Music

The Eighth Edition of A History of Western Music is a vivid, accessible, and richly contextual view of music in Western culture.

Building on his monumental revision of the Seventh Edition, Peter Burkholder has refined an inspired narrative for a new generation of students, placing people at the center of the story. The narrative of A History of Western Music naturally focuses on the musical works, styles, genres, and ideas that have proven most influential, enduring, and significant-but it also encompasses a wide range of music, from religious to secular, from serious to humorous, from art music to popular music, and from Europe to the Americas. With a six-part structure emphasizing the music's reception and continued influence, Burkholder's narrative establishes a social and historical context for each repertoire to reveal its legacy and its significance today.

In a course where detail can seem overwhelming, Burkholder?s clear pedagogical structure separates the forest from the trees, calling attention to:

What?s Important?Definitive, self-contained chapters are bookended by introductions and summaries and navigated by side heads and key terms that highlight the critical information in each section. Chapters address a focused range of topics, enhancing student comprehension and teaching flexibility.
Where It Fits?Newly designed timelines, maps, diagrams, and illustrations put essential information in context. New Forms-at-a-Glance boxes describe and diagram important musical forms in a straightforward, visual format for maximum clarity.
Why It Matters and Who Cares?The narrative unites three themes: people making choices, what people valued, and the tension between tradition and innovation. Each part, chapter, and section tells a story that is in some ways complete in itself but also connects to the others, forming a single narrative thread rooted in human choices and values.

CONTENIDO:

Editorial Advisory Board
Maps
Guide to Recordings
Preface to the Eighth Edition
Part One: The Ancient and Medieval Worlds
1. Music in Antiquity
2. The Christian Church in the First Millennium
3. Roman Liturgy and Chant
4. Song and Dance Music in the Middle Ages
5. Polyphony through the Thirteenth Century
6. French and Italian Music in the Fourteenth Century
Part Two: The Renaissance
7. Music and the Renaissance
8. England and Burgundy in the Fifteenth Century
9. Franco-Flemish Composers, 1450?1520
10. Sacred Music in the Era of the Reformation
11. Madrigal and Secular Song in the Sixteenth Century
12. The Rise of Instrumental Music
Part Three: The Seventeenth Century
13. New Styles in the Seventeenth Century
14. The Invention of Opera
15. Music for Chamber and Church in the Early Seventeenth Century
16. France, England, Spain, and the New World in the Seventeenth Century
17. Italy and Germany in the Late Seventeenth Century
Part 4: The Eighteenth Century
18. The Early Eighteenth Century in Italy and France
19. German Composers of the Late Baroque
20. Musical Taste and Style in the Enlightenment
21. Opera and Vocal Music in the Early Classic Period
22. Instrumental Music: Sonata, Symphony, and Concerto at Midcentury
23. Classical Music in the Late Eighteenth Century
Part Five: The Nineteenth Century
24. Revolution and Change
25. The Romantic Generation: Song and Piano Music
26. Romanticism in Classic Forms: Orchestral, Chamber, and Choral Music
27. Romantic Opera and Musical Theater to Midcentury
28. Opera and Musical Theater in the Later Nineteenth Century
29. Late Romanticism in Germany and Austria
30. Diverging Traditions in the Later Nineteenth Century
Part Six: The Twentieth Century and After
31. The Early Twentieth Century
32. Modernism and the Classical Tradition
33. Between the World Wars: Jazz and Popular Music
34. Between the World Wars: The Classical Tradition
35. Postwar Crosscurrents
36. Music since 1970
Glossary
For Further Reading
Index