The Story of Music
The Story of Music
paperback
Published:
3 October, 2013
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Description
*** 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.
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9780099587170 |
| ISBN10 | 0099587173 |
| Number Of Pages | 368 |
| Item Weight | 283 g |
| Product Dimensions | 129 x 196 x 23 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Vintage Publishing |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
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 *
GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
HOWARD GOODALL is an Emmy, BRIT and BAFTA award-winning composer of choral music (Eternal Light: A Requiem), stage musicals (The Hired Man, Love Story), film and TV scores - among them The Vicar of Dibley, Q.I., Red Dwarf, Blackadder and Into the Storm. He was awarded the CBE in 2011 for service to music education.