The Cambridge Music Guide

by Stanley Sadie (Editor), Alison Latham (Editor)

The Cambridge Music Guide is for all those who love music and wish to know more about its colorful history, development and theory. Superbly illustrated, the Guide is a comprehensive tour of every aspect of the musical world, expertly edited by Stanley Sadie, editor of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

The guide explains all the elements of musical notation, of pitch and harmony, of different musical genres. The development of musical instruments and the modern orchestra is charted through the ages, and the roots of music itself are traced--from Medieval chant to modern jazz solos and the electric wizardry of today's composers. With individual studies of all major composers and a unique series of "listening guides" to important works through the ages, The Cambridge Music Guide serves as a comprehensive introduction for all those studying, playing or simply seeking more enjoyment from the world of music.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction

544 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 1985

About the author

Stanley John Sadie CBE was an influential and prolific English musicologist, former music critic for The Times of London and editor of The Musical Times, published thirty books and edited the monumental New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Reviews

[Kalliope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can be used as a reference, or be read from beginning to end, or both. If someone wants to have ONE book on Western Classical Music, this is it. With generous illustrations (both art and music samples), it is a very clear reference, explaining the overall development of music, and with specific entries for individual composers. For each composer there is a short account of his (mostly his) life, a very useful summary of his works, and characteristics of his music. There are some technical analytical examples, and a list of Further Listening. It is an excellent Account. For a History proper one should turn to Lang or certainly to Taruskin.

[Galicius · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great though abbreviated reference guide for reviewing the whole history of Western music to discover new artists, performers after my break in keeping up with this field. However, the key to appreciating this fine guide is not in reading it but in listening to the suggested compositions. There is so much music available on line now that it is much easier to find what you want to hear immediately. A few decades ago, the LP was the best source of gaining access to the sound—and still is to get the best sound. Hearing what the guide recommends is the primary objective here. The selections suggested are among the best. This is valuable information from a first class university.

One major limitation here is that the authors sometimes describe a composer’s popularity and output in his own lifetime, which our audience now mostly forgot, for whatever reason. A good example is Scarlatti. If you ask for him, you will probably hear Scarlatti, the son Domenico who composed keyboard music for the harpsichord ahead of his time and that present artists play them on modern pianos. Father Alessandro composed a phenomenal number of operas in Naples for eighteen years of which the authors claim some fifty survive. (This is a questionable number.)

[Niels Lodewijk]

Very comprehensive book, yet very boring. One of these huge university type knowledge books that tries to cover the most important topics in classical music (because I think it does not cover music in general). I use the book to prepare for concerts I play, by reading a bit about the music and/or composer. I has some interesting listening excercises included which are nice if you want to take some time to dig into some symphony a bit more. Fine book to have on the shelf as an encyclopedia, but not more. I think wikipedia will give you about as much info on composers / compositions.

[Rareș Lukács · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a year to read. :))