What do you think?
Rate this book
The Cambridge History of Music
The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory
The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory is the first comprehensive history of Western music theory to be published in the English language. A collaborative project by leading music theorists and historians, the volume traces the rich panorama of music-theoretical thought from the Ancient Greeks to the present day. Richly enhanced with illustrations, graphics, examples and cross-citations, as well as being thoroughly indexed and supplemented by comprehensive bibliographies, this book will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars alike.
1024 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2002
17 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 18, 2008
I can proudly say that I have read this entire book, and am now more fully aware of exactly how much I do not know.
March 26, 2017
I'm glad to say that I read through the entire work, and learned a lot about the development of music theory. I'll provide a short preface and attempt to briefly summarize some of the high points. As a college undergrad studying music theory and composition, I've only just begun reading theoretical works in the past year-and-a-half or so. So far some of the best have included:
A Geometry of Music: Harmony and Counterpoint in the Extended Common Practice
Audacious Euphony: Chromaticism and the Triad's Second Nature
Tonality and Transformation
Other Harmony: Beyond Tonal and Atonal
The present work is certainly an excellent addition to the list. After doing a little research into the history of music theory and mathematics, I became aware of Catherine Nolan's excellent article on the topic and requested this volume through interlibrary loan. After reading Nolan's article I was pulled in by Nicholas Cook's chapter on music theory & epistemology, and it was at this point that I realized that I needed to own a copy!
Ch. 1: Mapping the Terrain
This chapter provides a insightful step-back from music theory to understand how the discipline has continually been split and restructured into several domains.
Ch. 3: Epistemologies of Music Theory
Cook's chapter examines how theoretical trends are constructed on and influenced by epistemological assumptions. Thinkers as disparate as Rameau and Schoenberg may share a preoccupation with basing harmonic thought on the overtone series. But while Rameau was concerned with unifying a variety of theoretical traditions (see Ch. 24), Schoenberg is more concerned with "[sweeping] away sedimented knowledge and [starting] with a clean slate."
Ch. 5: The Transmission of Ancient Music Theory into the Middle Ages
While I can't claim to have fully understood chapters 4-6 (due to being distracted by obscure Greek terms for musical tunings and scale degrees), I greatly enjoyed the discussion of Christian humanism and the process by which Medieval theorists interpreted (or misinterpreted) ancient Greek and Roman theory.
Ch. 10: Music Theory and Mathematics
This chapter was, of course, the original motivation for my interest in the book. Nolan presents a variety of theorists from the Pythagoreans to David Lewin. These thinkers are grouped by mathematical discipline (geometry, combinatorics, set theory, transformation theory. Nolan even includes a section on "Prescriptive Applications," which outlines a number of theorist/composers (Schillinger, Taneiev, etc.) who have used mathematical principles as aesthetic or compositional tools.
Ch. 14: Dualist Tonal Space and Transformation in Nineteenth-Century Musical Thought
The concepts of harmonic monism and dualism were new to me, and I was intrigued to discover how this philosophical debate has framed more recent theoretical programs. Additionally, I was intrigued to read more on Riemann, and was inspired to purchase The Oxford Handbook of Neo-Riemannian Music Theories.
Ch. 18: Steps to Parnassus- Contrapuntal Theory in 1725
Bent provides a well-written, conversational, and very enjoyable overview of Fux's Gradus. In fact, the article was so delightful that it entirely convinced me to find a good English translation of the work. (Bent warns that many translations omit Fux's original, witty dialogue).
Ch. 19: Twelve-tone Theory
This chapter was interesting for its broader focus on theorists and composers such as Hauer, Krenek, Perle, etc. It was nice to read some perspectives on the topic other than those of Schoenberg.
Chs. 21 & 22: Theories of Musical Rhythm in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries / Rhythm in Twentieth-Century Theory
As a pianist and composer, these two chapters were quite practical. The first presented a variety of models that are useful for analyzing phrasing and large-scale forms in works from the classical repertory. The second presented more recent quasi-philosophical perspectives on time and its role in a musical composition. It provides an inspiring way to reconsider traditional forms and structures.
Chs. 23 - 26: Tonality / Rameau / 19th c. German Harmony / Schenker
After the chapter on Music Theory and Mathematics, these chapters were the portion of the book that I most looked forward to exploring. The chapter on tonality was quite familiar, but it presented a nice background for the gradual development tonal awareness in Western music. The chapter on Rameau was quite remarkable; while I was aware of his important reputation in music theory, I was aware of the significance of his contribution. This chapter eloquently presents several modes of musical understanding that Rameau united in his work- chordal theory, thorough-bass practice, cadential progressions, the major/minor system, and the "generative fundamental" of the overtone series. I was again familiar with much that was presented in chapters 25 & 26, but I greatly enjoyed the discussions of Riemann, Schoenberg, and Schenker in particular.
Ch. 27: Music and Rhetoric
McCreless's presentation of musical rhetoric was particularly fascinating for its way of tying musical conventions into the larger traditions of Western civilization. The chapter includes a number of examples with "rhetorical analyses" according to the models of a number of theorists (Lippius, Burmeister, Bernhard, Koch, etc.).
Ch. 29: Energetics
While it's impossible to work in music without running across some metaphor of musical force, energy, motion, tension, or logic, I was unaware of the proper theoretical/philosophical school of Energetics. This chapter provided a number of useful models for analysis/performance and composition.
I'm a little worn out after about 5 months of working my way through this book, but I feel that it was absolutely worth it. Though it's clearly intended to be a reference/research work, it was extremely useful to read through the book in its entirety in order to gain a wider understanding of music theory's history and recent trends.
A Geometry of Music: Harmony and Counterpoint in the Extended Common Practice
Audacious Euphony: Chromaticism and the Triad's Second Nature
Tonality and Transformation
Other Harmony: Beyond Tonal and Atonal
The present work is certainly an excellent addition to the list. After doing a little research into the history of music theory and mathematics, I became aware of Catherine Nolan's excellent article on the topic and requested this volume through interlibrary loan. After reading Nolan's article I was pulled in by Nicholas Cook's chapter on music theory & epistemology, and it was at this point that I realized that I needed to own a copy!
Ch. 1: Mapping the Terrain
This chapter provides a insightful step-back from music theory to understand how the discipline has continually been split and restructured into several domains.
Ch. 3: Epistemologies of Music Theory
Cook's chapter examines how theoretical trends are constructed on and influenced by epistemological assumptions. Thinkers as disparate as Rameau and Schoenberg may share a preoccupation with basing harmonic thought on the overtone series. But while Rameau was concerned with unifying a variety of theoretical traditions (see Ch. 24), Schoenberg is more concerned with "[sweeping] away sedimented knowledge and [starting] with a clean slate."
Ch. 5: The Transmission of Ancient Music Theory into the Middle Ages
While I can't claim to have fully understood chapters 4-6 (due to being distracted by obscure Greek terms for musical tunings and scale degrees), I greatly enjoyed the discussion of Christian humanism and the process by which Medieval theorists interpreted (or misinterpreted) ancient Greek and Roman theory.
Ch. 10: Music Theory and Mathematics
This chapter was, of course, the original motivation for my interest in the book. Nolan presents a variety of theorists from the Pythagoreans to David Lewin. These thinkers are grouped by mathematical discipline (geometry, combinatorics, set theory, transformation theory. Nolan even includes a section on "Prescriptive Applications," which outlines a number of theorist/composers (Schillinger, Taneiev, etc.) who have used mathematical principles as aesthetic or compositional tools.
Ch. 14: Dualist Tonal Space and Transformation in Nineteenth-Century Musical Thought
The concepts of harmonic monism and dualism were new to me, and I was intrigued to discover how this philosophical debate has framed more recent theoretical programs. Additionally, I was intrigued to read more on Riemann, and was inspired to purchase The Oxford Handbook of Neo-Riemannian Music Theories.
Ch. 18: Steps to Parnassus- Contrapuntal Theory in 1725
Bent provides a well-written, conversational, and very enjoyable overview of Fux's Gradus. In fact, the article was so delightful that it entirely convinced me to find a good English translation of the work. (Bent warns that many translations omit Fux's original, witty dialogue).
Ch. 19: Twelve-tone Theory
This chapter was interesting for its broader focus on theorists and composers such as Hauer, Krenek, Perle, etc. It was nice to read some perspectives on the topic other than those of Schoenberg.
Chs. 21 & 22: Theories of Musical Rhythm in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries / Rhythm in Twentieth-Century Theory
As a pianist and composer, these two chapters were quite practical. The first presented a variety of models that are useful for analyzing phrasing and large-scale forms in works from the classical repertory. The second presented more recent quasi-philosophical perspectives on time and its role in a musical composition. It provides an inspiring way to reconsider traditional forms and structures.
Chs. 23 - 26: Tonality / Rameau / 19th c. German Harmony / Schenker
After the chapter on Music Theory and Mathematics, these chapters were the portion of the book that I most looked forward to exploring. The chapter on tonality was quite familiar, but it presented a nice background for the gradual development tonal awareness in Western music. The chapter on Rameau was quite remarkable; while I was aware of his important reputation in music theory, I was aware of the significance of his contribution. This chapter eloquently presents several modes of musical understanding that Rameau united in his work- chordal theory, thorough-bass practice, cadential progressions, the major/minor system, and the "generative fundamental" of the overtone series. I was again familiar with much that was presented in chapters 25 & 26, but I greatly enjoyed the discussions of Riemann, Schoenberg, and Schenker in particular.
Ch. 27: Music and Rhetoric
McCreless's presentation of musical rhetoric was particularly fascinating for its way of tying musical conventions into the larger traditions of Western civilization. The chapter includes a number of examples with "rhetorical analyses" according to the models of a number of theorists (Lippius, Burmeister, Bernhard, Koch, etc.).
Ch. 29: Energetics
While it's impossible to work in music without running across some metaphor of musical force, energy, motion, tension, or logic, I was unaware of the proper theoretical/philosophical school of Energetics. This chapter provided a number of useful models for analysis/performance and composition.
I'm a little worn out after about 5 months of working my way through this book, but I feel that it was absolutely worth it. Though it's clearly intended to be a reference/research work, it was extremely useful to read through the book in its entirety in order to gain a wider understanding of music theory's history and recent trends.
July 3, 2018
An indispensible reference for anyone studying the history of music. Each essay has excellent bibliographies for further reading.
May 18, 2016
Should be on the bookshelf of all music students
Music is often taught and thought out of historical context. This volume fill the gaps with explanations of "why and in some cases the how's.
Music is often taught and thought out of historical context. This volume fill the gaps with explanations of "why and in some cases the how's.
September 4, 2008
Awesome!
April 20, 2017
Still the definitive book on the topic.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews