Heritage of Music (4 Volume Set)
This history of Western music, lavishly presented with hundreds of color plates and illustrations, differs from the numerous single-author encylopedic surveys in two important ways: its various chapters are independently written by 55 scholars (a format used successfully by the ten-volume New Oxford History of Music , 1953), and stories of composers' lives are limited to the major figures (Bach, Beethoven, etc.), with biographical material about others consigned to short sketches at the end of each volume. This allows the authors to dwell on important compositions, placing music in its historical and social setting. It is in this regard that the series is most successful. Discussion is at a rather sophisticated level, directed at an educated and fairly well-read audience familiar with musical terms; words such as "monophony," "counterpoint," and "perfect fifth" are used freely without explanation, and no glossary is included. It is assumed that the reader has access to recordings of much of the music; the chapters are generous, with information about genres and sources, but they center on specific examples and require the reader to reinforce the descriptions and analyses with a sound image. The survey-like narrative is set off by regularly spaced interludes--beautifully illustrated vignettes that dwell for a moment on a particular item (person, place, instruments, etc.) that is somewhat extraneous to the general story. The copious illustrations have detailed captions and are tightly integrated into the text, providing a part of the essential story rather than merely serving as ornaments. Historical information is, for the most part, up to date. There is considerable variety in the writing styles and approaches of the different authors, and unfortunately many of the essays are somewhat pedantic and textbookish. The most disappointing chapters are those in volume 1, on the medieval and Renaissance periods; the attempt to supply far too much information in a short space results in paragraphs with a painfully high factual density. In most other essays, however, the quantity of material and pace of the writing is quite comfortable. Three especially thought-provoking chapters highlight the advantage of the essay format: a discussion by Carl Dahlhaus of the term "Romantic" and how it can be applied (Volume 2); Wilfrid Mellers's essays "Meaning and Function," (Volume 4); and the chapter by Heinz Becker on Emperor Franz Joseph (Volume 3), which engagingly captures the flavor of the end of the 19th century. On the whole, then, this is a solid accomplishment.- Timothy J. McGee, Univ. of TorontoCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.