A History of Western Music Seventh Edition by J. Peter Burkholder, Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca is one of several popular books used to teach Music History in North America.

The field of music history, or sometimes historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time. Historical studies of music are for example concerned with a composer's life and works, the developments of styles and genres (such as baroque concertos), the social function of music for a particular group of people (such as music at the court), or the modes of performance at a particular place and time (such as the performance forces of Johann Sebastian Bach's choir in Leipzig). Image File history File links Burkholder_Grout_Bookcover. ... Image File history File links Burkholder_Grout_Bookcover. ... Musicology (Greek: μουσικη = music and λογος = word or reason) is the scholarly study of music. ... // Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. ... A pocket watch, a device used to tell time Look up time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history of any type or genre of music (e.g., the history of Indian music or the history of rock). In practice, these research topics are nearly always misleadingly categorized as part of ethnomusicology or cultural studies. Indian music is: The music of India or Native American music This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... Ethnomusicology (from the Greek ethnos = nation and mousike = music), formerly comparative musicology, is the study of music in its cultural context, cultural musicology. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

The methods of music history include source studies (esp. manuscript studies), paleography, philology (especially textual criticism), style criticism, historiography (the choice of historical method), musical analysis, and iconography. The application of musical analysis to further these goals is often a part of music history, though pure analysis or the development of new tools of music analysis is more likely to be seen in the field of music theory. (For a more detailed discussion of the methods see the section on "Research in Music History" below) A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... Palaeography, literally old writing, (from the Greek words paleos = old and grapho = write) is the study of script. ... Philology, etymologically, is the love of words. ... Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ... The historical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research and then to write history. ... Look up Iconography in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Music theory is a field of study that investigates the nature or mechanics of music. ...

Some of the intellectual products of music historians include editions of musical works, biography of composers and other musicians, studies of the relationship between words and music, and the reflections upon the place of music in society. Sir Thomas Malory wrote the most famous fictional biography of the Middle Ages with Le Morte dArthur about the life of King Arthur. ... A word is a unit of language that carries meaning and consists of one or more morphemes which are linked more or less tightly together, and has a phonetical value. ... Young people interacting within an ethnically diverse society. ...

Music History as Taught Subject

Although most performers of classical and traditional instruments receive some instruction in music history from teachers throughout their training, the majority of formal music history courses are offered at the college level. In Canada, some music students receive training prior to undergraduate studies because examinations in music history (as well as music theory) are required to complete Royal Conservatory certification at the Grade 9 level and higher. Particularly in the United States and Canada, university courses tend to be divided into two groups: one type to be taken by students with little or no music theory or ability to read music (often called music appreciation) and the other for more musically literate students (often those planning on making a career in music). Most medium and large institutions will offer both types of courses. The two types of courses will usually differ in length (one to two semesters vs. two to four), breadth (many music appreciation courses begin at the late Baroque or classical eras and might omit music after WWII while courses for majors traditionally span the period from the Middle Ages to recent times), and depth. College (Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an educational institution. ... Music appreciation is the discipline that deals with getting people to appreciate classical music. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... The Classical period in Western music occurred from about 1730 through 1820, despite considerable overlap at both ends with preceding and following periods, as is true for all musical eras. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Both types of courses tend to emphasize a balance among the acquisition of musical repertory (often emphasized through listening examinations), study and analysis of these works, biographical and cultural details of music and musicians, and writing about music, perhaps through music criticism. Repertory or rep, called stock in the U.S., is a term from Western theatre. ... Music criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of music. ...

More specialized seminars in music history tend to use a similar approach on a narrower subject while introducing more of the tools of research in music history (see below). The range of possible topics is virtually limitless. Some examples might be "Music during World War I," "Medieval and Renaissance instrumental music," "Music and Process," "Mozart's Don Giovanni." In the United States, these seminars are generally taken by advanced undergraduates and graduate students, though in European countries they often form the backbone of music history education. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... Bologna Mozart - Mozart age 21 in 1777, see also: face only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (IPA: , baptized Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart) (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. ... Don Giovanni (K.527; complete title: Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, literally The Rake Punishd, or Don Giovanni) is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. ...

Research in Music History

The methods and tools of music history are nearly as numerous as its subjects and therefore make a strict categorization impossible. However, a few trends and approaches can be outlined here. Like in any other historical discipline, most research in music history can be roughly divided into two categories: the establishing of factual data and the interpretation of data. Most historical research does not fall into one category solely, but rather employs a combination of methods from both categories. It should also be noted that the act of establishing factual data can never be fully separate from the act of interpretation.

Source studies. A desire to examine sources of music closest to the composer or period which produced it has made manuscript, archival, and source study important in almost every field of musicology. In early music in particular, manuscript study may be the only way to study an unedited work. Such study may be complicated by the need to decipher earlier forms of music notation. Manuscript study can also allow a researcher to return to a version of a work prior to the interventions of later editors, perhaps as a basis for her own edition. Early music is commonly defined as European classical music from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque. ... Menstrual notation is the musical notation system which was used from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600. ... Music notation is a system of writing for music. ... Editing may also refer to audio editing or film editing. ... In printmaking, an edition is a set of prints off one plate, composing a limited run of prints. ...

Questions such as "Why did Beethoven scratch out the name of Napoleon from the title page of his Eroica symphony?" are of interest to music historians

Archival work may be conducted to find connections to music or musicians in a collection of documents of broader interests (e.g., Vatican pay records, letters to a patroness of the arts) or to more systematically study a collection of documents related to a musician. Rarely but increasingly, such archival work can be done virtually.^[1] Image File history File links Eroica_Beethoven_title. ... Image File history File links Eroica_Beethoven_title. ... Archive of the AMVC hahahahaAn archive refers to a collection of records, and also refers to the location in which these records are kept. ...

Performance practice draws on many of the tools of historical musicology to answer the specific question of how music was performed in various places at various times in the past. Although previously confined to early music, recent research in performance practice has embraced questions such as how the early history of recording affected the use of vibrato in classical music, or instruments in Klezmer. The authentic performance movement is an effort on the part of musicians and scholars to perform works of classical music in ways similar to how they were performed when they were originally written. ... Klezmer (from Yiddish כּלי־זמיר, etymologically from Hebrew kli zemer כלי זמר, musical instrument) is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic Judaism. ...

Biographical studies of composers can give a better sense of the chronology of compositions, influences on style and works, and provide important background to the interpretation (by performers or listeners) of works. Thus biography can form one part of the larger study of the cultural significance, underlying program, or agenda of a work; a study which gained increasing importance in the 1980s and early 1990s. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

Sociological studies focus on the function of music in society as well as its meaning for individuals and society as a whole. Researchers emphasizing the social importance of music (including classical music) are sometimes called New musicologists. The New Musicology is a term applied to a wide body of work produced by many musicologists who consider themselves and their musicology neither new nor New. ...

History of research in music history

===Before 1800=== The first studies of musical history date back to the middle of the 18th century. G.B. Martini published a three volume history titled Storia della musica (History of Music) between 1757 and 1781. Martin Gerbert published a two volume history of sacred music titled De cantu de musica sacra in 1774. Gerbert followed this work with a three volume work Scriptores ecclesiastici de musica sacra containing significant writings on sacred music from the third century AD onwards in 1784. Giovanni Battista Martini (April 24, 1706 - August 4, 1784), Italian musician, was born at Bologna. ... Martin Gerbert (August, 1720 – May 3, 1793), German theologian, historian and writer on music, belonged to the noble family of Gerbert von Hornau, and was born at Horb on the Neckar, Württemberg, on the 12th (or 11th or 13th) of August 1720. ...

1800-1950

Historical musicology began as a discipline in the nineteenth century focusing on the contributions of earlier composers. Samuel Wesley played a critical role in the revival of interest in Johann Sebastian Bach through performing, lecturing on and editing his works. Felix Mendelssohn similarly played a critical role in the revival of Bach but as the founder of the Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre. Historical musicological scholarship led to the publication of Gesellschaft editions of George Frideric Handel as well as Bach. Samuel Wesley (24 February 1766 – 11 October 1837) was an English organist and composer in the late Georgian period. ... Bach in a 1748 portrait by Haussmann Johann Sebastian Bach (pronounced ) (21 March 1685 O.S. – 28 July 1750 N.S.) was a prolific German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it... Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer and conductor of the early Romantic period. ... The Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre, located in Leipzig, Germany was founded by Felix Mendelssohn in 1843 as the Leipzig Conservatory (he acted as its first director); it was the first German Conservatory. ... George Frideric Handel, 1733 George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-born British Baroque composer who was a leading composer of concerti grossi, operas and oratorios. ...

In the twentieth century, the work of Johannes Wolf and others developed studies in Medieval music and early Renaissance music. Wolf's writings on the history of musical notation are considered to be particularly notable by musicologists. Historical musicology has played a critical role in renewed interest in Baroque music as well as medieval and Renaissance music. In particular, the authentic performance movement owes much to historical musicological scholarship. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... The authentic performance movement is an effort on the part of musicians and scholars to perform works of classical music in ways similar to how they were performed when they were originally written. ...

Towards the middle of the twentieth century, historical musicology was increasingly popular as a field of scholarship as musicology generally became more popular as a field of study. Similarly, there was an expansion of scholarly articles in musicological and music journals.

Bibliography

http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/music/grout7/home.htm

Notes

1. ^ One example among many: the Arnold Schoenberg Center has placed many archival materials online: [1].

• Online Book review of Samuel Wesley 1766-1837: a Sourcebook by Michael Kassler and Phillip Olleson
• Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians Centenary Edition 2001 Schirmer 2001 article on Martin Gerbert Reproduced on Biography Research Center Thomson Gale 2005
• Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary Merriam-Webster 1995 entry on Samuel Wesley Reproduced on Biography Research Center Thomson Gale 2005
• John Cooper "Knowing Mendelssohn: a Challenge from the Primary Sources" Notes Music Library Association September 2004 v61 i1 p35(61)
• Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians Op. Cit. article on Johannes Wolf
• Daniel Leech-Wilkinson The Modern Invention of Medieval Music: Scholarship, Ideology, Performance Cambridge University Press Cambridge 2003 ISBN 0-521-81870-2

See also