The Language of Music (Clarendon Paperbacks)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 304 pages
• Published by: Oxford University Press, USA March 8, 1990
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0198161808
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0198161806
• Book Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 14.1 ounces

Product Review

"One of the most important publications of post-war English musicographyits honesty, its individualism, and its empiricism reflect the best intellectual traditions of English literature."--Music and Letters


Product Description
First published in 1959, this original study argues that the main characteristic of music is that it expresses and evokes emotion, and that all composers whose music has a tonal basis have used the same, or closely similar, melodic phrases, harmonies, and rhythms to affect the listener in the same ways. He supports this view with hundreds of musical examples, ranging from plainsong to Stravinsky, and contends that music is a language in the specific sense that we can identify idioms and draw up a list of meanings. The book's final section analyzes two symphonies, Mozart's Fortieth and Vaughan Williams's Sixth, to explore the nature of musical inspiration and the process whereby the notes actually convey emotion from composer to listener.

Reader Reviews
What gives music its meaning... is music akin to pure mathematics, to language... how do composers use forms and sounds to convey emotions, pictures and ideas and what are the basic idioms that are used to express those ideas in western music ? When the book was first suggested to me, based on theme, I was expecting something "wishy washy" and not too keen on it, but for some reason I decided to give it a go, since it touches on one of my areas of reasearch. In the end it turned out to be one of those books that really got the old nogen brewing - - a book that sometimes you have to put down because it really gets your brain going or that if you read it before bedtime, you might wake up at 3:00 AM thinking about stuff he said ! - - Musicians as well as music lovers will appreciate it. You'll need to brush up on (or learn) basic music theory, however, it will be worth the effort... it might even change the way you hear your favorite symphony or music in general forever ! Comment | | (Report this)