Review (PDF) Norton Anthology Of Western Music: Volume 1: Ancient To Baroque
This comprehensive collection of scores illustrates every significant trend and genre of Western music from antiquity to modern times, with a strengthened emphasis on twentieth-century music. The ideal companion to A History of Western Music, Seventh Edition, the Norton Anthology of Western Music, Fifth Edition, includes 172 historically significant scores, 71 of them new to this edition, with a strengthened emphasis on twentieth-century music.
Paperback: 742 pages
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company; 5th edition (July 7, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393979903
ISBN-13: 978-0393979909
Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 1 x 10 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #449,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #85 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Ballet & Dance #891 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Performing Arts > Music #1434 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > History & Criticism
This is the first volume of the Norton Anthology of Western Music Third Edition). It covers Music of the Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, while the second volume deals with Music from the Classical, Romantic Contemporary and Modern Periods. The book offers a selection of scores (86 in total) from several composers and it spans over a period of more than two millennia (earliest score from 408 B.C., latest from 1752 A.D.). The scores that are included are representative of most composers that made an impact through these two millennia (at least according to the editors): Leonin, Perotin, Machaut, Landini, Dunstable, Duffay, Ockeghem, Des Prez, Willaert, Gesualdo, Monteverdi, Dowland, Byrd, Palestrina, Luis de Victoria, Orlando di Lasso, Caccini, Peri, Gabrielli, Schutz, Froberger, Frescobaldi, Scarlati, Purcell, Buxtehude, Lully, Couperin, Corelli, Vivaldi, Rameau, J.S. Bach and G. F. Handel. In this volume, 60 eponymous composers (and several anonymous) are included. The only noticeable absence on a first reading of the index is perhaps that of Boccherini. However, given the restrictions of space that are inherent to any written medium, the Anthology still manages to remain quite comprehensive. On the other hand, very few, if any, comments or analyses of the scores are offered for each of the pieces (always following the music). Pieces that involve vocals (i.e. excerpts from operas, cantatas, masses) are supplemented with an English translation, besides the original text. The scores themselves are 'full' scores and not piano reductions. Naturally, this causes some scores that involve richer orchestration (i.e. the excerpt from Bach's B Minor Mass "Et expecto resurrectionem") to be printed in small fonts, which in turn may take its toll in the readability of the music.
As is typical with surveys of music written before 1800, this volume devotes way too little time and space to a period of music history spanning almost 2000 years, and yet volume two deovtes roughly the same amount of space to two hundred years of music history (ca. 1800-present). One gets the impression that a series of relatively inconsequential composers filled in the blanks until Bach and Handel, and that's grossly unfair not only to the composers of those works (and the works themselves), but also to those who wish to learn something about music written before Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi and Puccini.If you're looking to learn something about music written before 1800, stay away from these kinds of surveys and point yourself in the direction of books focused more on particular subject areas -- for example, James Anthony's book on French Baroque music and Gary Tomlinson's book "Monteverdi and the End of the Renaissance" provide lucid breakdowns for those new to these genres, as well as those who already have some background in the subject matter.There are a few books that are even more general than those I mentioned above but that still provide a clear outline of music from paricular eras. For example, Richard Hoppin's "Medieval Music" and the accompanying "Anthology of Medieval Music" is a fine place to begin a study of this period. Alan Atlas' "Renaissance Music: Music in Western Europe, 1400-1600", and Howard Mayer Brown's "Music in the Renaissance" (2nd Edition) are excellent surveys of the music of that period. For Baroque music, Claude Palisca's "Baroque Music" (3rd Edition) is a good primer, as is Manfred F. Bukofzer's "Music in the Baroque Era, from Monteverdi to Bach.
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