The Story of Music
- Author Howard Goodall
- Narrator Howard Goodall
- Publisher Random House
- Run Time 12 hours and 36 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Music, Popular culture, Theory of music and musicology.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- £7.99
- £6.99
- £5.99
- £4.99
- £3.99
Listen to a sample
What to expect
*** Accompanies BBC2's major new TV series and The Story of Music in 50 Pieces on Radio 3 ***
Music is an intrinsic part of everyday life, and yet the history of its development from single notes to multi-layered orchestration can seem bewilderingly specialised and complex.
In his dynamic tour through 40,000 years of music, from prehistoric instruments to modern-day pop, Howard Goodall does away with stuffy biographies, unhelpful labels and tired terminology. Instead he leads us through the story of music as it happened, idea by idea, so that each musical innovation – harmony, notation, sung theatre, the orchestra, dance music, recording, broadcasting – strikes us with its original force. He focuses on what changed when and why, picking out the discoveries that revolutionised man-made sound and bringing to life musical visionaries from the little-known Pérotin to the colossus of Wagner. Along the way, he also gives refreshingly clear descriptions of what music is and how it works: what scales are all about, why some chords sound discordant and what all post-war pop songs have in common.
The story of music is the story of our urge to invent, connect, rebel – and entertain. Howard Goodall’s beautifully clear and compelling account is both a hymn to human endeavour and a groundbreaking map of our musical journey.
Critics Review
-
A lively zip through some 45 milennia
Sunday Times -
Goodall is an engaging and erudite guide and this work is both accessible and illuminating
Daily Express -
Great length but still leavened with lively wit
Telegraph -
[Goodall] knows his stuff, and tells it well
Guardian -
Highly knowledgeable, and a brilliant communicator, Goodall has an infectious enthusiasm and is genuinely respectful of all forms of music
Good Book Guide
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