Product Description

This important and controversial book has come to be regarded as a modern classic. Originally published in 1959, it has exerted a profound influence on all subsequent discussion in the field of musical aesthetics. The author's thesis is that the main characteristic of music is to express and evoke emotion, and that all composers whose music has a tonal basis have used the same, or closely similar, melodic phrases, harmonies, and rhythms to express and evoke the same emotions. He supports this view with numerous musical examples, varying from plainsong to Stravinsky. Based on this evidence he argues that music is a language in the quite specific sense that idioms can be identified and a list of meanings compiled. While acknowledging that a 'dictionary' of the language of music cannot easily be provided, he attempts to supply what could at least be regarded as a 'phrase book'. The enlightening analysis of two complete symphonies by Mozart and Vaughan Williams demonstrates the expressive function of musical form, the latter being an element which the author considers inseparable from musical content.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52800 in Books
• Published on: 1989-11-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

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

Customer Reviews

Amazon's dodgy synopsis
Wow! Amazon has its synopsis severely mangled: "provides a broad study of optimization methods. It builds on the base of simple economic theory, elementary linear algebra and calculus, and reinforces each new mathematical idea by relating it to its economic application."
Forget that folks. Although the rest of the synopsis is probably correct. I've read the first section of a library copy of this book and feel that it's worth buying my own copy so that I can study it at leisure. Much of the book is concerned with how certain musical techniques convey particular emotions. I suspect that this book probably doesn't have much credence amongst modern musicologists but I think it would probably be valuable to most people interested in composing music or how music works, at least mainstream classical style music. I give it four stars rather than five because it is a little dated and it would be interesting to see how it fares in the light of modern opinion.

The Language of Music (Clarendon Paperbacks)
This is a truly wonderful piece of work. If I could have my wish, every performing musician would have a copy of this book on their shelves.