A Popular History Of The Art Of Music

W. S. B. Mathews

A Popular History of the Art of Music by W. S. B. Mathews is a landmark work that traces the development of music from its ancient origins to the Romantic period of the 19th century. Designed to be accessible to general readers and music students alike, this richly detailed and engagingly written volume unfolds the global and historical progression of musical expression, instruments, theory, and composition. The book is divided into five comprehensive parts: Book I explores music in ancient civilizations—Egypt, Assyria, Greece, India, China, and Japan. Book II discusses the transformation from medieval to early modern European music, highlighting key influences such as the minstrels, Saracens, early Christian Church, and polyphonic schools. Book III delves into the dawn of modern music, including the rise of opera, oratorio, instrumental freedom, and the Baroque period. Book IV presents the flowering of modern music, focusing on figures such as Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, while also exploring forms like the fugue and sonata. Book V covers the Romantic era, with in-depth discussions of virtuosity, opera, piano development, and great composers like Weber, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, and Schumann. Mathews not only outlines musical innovation but also weaves in historical, religious, and cultural influences, making this book a panoramic narrative of music's journey through time. It remains an essential resource for those wishing to understand the artistic, spiritual, and technical evolution of music from antiquity to modernity.

Table of contents

• A POPULAR HISTORY OF THE ART OF MUSIC
• PREFACE.
• INTRODUCTION.
• BOOK ONE CHAPTER I. MUSIC AMONG THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
• CHAPTER II. MUSIC AMONG THE HEBREWS AND ASSYRIANS.
• CHAPTER III. MUSIC AMONG THE ANCIENT GREEKS.
• CHAPTER IV. MUSIC IN INDIA, CHINA AND JAPAN.
• BOOK TWO The Apprentice Period of Modern Music.
• CHAPTER V. THE NATURE OF THE TRANSFORMATION, AND THE AGENCIES EFFECTING IT.
• CHAPTER VI. THE MINSTRELS OF THE NORTH.
• CHAPTER VII. THE ARABS OR SARACENS.
• CHAPTER VIII. ORIGIN OF THE GREAT FRENCH EPICS.
• CHAPTER IX.
• CHAPTER X. THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
• CHAPTER XI. THE DIDACTIC OF MUSIC FROM THE FIFTH CENTURY TO THE FOURTEENTH.
• CHAPTER XII. THE RISE OF POLYPHONY. OLD FRENCH AND GALLO-BELGIC SCHOOLS.
• CHAPTER XIII. THE SCHOOLS OF THE NETHERLANDS.
• CHAPTER XIV. POLYPHONIC SCHOOLS OF ITALY. PALESTRINA.
• CHAPTER XV. THE CHANGES IN MUSICAL NOTATION.
• CHAPTER XVI. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. THE VIOLIN, ORGAN, ETC.
• BOOK THREE THE Dawn of Modern Music. THE BEGINNING OF FREE EXPRESSION IN SONG, OPERA, ORATORIO AND FREE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC.
• CHAPTER XVII. CONDITION OF MUSIC AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
• CHAPTER XVIII. FIRST CENTURY OF ITALIAN OPERA AND DRAMATIC SONG.
• CHAPTER XIX.
• CHAPTER XX. THE PROGRESS OF ORATORIO.
• CHAPTER XXI.
• BOOK FOUR THE Flowering Time of Modern Music. BACH, HÄNDEL, HAYDN, MOZART, BEETHOVEN. THE FUGUE AND THE SONATA.
• CHAPTER XXII. GENERAL VIEW OF MUSIC IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
• CHAPTER XXIII. JOHN SEBASTIAN BACH.
• CHAPTER XXIV.
• CHAPTER XXV.
• CHAPTER XXVI.
• CHAPTER XXVII. BEETHOVEN AND HIS WORKS.
• CHAPTER XXVIII.
• CHAPTER XXIX.
• CHAPTER XXX. PIANO PLAYING AND VIRTUOSI; THE VIOLIN; TARTINI AND SPOHR.
• BOOK FIVE THE Period of the Romantic. WEBER, PAGANINI, SCHUBERT, BERLIOZ, MEYERBEER, MENDELSSOHN, SCHUMANN, CHOPIN, LISZT, WAGNER; THE VIRTUOSI; MUSIC OF THE FUTURE.
• CHAPTER XXXI. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, THE ROMANTIC; MUSIC OF THE FUTURE.
• CHAPTER XXXII.
• CHAPTER XXXIII. THE STORY OF THE PIANOFORTE.
• CHAPTER XXXIV. GERMAN OPERA; WEBER, MEYERBEER AND WAGNER.
• CHAPTER XXXV. VIRTUOSITY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY; PAGANINI; BERLIOZ; CHOPIN; LISZT.
• CHAPTER XXXVI.
• CHAPTER XXXVII.
• CHAPTER XXXVIII. FRENCH OPERATIC COMPOSERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
• CHAPTER XXXIX.