A Complete History of Music / for Schools, Clubs, and Private Reading

W. J. Baltzell

A Complete History of Music for Schools, Clubs, and Private Reading by W. J. Baltzell is a comprehensive and accessible guide that traces the entire arc of music history—from ancient civilizations to the dawn of modern composition. Designed for educational use, this book provides structured, lesson-by-lesson coverage of musical development, styles, instruments, forms, and great composers, making it a perfect resource for schools, music appreciation clubs, and self-learners. Covering everything from the music of ancient Chinese, Babylonian, and Greek cultures, to the rise of Gregorian chant and the flowering of the polyphonic era, Baltzell then leads readers through the evolution of Western music in Italy, Germany, France, and beyond. Detailed lessons explore key movements such as the development of opera, the art of organ and piano music, the emergence of national schools (Russian, Bohemian, Scandinavian, American), and profiles of major composers like Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, and Wagner. With 60 lessons, this meticulously arranged book blends historical depth with pedagogical clarity. It is particularly valuable for high school and college music courses, amateur music study groups, and any reader seeking a structured understanding of how music evolved across time and geography. The scope and sequencing of topics ensure that even complex subjects like the sonata, symphonic poem, and national schools are explained with clarity and cohesion.

Table of contents

• PREFACE.
• LESSON I. Music of the Chinese, Japanese and Hindoos.
• LESSON III. Music of the Greeks: Scales.
• LESSON IV. Music of the Greeks (Concluded).
• LESSON V. Ecclesiastical System.
• LESSON VII. Music Outside the Church.
• LESSON VIII. The Causes of Polyphonic Development and the Importance of the Polyphonic Era.
• LESSON IX. The Paris School.
• LESSON X. The Gallo-Belgic School.
• LESSON XI. The English School.
• LESSON XII. The School of the Netherlands.
• LESSON XIII. The Italian School.
• LESSON XVI. The Organ, Organ Playing and Organ Music.
• LESSON XVII. The Beginning of the Opera.
• LESSON XVIII. The Oratorio. Development of the Opera.
• LESSON XIX. Alessandro Scarlatti and the Neapolitan School.
• LESSON XX. Singing and Singers.
• LESSON XXI. Opera in France and England.
• LESSON XXII. The Opera in Germany. Handel and Gluck.
• LESSON XXIII. Mozart to Rossini.
• LESSON XXV. The Evolution of the Pianoforte.
• LESSON XXVI. The Early Italian Clavier Composers.
• LESSON XXVIII. The German Polyphonic Clavier School.
• LESSON XXIX. The German Sonata Composers, to Haydn.
• LESSON XXX. Franz Joseph Haydn.
• LESSON XXXI. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• LESSON XXXII. Ludwig van Beethoven.
• LESSON XXXIII. Beethoven and the Sonata.
• LESSON XXXIV. The Violin and its Makers.
• LESSON XXXV. Violin Playing and Violin Music.
• LESSON XXXVI. The Orchestra and Absolute Music.
• LESSON XXXVII. The Romantic Opera. Weber, Spohr, Marschner.
• LESSON XXXVIII. The French School of the XIXth Century.
• LESSON XXXIX. The Italian School of the XIXth Century.
• LESSON XL. Richard Wagner’s Music Dramas. Other Schools.
• LESSON XLI. Piano Playing and Composition: Clementi to Field.
• LESSON XLII. Franz Peter Schubert.
• LESSON XLIII. Weber. Mendelssohn.
• LESSON XLIV. Robert Schumann.
• LESSON XLV. Frederic Chopin.
• LESSON XLVII. Pianists and Teachers Since Liszt. I.
• LESSON XLVIII. Pianists and Teachers Since Liszt. II.
• LESSON XLIX. The Art-Song. Oratorio after Mendelssohn.
• LESSON L. The Symphonic Poem in Germany.
• LESSON LI. German Opera Since Wagner.
• LESSON LII. Old and New Schools in France.
• LESSON LIII. Musical Regeneration in Italy.
• LESSON LIV. England and the Netherlands.
• LESSON LV. National Schools: Bohemia and Scandinavia.
• LESSON LVI. The Russian School.
• LESSON LVII. Music in the United States.
• LESSON LVIII. American Composers: Works in Large Instrumental Forms.
• LESSON LIX. American Composers: Vocal Forms; Piano and Organ.—Musical Literature.
• LESSON LX. Musical Education.