Full Description
For virtually all of our lives, we are surrounded by music. From lullabies to radio to the praises sung in houses of worship, we encounter music at home and in the street, during work and in our leisure time, and not infrequently at birth and death. But what is music, and what does it mean to humans? How do we process it, and how do we create it?
Musician Leo Samama discusses these and many other questions while shaping a vibrant picture of music's importance in human lives both past and present. What is remarkable is that music is recognised almost universally as a type of language that we can use to wordlessly communicate. We can hardly shut ourselves off from music, and considering its primal role in our lives, it comes as no surprise that few would ever want to. Able to transverse borders and appeal to the most disparate of individuals, music is both a tool and a gift, and as Samama shows, a unifying thread running throughout the cultural history of mankind.
Contents
1. By way of a foreword Part A 2. Looking over Franz Schubert's shoulder 3. What is music? 4. Where does music come from? 5. Music as imitation 6. Music as language Part B 7. Bach: Prelude in C major 8. Music and communication 9. Music as notation 10. Music as a temporal art 11. Music and emotion 12. On depth and elevation Part C 13. Beethoven: the Fifth 14. Classical music 15. Hearing, listening and remembering 16. On composing Part D 17. Dvoøák and the Bohemian overcoat 18. A memorable moment 19. The conductor 20. The performing artist Part E 21. Lully: the King is dancing 22. As the ancients sang 23. The history of the history of music 24. By way of an epilogue: music now Further Reading Index of names About the author
