How Music Developed / A Critical and Explanatory Account of the Growth of Modern Music

Name: How Music Developed / A Critical and Explanatory Account of the Growth of Modern Music
Author: W. J. Henderson

By W. J. Henderson

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About This Book

The narrative traces the evolution of Western art music from medieval church chant and early modal scales through the emergence of notation, harmony, and counterpoint, showing how polyphony matured in church and secular traditions. It follows developments in instrumental practice and forms—the orchestra, chamber music, sonata, opera, and piano—treating technical advances in composition and performance, fingering, touch, and pedaling, and surveys influential composers and movements from Baroque contrapuntal masters through Classical clarity to Romantic expansion and the music drama. Throughout it emphasizes structural, theoretical, and practical changes that shaped modern musical language.

About the Author

W. J. Henderson

W. J. Henderson was an influential musicologist and critic known for his insightful writings on the development of music and its cultural significance. His notable works include "How Music Developed," which offers a critical examination of the evolution of modern music, and "Richard Wagner: His Life and His Dramas," a biographical study that delves into the life and contributions of the renowned composer. Henderson's scholarship also extends to the realms of opera and orchestral music, as seen in titles like "Some Forerunners of Italian Opera" and "The Orchestra and Orchestral Music." Through his writings, he has contributed significantly to the understanding of music's historical context and its artistic expressions.