A comprehensive chronological survey traces music from its supposed origins and ancient practices through medieval notation and mensural systems, the trouvère and troubadour traditions, and the Ars nova to Renaissance developments. It examines the rise of liturgical and secular forms, the emergence of opera and its national expressions, Protestant musical reform and key composers of the Baroque and Classical eras, the evolution of monodic singing and instrumental music, nineteenth-century reforms and Romantic movements, and the formation of national schools. The final sections consider contemporary trends of the author's day and discuss singers, virtuosi, and writers on musical subjects.