The Book of Musical Knowledge


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

This book has been planned with a view to placing before the general reader the main facts that will enable him to appreciate music intelligently. One often hears the remark, "I’m fond of music, but I don’t understand it." The present work has been written with the idea of enabling the non-musician to comprehend the real meaning of the tonal art, and to familiarize himself with the value of the great composers’ works, the use of the instruments, the various musical forms, and a number of subjects of similar importance.

At the same time, certain other technical topics have been included. While these have been presented in such a way as to be understood by the non-musician, they have been given with sufficient thoroughness to make the work useful also as a textbook. It is therefore fitted to the needs of students and teachers, as well as amateurs. An effort has been made to condense the chief points of a general musical education into a single volume. While this book should prove of interest to the average reader, a course of study has been added, which will make it suitable for use in high schools or colleges also, or in any institution that aims to give a course in the understanding of music. - Summary by Preface

NOTE: As with all historical texts, the language used in this volume should be interpreted within the context of the entire work and the cultural context of its publication. (23 hr 42 min)

Chapters

Primitive and Savage Music 23:52 Read by Gillian Hendrie
Greece and Rome 24:51 Read by LadyBirdD
Early Christian Music 19:36 Read by LuellaMargaret
The Minstrel Knights 23:11 Read by Ben Ellis
The Schools of Counterpoint 31:08 Read by Beeswaxcandle
The Harmonic Style 19:40 Read by Ben Ellis
Bach 25:54 Read by Andrew Mauls Byron
Handel 18:03 Read by tshoes76
Gluck 15:59 Read by John Leloup
Haydn 17:19 Read by Julie Anne Thompson
Mozart 23:55 Read by tshoes76
Beethoven 32:58 Read by Jane Park
Schubert 22:16 Read by jenno
Weber and Romanticism 17:09 Read by Gillian Hendrie
Mendelssohn 19:50 Read by John Leloup
Schumann 20:55 Read by Chuck Lavazzi
Chopin 22:00 Read by Jane Park
Italian Opera 32:15 Read by Chuck Lavazzi
Cherubini and French Opera 23:38 Read by Chuck Lavazzi
Berlioz and Other Frenchmen 22:37 Read by Jennifer Wilson
Liszt and his Circle 24:49 Read by Jane Park
From Glinka to Tschaikovsky 29:00 Read by Olga10K
Wagner and his Reforms 36:11 Read by Michael Fassio
Brahms and the Symphonists 23:19 Read by LadyBirdD
Grieg and the Northern Countries 22:57 Read by Julie Anne Thompson
Strauss and Recent Germans 35:48 Read by John Leloup
Franck and Modern France 27:40 Read by Chuck Lavazzi
The Russian School 26:01 Read by Douglas Wood
Other European Nations 53:39 Read by Julie Anne Thompson
America 44:55 Read by Douglas Wood
Melody and Appreciation 20:06 Read by Jane Park
Figures and Phrases 19:02 Read by Jane Park
The Song-Forms 16:09 Read by Jennifer Wilson
The Rondos 12:57 Read by PaulGrancio
The Sonata-Allegro Form 14:36 Read by Andrew Mauls Byron
Other Sonata Movements 11:17 Read by Julie Anne Thompson
The Orchestral Forms 12:05 Read by Douglas Wood
Dances and Piano Styles 24:04 Read by Douglas Wood
The Vocal Forms 14:47 Read by Cathy S.
The Contrapunctual Forms 24:22 Read by Lori Arsenault
The Piano and its Predecessors 20:04 Read by Louis Hehman
The Organ 19:17 Read by Adrian Stephens
The Voice 19:13 Read by Tim Rowe
The Violin 21:55 Read by Julie Anne Thompson
Other Bowed Instruments 17:04 Read by Douglas Wood
Pluck-String Instruments 16:02 Read by LuellaMargaret
Flute and Piccolo 17:08 Read by ShrimpPhish
Oboe and English Horn 16:23 Read by Lori Arsenault
The Bassoons 14:11 Read by ShrimpPhish
The Clarinets 13:25 Read by Mythili
Horns, Trumpets and Cornets 15:46 Read by Gillian Hendrie
Trombones and Tubas 11:46 Read by Douglas Wood
Instruments of Percussion 15:55 Read by dporter3744
Some Famous Pianists 24:53 Read by Louis Hehman
Some Famous Singers 24:29 Read by jenno
Violinists and Violin Music 18:14 Read by Arnav Darnal
Orchestration 11:59 Read by CaptainWedlly
Conducting 16:23 Read by Cathy S.
Acoustics 36:08 Read by Andrew Mauls Byron
How to Read Music Part 1 1:00:44 Read by lightcrystal
How to Read Music Part 2 20:56 Read by lightcrystal
Appendix: Important Music Terms 39:38 Read by AliceStein