Anthology for Musical Analysis [Spiral-bound]

Charles Burkhart (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0030553180 | ISBN-13: 978-0030553189 | Publication Date: 1994 | Edition: 5th

Suitable for classes in music theory, analysis or music literature, or as a supplementary to harmony courses, this chronologically arranged anthology contains the scores of more than 200 complete musical compositions. Covering the time periods from the Middle Ages to the present, the Fifth Edition is adaptable to all types of curriculum. Features: * Groups composition in five sections - Medieval and Renaissance Music, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern compositions. * Contains two extensive indexes that locate within the music many examples of standard technical phenomena, such as chords, forms, modulations and serial techniques. * Represents many different forms and genres, including sonata form, rondo, small binary and ternary forms, variations and fugue. * Includes both elementary and advanced examples within each group of examples devoted to a single form. * Presents a number of media, including Gregorian chants, polyphonic vocal works, movements for chamber works, and orchestral movements. * Focuses on selections for the keyboard but also features 15 different non-keyboard instruments. * Provides 37 20th-century works by 22 composers. * Offers prefaces to each of the five main sections, and introductions precede each piece, providing historical background and references for the work. New to this edition: * Introduces 16 composers to this edition. * Includes nine new genres. * Devotes a separate section to jazz. * Illustrates improvisation with examples from the mid-17th through the 20th centuries. * Provides a graded list of excerpts for practicing score reading at the keyboard.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"We have tried other (anthologies) over the years, but always come back to Burkhart's."

"I find the Burkhart Anthology is perfectly suited for the undergraduate theory sequence. It has a wide scope of pieces that are well-chosen for formal attributes, chord vocabularies, historical styles ... including many 20th-century selections." ... "(The introductory comments to the musical selections) are very useful, show excellent scholarship in their detail, and I have always appreciated the introductory material as the selections are brought to the class for discussion and analysis." ... "It is a better anthology for undergraduate theory than any other on the market now."

"The Burkhart Anthology remains clearly my first choice among anthologies for theory and analysis classes, ... I think of it as the standard by which I evaluate other anthologies." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 593 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Brace & Company; 5th edition (1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0030553180
• ISBN-13: 978-0030553189
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #608,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE basic music companion, December 21, 1999

By 

Ross Litman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anthology for Musical Analysis (Spiral-bound)

Dr. Burkhart has compiled a marvelous compendium of approachable music for analysis -- particularly of "common practice period" examples. In addition, he includes works, in increasing difficulty in that they start to lead away from various conventions of our Western ears' expectations. In sample or example, Burkhart leads us from Baroque tonality to the start of atonality through Wagner's "Tristan und Isole" and beyond. The scores are large enough to include easy reading (much "white" around the notes). The newer paper is more receptive to pencil marking. In addition, the binding has been improved since ? This is a must for the "classical" listener who reads music. It is a great companion for any analysis or form class.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended Anthology, October 27, 2005

By 

A. Castor "eldarinprincess" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Anthology for Musical Analysis (Spiral-bound)

I'm a student at the Peabody Conservatory, so I've used music anthologies for a few years now and I've found that Burkhart's Anthology for Musical Analysis (6th edition) is a praiseworthy version. Some comments from a student's point of view: the book is well organized, with relevant examples (including orchestral scores) and informative introductions to each of the five sections as well as to each musical example; the examples are easy to read and to mark up; it is spiral bound and, while easy to page through, is loose and rather heavy, making it a bit cumbersome to carry to class; my biggest complaint is about its exorbitant price-I don't know why these no-frills music books have to be so costly. But if you are looking for a good anthology and are willing to pay, Burkhart's is a terrific choice. Extra benefits include: two appendices, one with Jazz harmony and one with chorale harmonizations; translations of foreign terms; and two good indexes, one general and one of chords, sequences, and modulations.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific collection of pieces for study, November 19, 2005

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Anthology for Musical Analysis (Spiral-bound)

Of course, every piece of music can be analyzed and discussed. The problem for the teacher is to find pieces that will yield useful principles for students to learn through their early studies in form, harmony, and voice leading. Ideally, the pieces will be representative of the music of their period and of the principles under discussion. It really does the student no good to study a piece that is unique in the way it handles the principle being studied. On the other hand, the student must be able to discover the form, or harmonic example, or voice leading with the skills they are developing. So, the selection cannot be too sophisticated for its audience nor should the piece yield its treasure too easily. The student should have to work a bit in order to develop their analytic abilities.

This collection of pieces for study has been around for quite awhile with some alterations in its various editions. This is the sixth edition and remains a great collection. The pieces are from all periods from ancient to modern, there are pieces in all genres and ensemble types. Certainly, any teacher will likely supplement what is provided here with their own preferred pieces to illustrate certain points, but there is so much valuable stuff here that it will likely provide source material for several classes over a the years of undergraduate study. Burkhart also provides helpful notes and insightful questions at the head of pieces to help the student in thinking about that piece.

While I want to complement the publisher on the clarity of printing, and the vast majority of it is very good, I do wish that the few places where the bars for the sixteenth, thirty-second, and sixty-fourth notes run together that they were more careful to make them clear as well. Yes, this is not a performing edition and it is still clear what the music is, it is still disconcerting for musicians to try to read such blurry music. Can you imagine an anthology of, say, American poetry, being acceptable if the text were smeared just because it was kind of legible? But this is a smallish (but serious) point.

This anthology would be perfectly useable for someone studying form, harmony, and voice leading on their own, as well.

Fine anthology that has earned its place in the curriculum.