Music in the Galant Style Reprint Edition

by Robert Gjerdingen (Author)

39 ratings

Frequently bought together

Job IJzerman
41
Paperback
23 offers from $31.76
Giorgio Sanguinetti
48
Hardcover
19 offers from $61.49
John J. Mortensen
63
Paperback
21 offers from $25.21
Robert O. Gjerdingen
23
Hardcover
24 offers from $25.93
Nicholas Baragwanath
9
Hardcover
22 offers from $56.24
Peter Schubert
32
Spiral-bound
25 offers from $86.69

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A path-breaking work in musical analysis. Professor Gjerdingen opens the doors into the compositional studios of the 18th century, showing us how characteristic idioms within the galant style that formed a lingua franca among musicians across Europe can be modeled-and easily replicated--by a small
number of recurring voice-leading 'schema.' Richly illustrated with diverse musical examples and eye-catching graphics, this remarkable and original study will prove invaluable to all analysts and historians of 18th century music."-Thomas Christensen, Professor of Music, University of
Chicago

"Gjerdingen's study promises to reframe nearly all the work that scholars have lavished on compositional practice in the eighteenth century by answering a question that no one seems to have asked before now - how were eighteenth-century composers (Italian-born and Italian-trained composers above
all) able to produce such massive quantities of music in such a broad spectrum of genres, and to do so with both facility and taste?"--Thomas Bauman, Professor of Musicology, Northwestern University

"After reading this text, I came away believing that I had learned much that was new, that I had significantly refined my hearing of galant style, and that I had developed a greater appreciation of music that is generally unfamiliar but deserving of greater performance. One can hardly ask more from
any book!"-- William E. Caplin, Professor of Music Theory, McGill University

"A path-breaking work in musical analysis. Professor Gjerdingen opens the doors into the compositional studios of the 18th century, showing us how characteristic idioms within the galant style that formed a lingua franca among musicians across Europe can be modeled-and easily replicated--by a small
number of recurring voice-leading 'schema.' Richly illustrated with diverse musical examples and eye-catching graphics, this remarkable and original study will prove invaluable to all analysts and historians of 18th century music."-Thomas Christensen, Professor of Music, University of
Chicago

"Gjerdingen's study promises to reframe nearly all the work that scholars have lavished on compositional practice in the eighteenth century by answering a question that no one seems to have asked before now - how were eighteenth-century composers (Italian-born and Italian-trained composers above
all) able to produce such massive quantities of music in such a broad spectrum of genres, and to do so with both facility and taste?"--Thomas Bauman, Professor of Musicology, Northwestern University

"After reading this text, I came away believing that I had learned much that was new, that I had significantly refined my hearing of galant style, and that I had developed a greater appreciation of music that is generally unfamiliar but deserving of greater performance. One can hardly ask more from
any book!"-- William E. Caplin, Professor of Music Theory, McGill University

"Music in the galant style must count, both in 18th-century music studies and in music theory, as one of the most significant publications of recent decades."--Early Music

About the Author

Robert Gjerdingen is Professor of Music at Northwestern University's School of Music

Start reading Music in the Galant Style on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (November 15, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0190095814
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0190095819
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.69 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.9 x 1 x 8.4 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #205,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #138 in Music (Books)
- #378 in Music History & Criticism (Books)

Customer Reviews:
39 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		80%
4 star		13%
3 star		7%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Noetica

Great book, poor book design

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2017

Verified Purchase

A useful, refreshing, and original account of 18th-century compositional practice. I use it to enhance my own understanding and writing of music, and warmly recommend it to others. Still, four stars not five.
There are small errors that copyediting and checking should have picked up (Riepel appears as Reipel at least once, etc.). But that's common enough.
The general index would be better with more secondary entries and cross-referencing. Why not an entry for "hemiola cadence" (like the one for "Cudworth cadence"), which turns up only under "cadence"? The first occurrence of that recherché term occurs in analysis of a minuet by Somis on pages 74 and 76 – but that use is neither explained there nor indexed. Are there other occurrences, elsewhere? I don't know. The term is only indexed for page 168, where it is defined well enough. Why not a direct reference on page 74 to the explanation on page 168? Instead we are sent on one of too many goose chases that the book will impose on the diligent and attentive reader.
Not least among inconveniences is the small font chosen for the main text and all auxiliaries. Many will struggle to locate or identify the exiguous flyspeck endnote markers in particular. And then, where are those endnotes anyway? They begin, we find, on page 481 – sandwiched between two appendixes and two indexes. Fine, you say: keep a bookmark at the relevant point in the endnotes. Not fine, say I: what if I am merely consulting the book rather than reading it continuously? More generally, what's the POINT of such a cumbersome system? Here the notes are mainly just bibliographical. But I need to thumb through to check every time, so I can be sure of capturing what could turn out to be important even if I'm dipping into this book as an aside while reading another.
These and similar features of design mar the book, and make for inefficient transmission of knowledge. Publishers note: We want to take the fruit of your authors' labour seriously; but your designers are not immersed in that task as we are. More insight into our plight, please! As for endnotes, I advise against them in nearly all cases. If there must be notes, why not have footnotes (trivially easy to maintain as a book is evolved, these days)? We can then see immediately, at a glance to the bottom of the page, whether the addition is substantive or a mere reference. It should not be beyond the wit of publishers to help us like this, as Norton do in Daniel Heartz's huge Music in European Capitals: The Galant Style, 1720–1780 (recommended to be read along with this book).
I agree also with Olli Väisälä's reservations (Amazon review, 3 October 2012). Sometimes Gjerdingen's analysis seems forced and doctrinaire. A schema is sometimes "imposed" where another reading – even one using this author's own stock of resources – seems at least as viable.
If you love the 18th century and want deep insights into its music, buy this book. Patience gets rewarded.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

The-musican92

Overpriced but brilliant analysis.

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2016

Verified Purchase

I already have read the book, but needed my own copy. A problem I had is even if it is digital I had a huge price to pay to buy this. As a student shouldn't I show my student ID to verify that I'm a student and get a reduction? In physical copy I would have payed twice.
However, this book is excellent in understanding the whole of the 18th century and the very early 19th century up to 1835 really. It's not hard to follow and music theorist or not musical at all you could very easily find yourself among the cultivated ears listening other worthy composers that are put in this compendium of extracts. I like the structure and someone who tries to sell non musicians on my era of music, it really outlines properly how to understand basic music of the period and see how our favourite pieces of music have ended up working with nice examples, and brilliant rhetoric. The book itself is 5 stars, helped me immensely the price deducts 2 stars as students should be eligible for reduction

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Hastivibrax

Looking for Monte, Ponte, and Fonte

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

After checking out this book from the local music library -- several times -- I decided that I'd like my own copy. There are many musical examples and explanations which are useful if one aspires to compose or improvise "like Mozart." The chapters in the book are mostly about individual schema -- those characteristic chord and melody patterns that recur often enough to be given names. In today's jazz style one might talk about, for example, a song with several II-V progressions descending chromatically. In the Galant style discussed in the book, one might talk about an aria's Romanesca or point out the Monte, Ponte, or Fonte (with their descriptive, rhyming names). The author's companion website is also a great help and provides audio examples and edited partimenti.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Nikhil Hogan

Life changing book

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2019

Verified Purchase

For someone who studied traditional tonal harmony and even "Jazz" harmony, this book really was a revelation.

I can't imagine the painstaking research that went into this to find all these recurring patterns and be able to concisely assemble them. It's really brilliant work. If you are interested in Partimento, it's a no-brainer to have this. It's probably the very first book you should buy on the subject.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

G. Buschbeck

Great, informative read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

Fantastic book and I’d recommend to anyone who is interested in compositional techniques of the 18th century

basilvalentine

excellent book but beware of print-on-demand

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

excellent book but be aware it will be print-on-demand (£55 is a high price to pay for what is essentially a photocopy !)

S W

worth it!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2017

Verified Purchase

Great Book - I was almost put off by the price (I don't usually buy academic publications like this) but it is 100% worth it. Lots of practical information that can be easily applied and lots of insights into listening to the style.

100% worth it

One person found this helpful

Peter Harrison

Becomes a bit of a catalogue

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2015

Verified Purchase

A good read, though the book soon becomes more of a catalogue of musical observations than a discourse, and I found myself skimming as I got further in.

2 people found this helpful

Michael Rissling

A must read for those who wish to understand Baroque and early Classical music.

Reviewed in Canada on July 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is one of the most useful books you will ever read regarding the structure of historical music. If you wish to improvise or compose in the style of the high Baroque, it is an essential read.

One person found this helpful

See all reviews

Music in the Galant Style Reprint Edition

Buy used: $35.38

Buy new: $39.70

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy used:

$35.38

Buy new:

$39.70