The Language of Music

by Deryck Cooke

Book Overview

First published in 1959, this original study argues that the main characteristic of music is that it expresses and evokes emotion, and that all composers whose music has a tonal basis have used the same, or closely similar, melodic phrases, harmonies, and rhythms to affect the listener in the same ways. He supports this view with hundreds of musical examples, ranging from plainsong to Stravinsky, and contends that music is a language in the specific...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198161808
• ISBN13: 9780198161806
• Release Date: March 1990
• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"