A concise history of Western music

Böcker. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. 2006.

Engaging, clear and informative, this is the story of Western music - of its great composers, its performers and listeners, and of the ever changing ideas of what music is and what it is for. Griffiths shows how music has evolved through the centuries, and suggests how musical evolution has reflected developments in history and culture. The book provides an introduction for students and beginners, using the minimum of technical terms, all straightforwardly defined in the glossary
Prehistory -- Part I. Time whole: 1. From Babylonians to Franks -- Part II. Time measured 1100-1400: 2. Troubadours and organists ; 3. Ars nova and Narcissus's clock -- Part III. Time sensed 1400-1630: 4. Harmony, the light of time ; 5. The radiance of the High Renaissance ; 6. Reformation and heartache ; 7. To speak in music -- Part IV. Time known 1630-1770: 8. Baroque mornings ; 9. Fugue, concerto and operatic passion ; 10. Rococo and reform -- Part V. Time embraced 1770-1815: 11. Sonata as comedy ; 12. Revolution's momentum -- Part VI. Time escaping 1815-1907: 13. The deaf man and the singer ; 14. Angels and other prodigies ; 15. New Germans and old Vienna; 16. Romantic evenings ; 17. Nightfall and sunrise -- Part VII. Time tangled 1908-1975: 18. To begin again ; 19. Forwards and backwards, and sideways ; 20. The people's needs ; 21. To begin again again ; 22. Whirlwind -- Part VIII. Time lost 1975- ; 23. Echoes in the labyrinth ; 24. Interlude -- Glossary -- Further reading and listening