A History of Singing

From its prehistoric past to its multicultural present, this history examines singing as a historical and universal phenomenon.

John Potter (Author), Neil Sorrell (Author)

9781107630093, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 February 2014

358 pages
22.6 x 15 x 2.3 cm, 0.52 kg

'… bristles with facts. Though written for the expert, it is equally accessible to the amateur alto.' The Economist

Why do we sing and what first drove early humans to sing? How might they have sung and how might those styles have survived to the present day? This history addresses these questions and many more, examining singing as a historical and cross-cultural phenomenon. It explores the evolution of singing in a global context - from Neanderthal Man to Auto-tune via the infinite varieties of world music from Orient to Occident, classical music from medieval music to the avant-garde and popular music from vaudeville to rock and beyond. Considering singing as a universal human activity, the book provides an in-depth perspective on singing from many cultures and periods: Western and non-Western, prehistoric to present. Written in a lively and entertaining style, the history contains a comprehensive reference section for those who wish to explore the topic further and will appeal to an international readership of singers, students and scholars.

Introduction
Part I. Imagined Voices: Mythology and Muses
Part II. Historical Voices: 1. The genesis of the Western tradition
2. The emerging soloist and the primacy of text
3. The age of the virtuoso
4. The nineteenth-century revolution
Part III. Recorded Voices: 5. A great tradition: singing through history - history through singing
6. Classical singing in the twentieth century: recording and retrenchment
7. Post-classical: beyond the mainstream
8. The emancipation of the popular voice
9. Sung and unsung: singers and songs of the non English-speaking world
Part IV. Sources and Reference: 10. Sources
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Theory of music & musicology [AVA], Music [AV]