This is the first volume of The Art of Music, an ambitious fourteen-volume encyclopaedic survey of the whole field of music produced in the early twentieth century by an array of distinguished contributors. The set aimed to present a comprehensive account of music’s history, theory, and practice for the serious reader.
This opening volume lays the groundwork for the series, treating the foundations of the art and the earliest stages of its development. Lavishly planned and authoritative in its day, the collection drew on leading scholars and musicians of the period. As part of a major reference work, the volume offers a substantial and well-organised introduction to the broad subject of music.