The Oxford History Of Western Music, Volume 1: ... -

Richard Taruskin’s The Oxford History of Western Music, Volume 1: The Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century recontextualizes Western music history as a human-driven, sociological evolution rather than a simple progression of styles. By focusing on the impact of written notation, Taruskin explores how the shift from oral to literate traditions allowed for complex polyphony and reflected broader power dynamics in church and state.