Howard Goodall's "Story of Music".

bob_32_116 · 04-01-2016, 07:52 AM

I thoroughly recommend this six-part series, which I learned about on another music forum. It apparently aired on the BBC a couple of years ago.

It is no longer accessible from the BBC site, but all the episodes appear to be available on Youtube. I probably cannot post links yet, and in any case there is little point in my doing so since it's just as easy to use your own favourite search engine (Note that I avoid using the 'G' word).

What I like about him is that he discusses the history and nature of music, rather than obsessing about genres. For example, in one particular episode all the following get a mention: Vivaldi, Corelli, Purcell, Procol Harum, the Moody Blues and Keane. He reminds us that, astonishingly when you think about it, "In centuries gone by the average person might quite easily go weeks without hearing any music at all. Even in the 19th century, if you were lucky you might hear your favourite symphony four or five times in your lifetime." How different that is from 2016, when music is everywhere you go, some might say there is too much of it and for most of us the problem is not how to get to hear music but how to filter out all the music we don't want to hear.

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Edit: Thanks to Black_Francis for locating this link to the playlist for the whole series:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0Y6...NQ8lihO--M1J99

04-01-2016, 07:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
bob_32_116 Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: 32S 116E Posts: 324	Howard Goodall's "Story of Music". I thoroughly recommend this six-part series, which I learned about on another music forum. It apparently aired on the BBC a couple of years ago. It is no longer accessible from the BBC site, but all the episodes appear to be available on Youtube. I probably cannot post links yet, and in any case there is little point in my doing so since it's just as easy to use your own favourite search engine (Note that I avoid using the 'G' word). What I like about him is that he discusses the history and nature of music, rather than obsessing about genres. For example, in one particular episode all the following get a mention: Vivaldi, Corelli, Purcell, Procol Harum, the Moody Blues and Keane. He reminds us that, astonishingly when you think about it, "In centuries gone by the average person might quite easily go weeks without hearing any music at all. Even in the 19th century, if you were lucky you might hear your favourite symphony four or five times in your lifetime." How different that is from 2016, when music is everywhere you go, some might say there is too much of it and for most of us the problem is not how to get to hear music but how to filter out all the music we don't want to hear. _________________ Edit: Thanks to Black_Francis for locating this link to the playlist for the whole series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0Y6...NQ8lihO--M1J99 Last edited by bob_32_116; 04-01-2016 at 12:19 PM.