Description: This important book has come to be regarded as a modern classic. Originally published in 1959, it has exerted a profound influence on all subsequent discussion in the field of musical aesthetics. Deryck Cooke's thesis is that the fundamental characteristic of music is the expression and evocation of emotion. He argues that all composers whose music has a tonal basis have used the same, or closely similar, melodic phrases, harmonies, and rhythms to express and evoke the same emotions. He supports this view with numerous musical examples, ranging from plainsong to Stravinsky, and he argues that music is a language in the quite specific sense that idiom can be identified and a list of meanings compiled. While acknowledging that a 'dictionary' of the language of music cannot easily be provided, he here attempts to supply at least a 'phrase-book'.

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