Strunk's Source Readings in Music History: The Baroque Era

Though traditionally labeled "Baroque," the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in music could as easily be termed "early modern," since many of the genres that are popular today―were established during that time.

And as music itself was becoming more and more of a public affair, discussions and writings about music increased greatly. In The Baroque Era, Margaret Murata presents twoscore readings from a constellation of personalities whose thoughts and opinions help define the period for us. We hear, of course, from the composers (Monteverdi, Schütz, Rameau, Bach) and the theorists (Artusi, Simpson, North, Mattheson), but we also find the words of nonmusicians, ranging from the famous (Joseph Addison, Lady Mary Montagu) to the unknown "Truthful Reporter."

Leo Treitler, Distinguished Professor of Music at the City University of New York, is the author of Music and the Historical Imagination, as well as other books and articles on music historiography and medieval music.