Twentieth Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice

This is one of the most important books on contemporary music to appear in this century.
Here for the first time is an orderly presentation of the harmonic procedures to be found in music of the first half of the twentieth century. Mr. Persichetti examines the nature of intervals in various con-texts, discusses the modes and other scales employed in modern music, describes the formation and uses of chords by thirds, by fourths, and by seconds, of added-note chords and polychords; he deals with different types of harmonic motion, with harmonic rhythm and dynamics and ornamentation, with harmonic behaviour in tonality, polytonality, atonality and * serial composition.
Mr. Persichetti’s style throughout reflects the composer’s lively creative approach to his material, his belief in the innate vitality of notes, in their dynamic qualities, their urges to move in one direction or another, their shaping in terms of specific performing media. Many musical examples, especially written, clearly illustrate the text.
Vincent Persichetti is one of America’s outstanding composers, whose works are regularly performed both in the U.S.A. and abroad. Over fifty of his compositions have been published, and his works have been recorded by the leading recording companies. He has been on the composition faculty of the Juilliard School of Music, New York, since 1948.