Howard Goodall's Big Bangs

"In this series I'm going to look at five of the great breakthroughs that European music has experienced in its extraordinary history; five momentous discoveries. I also want to show what they mean to us today, at a time when so-called classical music is being absorbed into a much bigger mainstream and when its 1,000-year reign seems to be coming to a close." HOWARD GOODALL

With intriguing anecdotes and witty humour, composer Howard Goodall presents five innovations in European musical history, which have overwhelmingly changed its course:

NOTATION: the journey from plain chant in medieval times to symphonic works and improvisation

EQUAL TEMPERAMENT (a universal tuning, scale and key system): from the discoveries of Pythagoras to J.S. Bach

OPERA: where music interfaces with real life with love, death and politics

THE PIANO: this versatile instrument is unique to European culture.

RECORDED SOUND: from Caruso to world music and sampling

"It's fascinating stuff, brilliantly presented."
- The Australian

"This is the very best thing on television. It is utterly brilliant."
- The Sunday Times

An exceptionally fine example of fascinating music history presented by an engaging host with a disarming sense of humor (who is also skilled at making difficult technical concepts accessible), Howard Goodalls Big Bangs is highly recommended.
- Video Librarian

Written and Presented by Howard Goodall

Please visit
http://www.kultur.com/Howard-Goodalls-Big-Bangs-p/d4334.htm
for more information on this program

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Howard Goodall
• European music
• five innovations
• musical history
• NOTATION
• EQUAL TEMPERAMENT
• OPERA
• THE PIANO
• RECORDED SOUND
• technical concepts

[Koenigholtz]

Equal temperament is a compromise of the more consonant sound of just tuning. Over time many different such compromises have been tried. Many of these compromises are subjective and difficult to define objectively.

If an ensemble tunes to a tempered scale whose instruments while playing have the ability to change the pitch of individual notes, even slightly, they will tend to drift toward just tuning.

[partialalignment]

Howard used to believe in this myth, but in his book: Big Bangs, he gives details of well-temperaments used during Bach's time. Equal temperament has served to limit our enjoyment of baroque and classical music, but at least, the use of unequal temperaments is on the increase. Thank God!

[latribe]

"EQUAL TEMPERAMENT (a universal tuning, scale and key system): from the discoveries of Pythagoras to J.S. Bach" - The assertion that J S Bach had much, if anything, to do with equal temperament is a myth, and wrong. Bach composed for the "Well tempered", not the "Equal tempered" Klavier and the perpetuation of this myth is responsible for the terrible elimination of character or colour of different keys. It is responsible for classical music having become boring. See videos of Adolfo Barabino

[PheonixOfAshes]

The song that starts at 0:23 is there a name for it?

[ken131]

I have the DVD, and I love it! It's a must have for any serious music lover!