The Land without Music: Music Education in England 1800-1860 and its Continental Antecedents

First published 1967, long out of print, and now reprinted in full by kind permission of Novello and company, this book fills a gap that has long existed. It is the outcome of serious scholarly research, fully documented. More than a book about musical education, it is also a social history of education; yet always the general, social and educational references are related to the main theme - singing from symbols. Various methods are described and the author shows how these interact, ending with that agent of synthesis John Curwen. Everyone who teaches music, or is training to teach music, should read it. Salutary reading for anyone who thinks he or she has a new idea.