Music Explained to the World (1844)

An enlarged reissue of the first translation of Fétis' classic 1844 music text for the general public. While teaching at the Conservatoire Nationale de Musique in Paris Fétis extended the student curriculum by lecturing on wider musical topics. He also produced a music textbook for the general public at this time with the title Lamusique mise à la portée de tout le monde (1830). The book enjoyed a very wide circulation, was translated into most European languages and became the first influential treatise on "musical appreciation" in the wider sense of theterm. The first English version, enlarged by ten per cent, of this important book is reproduced here.