The Great Works of Sacred Music

Western classical music is one of humanity’s most sublime artistic traditions. This musical language – encompassing genres from symphonic and instrumental music to choral works and opera – was created through the meeting of art and faith. The lineage of sacred works produced some of the greatest masterpieces in Western art and created the foundation of the Western musical canon.

Reviews

A good course, but with some errors and oversimplifications.
The series is good from a musicological perspective. The coverage of the music is good, as well as the biographies of some of the principal composers. However, I have a few principled criticisms: for a performer of these texts, the Latin is frequently incorrect, both in ecclesiastical pronunciation and when presented on screen. Secondly, there is no explanation of the development of sacred music in terms of the Gregorian Notation and its evolution into what we see today. Absolutely no consideration is given to the well researched fact that Gregorian Chant has its origins in earlier Christian useage, itself derived from the Jewish roots of Christianity. However, once out of the Middle Ages, he does a good job covering the development of music around the Reformation and the needs and desires of the Churches of that time.

Product Details

• Subtitles: English [CC]
• Audio languages: English