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The Larousse Encyclopedia of Music
Geoffrey Hindley (editor)
The *Larousse Encyclopedia of Music* is a single-volume reference of the old, ambitious kind—an attempt to survey the whole story of music, from antiquity and the non-Western traditions through the medieval, Baroque, Classical, and modern eras, in one richly illustrated book. Edited by Geoffrey Hindley and derived from the French scholarship associated with Norbert Dufourcq, with an introduction by the broadcaster and composer Antony Hopkins, it first reached English readers in the early 1970s. Alongside its narrative history it offers entries on instruments, forms, and composers, plus color plates, glossaries, and an index. It is the sort of handsome, comprehensive volume libraries once kept close and browsers still enjoy. Newer references have surpassed it on detail, but for a coherent, well-written overview of music's development—and for its illustrations—it holds up as a pleasure to dip into.
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The editor
Geoffrey Hindley edited the English-language Larousse Encyclopedia of Music, adapting Continental scholarship (the French Larousse tradition, associated with the musicologist Norbert Dufourcq) for anglophone readers. The introduction comes from Antony Hopkins, the composer and much-loved BBC broadcaster whose Talking About Music made him a familiar guide to the subject for a general audience.
The book
It is an encyclopedia in the narrative sense: rather than a dictionary of short entries, it tells the story of music chronologically and geographically, from ancient and non-Western musics through the great European periods to the twentieth century, with substantial treatment of instruments, forms, and composers. Sixty color plates, black-and-white illustrations, glossaries, a reading list, and an index round it out.
How it has aged
Reference works date, and specialists now reach for larger, continually updated dictionaries. But as a single, coherent, well-illustrated overview—the kind of book you read for pleasure as much as consult—it remains rewarding, and its illustrations give it lasting appeal.
For more context
Readers wanting depth can move to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians; those wanting Hopkins's voice can seek out his own listening guides.
Sources - Amazon listing - Biblio
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Geoffrey Hindley (editor)
- Publisher
- World Publishing / Hamlyn
- Place of publication
- London
- Year
- 1971
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Music
- Location
- Colorado