Germany has produced some of the best scholarly and encyclopedic projects for hundreds of years. One such set is the Musikgeschichte in Bildern [Music History in Pictures] series published by between 1961 and 1989. These books were assembled by some of the best European scholars of the time. So while the scholarship may be lost to most American readers, these volumes are still an incredible visual resource.
Series I - Musikethnologie = Music Ethnology
This project was divided into four series. The first one is focused on music ethnology, what is often called ethnomusicology. The volumes in this series capture the traditional music of various regions, often through photographs of musical performance and musical instruments. Those not knowing German lose a great deal in not following the descriptive text, but still gain a great deal through the vivid images. Our set is incomplete, but includes volumes on Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and South Pacific Islands), Native Americans, Southeast and South Asia and all regions of Africa.
source: Volume 1/4 South Asia - Famous North Indian Dhrupad singers Moinudden and Aminuddin Dagar, accompanied by Suraiya Dagar on the tanpura (photo: Gurmeet Singh)
Volume 1/1 Ozeanien = Oceania
Volume 1/2 Amerika: Eskimo und indianische Bevölkerung = Native American Inhabitants of America.
Volume 1/3 Südostasien = Southeast Asia
Volume 1/4 Südasien: Die indische Musik und ihre Traditionen = South Asia: Indian Music and its Traditions
Volume 1/8 Nordafrika = North Africa
Volume 1/9 Zentralafrika = Central Africa
Series II - Musik des Altertums = Music of Antiquity
The second series, Music of Antiquity presents images showing musical activity from the earliest civilizations that have left behind a visual record. These depictions of ancient musical life can only give us the dimmest sense of what this long-lost music sounded like.
source: Volume 2/2 Mesopotamia - A terracotta relief of a performance of an arched harp from the Old Babylonian era between ca. 1950-1530 BCE (in the Louvre)
Volume 2/1 Agypten = Egypt
Volume 2/2 Mesopotamien = Mesopotamia
Volume 2/4 Griechenland = Greece
Volume 2/5 Etrurien und Rom = The Etruscans and Rome
Volume 2/7 Alt-Amerika Musik der Indianer in präkolumbischer Zeit = Ancient American Music of the Pre-Columbian Indians
Volume 2/8 Altindien = Ancient India
Volume 2/9 Mittelasien = Central Asia
Series 3: Musik des Mittelalters und der Renaissance = Music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
The third series presents the earliest musical notations of the West and images of European music-making taken from paintings and drawings.
source: Volume 3/9 Musical Life in the 16th Century - Music-Making Women, oil on oak, in the Rohrau Castle, Austria
Volume 3/2 Islam.
Volume 3/3 Musikerziehung: Lehre und Theorie der Musik im Mittelalter = Music Education: Music Theory and Learning
Volume 3/4 Schriftbild der einstimmigen Musik = Manuscripts of Monophonic Music
Volume 3/5 Schriftbild der mehrstimmigen Musik = Manuscripts of Polyphonic Music
Volume 3/8 Musikleben im 15. Jahrhundert = Musical Life in the 15th Century
Volume 3/9 Musikleben im 16. Jahrhundert = Musical Life in the 16th Century
Series 4: Musik der Neuzeit = Music of Modernity
Music of Modernity draws from European paintings, drawings, lithographs, books and magazines from the 17th century until the 20th century. Volumes depict operatic performances, concert life as well as the music of social dancing. The humorous illustration below shows a chain-reaction during the galop with other participants in a gallery below and a sizable orchestra in the balcony.
source: Volume 4/5 Dance in the 19th Century - The great Galop by Johann Strauss (1839), print by Andres Geiger after a painting Christian Scholler
Volume 4/1 Oper Szene und Darstellung von 1600 bis 1900 = Opera Scenes and Presentations from 1600 to 1900
Volume 4/2 Konzert: öffentliche Musikdarbietung vom 17. bis 19. Jahrhundert = Concerts: Public Music Performance from the 17th to 19th centuries
Volume 4/3 Haus- und Kammermusik Privates Musizieren im gesellschaftlichen Wandel zwischen 1600 und 1900 = Domestic and Chamber Music Private music-making in social change between 1600 and 1900
Volume 4/4 Tanz im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert = Dance in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Volume 4/5 Tanz im 19. Jahrhundert = Dance in the 19th Century
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