First published in 1955, this account of music in America, presents "the music made or continuously used by the people of the United States, people who have come from many parts of the earth to build a new civilization and to create a new society in a new world." Chase perceives music as a cultural statement and writes to celebrate American musical pluralism. He seeks to enter into the motives and beliefs of each of his subjects, and believes that America's music is a counterpoint of ideas, trends, voices, and sounds, issuing from many different layers of society. Chase begins with the musical Puritans who settled in New England, and the various religious movements that dominated American musical expression. He also devotes greater attention to jazz, folk music and popular music. ISBN 0-252-00454-X (alk. paper): $29.95.

A history of American music, its diversity, and the cultural influences that helped it develop.

"This book reflects a breakthrough in American music studies, an unrecognized field among traditional musicologists until the past few decades, during which enormous progress has been made in documenting three centuries of American musical activities and figures. Time and effort had to be expended exclusively on the development of basic historical studies. The time has come for a new phase, one that can take a creative, interpretive approach. Professor Crawford's study will introduce this higher level of scholarship into the field of American music studies."—Vivian Perlis, author of Charles Ives Remembered "A major statement by a senior scholar on what American musicology is all about. . . These themes are also topical; they come at a time when much more research is being done in American music, but little thought is being given to the big picture, the vision, the philosophy, and the implications of historical research. Now is the time for a synthesis, and there are few scholars better equipped to do that in American music than Richard Crawford."—Michael Broyles, author of Music of the Highest Class