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The Musical Human
- A History of Life on Earth
- Narrated by: Daniel Levitin
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
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Summary
Bloomsbury presents The Musical Human by Michael Spitzer, read by Daniel Levitin.
One hundred and sixty-five million years ago saw the birth of rhythm.
Sixty-six million years ago was the first melody.
Forty thousand years ago Homo sapiens created the first musical instrument.
Today music fills our lives. How we have created, performed and listened to this music throughout history has defined what our species is and how we understand who we are. Yet music is an overlooked part of our origin story.
The Musical Human takes us on an exhilarating journey across the ages – from Bach to BTS and back – to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species. With insights from a wealth of disciplines, world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer renders a global history of music on the widest possible canvas, looking at music in our everyday lives, music in world history and music in evolution, from insects to apes, humans to AI.
Through this journey we begin to understand how music is central to the distinctly human experiences of cognition, feeling and even biology, both widening and closing the evolutionary gaps between ourselves and animals in surprising ways.
The Musical Human boldly puts the case that music is the most important thing we ever did; it is a fundamental part of what makes us human.
Critic reviews
"An amazing book, tying together research in archaeology, anthropology, music history, and human origins to form a compelling and exciting account of the many ways music has developed across the world and across time." (Daniel Levitin)
"A hugely ambitious work, but never daunting, and there’s something thought-provoking on every page.... With scholarship, wit and passion, this book demonstrates that there truly is a soundtrack to human lives." (Catherine Bott, Classic FM)
"A thrilling exploration of what music has meant and means to humankind." (Ian Bostridge)
What listeners say about The Musical Human
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ruth Mitchell
- 08-02-23
Worth a read
I didn’t love his voice or the way he read. The section on African American music was really disappointing, BUT this was otherwise really well done and his areas of expertise show. Very interesting perspectives that integrate other really good work being produced about other animal communities and our own history. I’ve recommended to friends and I recommend it to you.
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- Sarah
- 20-05-21
Terrible narration
In principle I question the decision to have an American narrate a book which frequently references the author’s Britishness - and in practice the monotony of the narration made a fairly heavy book unbearable.
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3 people found this helpful