'The Chronicle of Classical Music' takes the form of a chronological diary from 1600 to the present. It leads the reader through the centuries, year by year, following the musicians’ overlapping and interwoven lives.

The composers’ own worlds, public and private, spring to life in extracts from contemporary letters and journals, and in hundreds of illustrations, many in full colour: paintings and drawings; cartoons; posters; photographs; music scores and documents. An informative introduction traces the history of music before 1600.

Carefully cross-referenced with the chronological data runs a series of special features which discuss in fascinating detail the key works, influences on musical form and performance, the changing working conditions and status of musicians, and the development of instruments. A companion chronology introduces the wider context of important historical and artistic events.

The reference section includes biographies, a glossary of technical words, and charts summarizing the history of music and the development of instruments. For those overwhelmed with the huge choice of recordings, there is a guide to the top CDs and performers.

Alan Kendall was a Choral Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, continuing his music studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. He still sings professionally and lectures on music. He has also worked for many years as an editor (including the Larousse encyclopaedias), and is the author of some twenty books, mostly on music and history. With Michael Raeburn he edited the four-volume Heritage of Music for Oxford University Press.