If It Ain't Baroque: More Music History as it Ought to be Taught

30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION

David W. Barber, the internationally bestselling author of Bach, Beethoven and the Boys, Accidentals on Purpose, When the Fat Lady Sings and others is at it again. If It Ain’t Baroque is another cheeky, irreverent yet informative look at classical music through the history of its various forms and genres as written by its most famous composers. From Chants Encounter to Deathly Passions to Arias of Influence, the author explains in hilarious but edifying detail all aspects of classical music from the obscure to the sublime. Immerse yourself once more in Barber’s wonderful, offbeat world with “more music history as it ought to be taught.”

Here’s what some notable people have said about David W. Barber’s books:
"My heartiest commendation for an admirable work of scholarship...I will not say again that it is funny, since this will compel you to set your jaw and dare Barber to make you laugh.”
– Anthony Burgess on Bach, Beethoven and the Boys

“This amusing and witty...delightful book.”
– Yehudi Menuhin on Accidentals on Purpose

“I must say I still adore opera. I know it is just as silly as Mr. Barber says it is, but I love it.”
– Anna Russell on When the Fat Lady Sings

“Those who have laughed their way through David Barber’s earlier books will know that there are a lot of facts lurking behind his irreverent humour.”
– Trevor Pinnock on Getting a Handel on Messiah

“If I had gone to music school, this is how I would want to learn about all those composers. [This book] is so clever that you don’t need me to tell you it’s clever. You can read it and find out for yourself.”
– Maureen Forrester on When the Fat Lady Sings

“I was delighted by these short, witty pieces by this talented writer.”
– Ben Wicks, cartoonist and humorist on The Last Laugh

“I enjoyed these pieces enormously. I never do the short run myself, since that is very much a newspaper rather than a magazine format, and I am delighted to see that my most familiar approach actually works over the sprint.”
– Alan Coren former editor of Punch magazine, author of The Sanity Inspector on The Last Laugh