Books that connect music history theory?

Hi all,

The time has come for me to take the next step in my musical education. Although I wasn't a music major in college, I've been an amateur pianist and singer all my life, and have spent a lot of time attending concerts and listening to records. Along the way, I've picked up a pretty good amount of history and theory. What I'd like to do now is put the two together, by learning in more detail about how harmony and counterpoint were used by composers of different periods.

What I'd most like to find is a single book, or set of books, that covers the whole range from Medieval to Modern (textbooks are OK if they're not too elementary). Failing that, I'd like to find good single volumes that cover parts of the subject.

Ideally, the books I'm looking for would have detailed analyses of specific pieces, and would demonstrate how composers use the technical means at their disposal to produce the expressive results they're looking for.

Can anybody recommend any titles?

Do people still use Grout, A History of Western Music? (The second edition is the last one that was fully by him.)

Grout is still a good recommendation. Now in it's sixth edition, it may be more by Claude Palisca than Grout. It's also expensive ($70.00 new). Used copies of the earlier editions are common in college towns.

Tom Wood

I got a copy from Berkshire Record Outlet for $15. Don't know whether it is still available at Berkshire.