We’re very excited to tell you about all that’s new in Music in the Air (MITA) since we last posted. The new additions include generous doses of both rich new content and interface upgrades.

Pathways

Most extraordinary, if you’ve subscribed to MITA during 2020, you will have seen Pathways, a module that enables everyone from a complete beginner to an experienced teacher to easily follow paths ranging from love duets to full course syllabi.

New Content

Two of the most exciting additions to MITA’s contents are Bizet’s Carmen and the magnificent slow movement to Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. You’ll find our comprehensive but accessible discussion of both very different from what you’ll see in any textbook or scholarly publication—and both the Listening Guides and the interactive Scores and are a feast for the ears.

Now joining Bach’s precocious Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, with its improvisatory style, is perhaps the most accomplished fugue in the two volumes of the Well-Tempered Clavier. This is the triple-subject Fugue in C-sharp minor from Book I. As you listen to its extraordinary interweaving of voices you can be sure that this is one it took Herr Bach at least a few hours to work out.

Our coverage of early music has been deepened by the addition of the ancient Greek Invocation to Calliope and Apollo, a tuneful virelai by Machaut, and Tomas Luis de Victoria’s haunting 8-voice Ave Maria. We’ve also expanded and sharpened the stories behind Medieval and Renaissance music.

Our discussion of the great 20^th-century French composer Olivier Messiaen has been greatly expanded, and now includes a meaty discussion of his turning-point Turangalîla Symphony, including a Web Video listening guide linked to an electric 77-minute performance by the Paris Radio Symphony Orchestra.

MITA’s entire coverage of American music in Chapter 24 has been greatly expanded to include not just vaudeville but the reception of Gilbert & Sullivan, Haragan & Hart, plus operetta from The Merry Widow to Victor Herbert, Sigmund Romberg, and Rudolf Friml, and finally the early musical masterpiece Show Boat.

More Interface Upgrades

We’ve implemented a mouse-over Glossary that gives you a quick and concise definition of hot text anywhere within the program, leaving you the option of clicking on the item if you want to go deeper.

We’ve also done a lot to make getting around easier. We’ve standardized our Listening Guide and Interactive Score menus, for example, and rearranged our Eventful Story Tables of Contents in a more intuitive order.

Now leading off each chapter is a beautiful cover page, featuring artwork representative of the music and stories to be explored.

Looking Ahead

We’ll continue to roll out new content and features in the months ahead. We’ve already got a lot of exciting material in the pipeline. MITA is a living organism that invites your comments and suggestions. Unlike printed books, we can respond quickly to your input. Meanwhile, we hope you’ll give MITA a try and start (or continue) the endlessly fascinating journey of expanding your musical horizons.