A presentation of the essential facts in the history of music. The book will appeal to the music-lover as a simple and naturally consecutive recital of the growth of the art of music. But it is also intended for the student, and for the purpose of individual or classroom instruction the book provides sufficient material for one year's work. At the time of original publication in 1914, Thomas Tapper was Lecturer at New York University and at the Institute of Musical Art in New York, and Percy Goetschius was Instructor at the Institute of Musical Art in New York.

Combining the insights of present-day biblical studies with those of Handelian studies, this book examines the libretti of ten of Handel's Israelite oratorios and evaluates the relationship between each libretto and the biblical story on which it is based.