Raymond Monelle was formerly Reader in Music at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, where he is now an Honorary Fellow. His work on music theory and semiotics is internationally known. His books include Linguistics and Semiotics in Music and The Sense of Music. He has been a composer, pianist, and conductor, and writes music criticism for The Independent, Opera magazine, and other publications.

"In this persuasive, well-organized study, Monelle (Univ. of Edinburgh, Scotland) makes a significant contribution to understanding hunt, military, and pastoral music. . . . This clearly reasoned, charmingly written volume has the potential to change the way one hears, performs, and teaches significant portions of the musical canon from Haydn and Mozart through Debussy and Mahler. . . . Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers."—Choice"This book embarks on a cultural history of three tropes, or themes, that appear frequently in musical works. These topics convey meaning to the work by their perceived associations to literature, social history, or art. Listeners from Haydn and Beethoven's time may have immediately recognized the associations, but today we need critics and historians to return these contexts to the music.Vol. 22.1 Summer 2007"—Beethoven Journal"The Musical Topic marks the culmination of Monelle's developing thought on the book's titular subject. . . . Monelle has drawn upon an impressive array of sources in a variety of fields, producing an interdisciplinary study of unusual scope. No. 89, Spring 2010"—Current Musicology

• ContentsList of PlatesPrefaceNote on Titles of Musical WorksPart One: Topic Theory1. Topic and Expression2. The Literary Source of Topic Theory3. Signifier and Signified in MusicPart Two: Huntsmen4. Signifier: The Hunting Horn5. Signified: Hunts Noble and Ignoble6. Musical Hunts7. The Topic EstablishedPart Three: Soldiers8. The Military Signifier: 1. The March9. The Military Signifier: 2. The Military Trumpet and Its Players10. The Military Signified11. The Soldier RepresentedPart Four: Shepherds12. The Pastoral Signified: The Myth13. The Pastoral Signifier14. The Pastoral in Music15. New Pastorals16. EpilogueAppendix 1Appendix 2BibliographyIndex