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Books > Arts & Architecture > Music > Western music, periods & styles > General
(Essential Elements Band Folios). Includes: And I Love Her *
Eleanor Rigby * Get Back * A Hard Day's Night * Here, There and
Everywhere * Hey Jude * I Want to Hold Your Hand * Lady Madonna *
Ticket to Ride * Twist and Shout * Yesterday.
Bands including Dead, Euronymous, and Varg Vikernes--along with
sociologists, police officers, theologians, and occultists--recount
how the satanic Black Metal, a spin-off of the heavy metal
underground, devolved into acts of church burning, murder, and
suicide in Scandinavia.
From the romantic agonies of Hector Berlioz to the lonely labours
of Anton Bruckner, and from the cosmopolitan triumphs of George
Frideric Handel to the politically fraught career of Dmitri
Shostakovich in the Soviet Union, the lives of the great composers
are as varied and multifaceted as the works of creative genius they
produced. Writing with verve and passion, broadcaster and writer
Jeremy Nicholas presents, in chronological order, elegant,
informative and often affectionate biographical profiles of 50 of
the greatest composers in the history of classical music. The
biographies not only describe the life, artistic development and
creative output of each composer, but also set the composers and
their works in a broader historical and cultural context.
Furthermore, shortlists of 'must-hear' masterpieces for each
composer give the reader all the information they need to begin to
build a brilliant classical music collection. Taken together, the
50 profiles in The Great Composers amount to a concise history of
500 years of classical music. Accessible and entertaining, but also
informative and authoritative, this is the perfect introduction to
the world of classical music for the general reader.
Why do we feel the need to perform music in a historically informed style? Is this need related to wider cultural concerns? In this challenging study, John Butt sums up recent debates on the nature of the early music movement, calling upon a seemingly inexhaustible fund of ideas gleaned from historical musicology, analytic philosophy, literary theory, historiography and theories of modernism and postmodernism. He develops the critical views of both supporters and detractors, claiming ultimately that it has more intellectual and artistic potential than its detractors may have assumed.
Following the successful volumes of Song on Record, this 1991 book
surveys all the recordings of major choral works from the
Monteverdi Vespers to Britten's War Requiem. Discussion of the
various interpretations on record is preceded, in each chapter, by
informed criticism of the work concerned, including - where
appropriate - a clarification of editions, revisions, etc. (all the
many changes in Messiah are, for instance, described in detail).
The coverage of recordings is exhaustive and its value is enhanced
by detailed discographies, with numbers of each recording. Each
contributor is an authority within his or her specialist area and,
collectively, their insights and observations make the book
invaluable to record collectors, music lovers and all with an
interest in changing tastes and styles of musical performance.
inch....this work is likely to become a standart work very quickly
and is to be recommended to all schools where recorder studies are
undertaken inch. (Oliver James, Contact Magazine) A novel and
comprehensive approach to transferring from the C to F instrument.
430 music examples include folk and national songs (some in two
parts), country dance tunes and excerpts from the standard treble
repertoire ofBach, Barsanti, Corelli, Handel, Telemann, etc. An
outstanding feature of the book has proved to be Brian Bonsor's
brilliantly simple but highly effective practice circles and
recognition squares designed to give, in only a few minutes,
concentrated practice on the more usual leaps to and from each new
note and instant recognition of random notes. Quickly emulating the
outstanding success of the descant tutors, these books are very
popular even with those who normally use tutors other than the
Enjoy the Recorder series.
The music of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven forms a cornerstone of the
modern repertoire, but very little is known about the context in
which these composers worked. This volume of twelve essays by
leading international scholars considers some of the musical
traditions and practices of this little-understood period of music
history. Beginning with the early decades of the eighteenth
century, the volume documents selected aspects of musical life and
style from the late Baroque period through to the early years of
the nineteenth century. The four main areas covered in this
exploration of music history are orchestral music, sacred music,
opera and keyboard music. Georg Reutter (Haydn's teacher), Antonio
Salieri (Mozart's colleague) and Woelffl (a rival of Beethoven) are
just three of the period's prominent musicians who are discussed at
length.
Graced by more than 200 illustrations, many of them seldom seen and
some never before published, this sparkling volume offers vivid
portraits of the men and women who created country music, the
artists whose lives and songs formed the rich tradition from which
so many others have drawn inspiration. Included here are not only
such major figures as Jimmie Rodgers, The Carter Family, Fiddlin'
John Carson, Charlie Poole, and Gene Autry, who put country music
on America's cultural map, but many fascinating lesser-known
figures as well, such as Carson Robison, Otto Gray, Chris
Bouchillon, Emry Arthur and dozens more, many of whose stories are
told here for the first time. To map some of the winding,
untraveled roads that connect today's music to its ancestors, Tony
Russell draws upon new research and rare source material, such as
contemporary newspaper reports and magazine articles, internet
genealogy sites, and his own interviews with the musicians or their
families. The result is a lively mix of colorful tales and
anecdotes, priceless contemporary accounts of performances,
illuminating social and historical context, and well-grounded
critical judgment. The illustrations include artist photographs,
record labels, song sheets, newspaper clippings, cartoons, and
magazine covers, recreating the look and feel of the entire culture
of country music. Each essay includes as well a playlist of
recommended and currently available recordings for each artist.
Finally, the paperback edition now features an extensive index.
A fantastic resource for Leonard Bernstein's rich theatre songs,
from On the Town, Peter Pan, Wonderful Town, Candide, West Side
Story, Mass, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and other shows. Includes
several songs cut from shows, songs never before published, and
also new solo editions of some songs that have never before been
available as stand-alone numbers. The songs have been newly
engraved and edited, largely presented in authentic vocal score
format (rather than piano/vocal sheet music arrangements). The song
lists are not the same for High Voice and Low Voice editions; some
songs are transposed; others are uniquely in only one volume.
This book contains the first complete translation in English of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s major musical writings, complementing the well-known Tales. It offers, therefore, a long-awaited opportunity to assess the thought and influence of one of the most famous of all writers on music and the musical links with his fiction. Containing the first complete appearance in English of Kreisleriana, it reveals a masterpiece of imaginative writing whose title is familiar to musicians (from Robert Schumann’s piano cycle) and whose profound humour and irony can now be fully appreciated. This volume offers translations aiming at the greatest fidelity to Hoffmann, as well as musical accuracy in the reviews. David Charlton’s three introductory essays provide extensive information on the background to Romantic music criticism; on the origins and internal structure of Kreisleriana; and on Hoffmann and opera. A concluding essay by the late Friedrich Schnapp lists Hoffmann’s planned reviews and those mistakenly attributed to him.
Have you ever been carried away by a piece of classical music? In
this funny, evocative, personal book, previously published as
'Music for the People: The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Classical
Music', Gareth takes us on a journey of musical discovery that
explains and entertains in equal measure. Have you ever been
carried away by a piece of classical music? The sad song of a
single violin might make us cry, but the idea of finding out more
about classical music can often be intimidating. There are musical
terms we don't recognise, dead composers we can't connect with, and
a feeling that we were never given the right tools to appreciate,
understand, and most importantly, enjoy classical music. So who
better to cut through the misconceptions and the jargon than the
star of BBC2's Bafta award-winning series The Choir, Gareth Malone.
Over the course of three series, Gareth has unearthed a passion for
classical music in schoolchildren, reluctant teenage boys, and even
a whole town. With his infectious enthusiasm and gift for
explanation, Gareth's very personal narrative will provide a
foundation of classical music understanding and give the reader the
tools to appreciate a whole new world of music - from Bach to
Beethoven and beyond. So whether you want to learn more about the
great composers, introduce an almost infinite variety into your
iPod playlist, or are just curious about what you might be missing
out on, Gareth Malone's Guide to Classical Music will leave you
entertained, informed and completely inspired.
What makes a classical song a song? In a wide-ranging 2004
discussion, covering such contrasting composers as Brahms and
Berberian, Schubert and Kurtag, Jonathan Dunsby considers the
nature of vocality in songs of the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. The essence and scope of poetic and literary meaning in
the Lied tradition is subjected to close scrutiny against the
backdrop of 'new musicological' thinking and music-theoretical
orthodoxies. The reader is thus offered the best insights available
within an evidence-based approach to musical discourse. Schoenberg
figures conspicuously as both songsmith and theorist, and some
easily comprehensible Schenkerian approaches are used to convey
ideas of musical time and expressive focus. In this work of
scholarship and theoretical depth, Professor Dunsby's highly
original approach and engaging style will ensure its appeal to all
practising musicians and students of Romantic and modern music.
The traditions of piano teaching have remained virtually unchanged
for generations, beginning with the influential technique of Muzio
Clementi (1752-1832), the first composer-pedagogue of the
instrument. His was followed by an explosion of sometimes bizarre
teaching systems, perhaps most notably Hanon's "The Virtuoso
Pianist"-exacting drills of reinforcement by repetition, often to
the disillusionment of beginners. Some 150 years later, these
methods-considered absurd or abusive by many students-have evolved
and persevered as part of music curricula in higher education.
Reflecting the author's belief that learning piano is both
gratifying and exasperating, this book critically examines two
centuries of teaching practices and encourages instructors to seek
more efficient and inspiring exercises.
The power of music, the way it works on the mind and heart, remains
an enticing mystery. Now two noted writers on classical music,
Michael Steinberg and Larry Rothe, explore the allure of this
melodious art--not in the clinical terms of social scientists--but
through stories drawn from their own experience. In For the Love of
Music, Steinberg and Rothe draw on a lifetime of listening to,
living with, and writing about music, sharing the delights and
revelatory encounters they have had with Mozart, Brahms,
Stravinsky, and a host of other great (and almost-great) composers.
At once highly personal and immediately accessible, their writings
shed light on those who make music and those who listen to
it--drawing readers into the beautiful and dangerous terrain that
has meant so much to the authors. In recounting how they themselves
came to love music, Steinberg and Rothe offer keys for listening.
You will meet the man who created the sound of Hollywood's Golden
Age and you will learn how composers have addressed issues as
contemporary as AIDS and the terrorist attacks of September 11.
Voices Found: Free Jazz and Singing contributes to a wave of voice
studies scholarship with the first book-length study of free jazz
voice. It pieces together a history of free jazz voice that spans
from sound poetry and scat in the 1950s to the more recent wave of
free jazz choirs. The author traces the developments and offers a
theory, derived from interviews with many of the most important
singers in the history of free jazz voice, of how listeners have
experienced and evaluated the often unconventional vocal sounds
these vocalists employed. This theory explains that even audiences
willing to enjoy harsh sounds from saxophones or guitars often
resist when voices make sounds that audiences understand as
not-human. Experimental poetry and scat were combined and
transformed in free jazz spaces in the 1960s and 1970s by vocalists
like Yoko Ono (in solo work and her work with Ornette Coleman and
John Stevens), Jeanne Lee (in her solo work and her work with
Archie Shepp and Gunter Hampel), Leon Thomas (in his solo work as
well as his work with Pharoah Sanders and Carlos Santana), and Phil
Minton and Maggie Nicols (who devoted much of their energy to
creating unaccompanied free jazz vocal music). By studying free
jazz voice we can learn important lessons about what we expect from
the voice and what happens when those expectations are violated.
This book doesn't only trace histories of free jazz voice, it makes
an attempt to understand why this story hasn't been told before,
with an impressive breadth of scope in terms of the artists
covered, drawing on research from the US, Canada, Wales, Scotland,
France, The Netherlands, and Japan.
Honoring God and the City presents the first detailed history of
musical activities at Venetian lay confraternities, societies that
were crucial to the cultural and ceremonial life of Venice. Based
on over two decades of research in Venetian archives, musicologist
Jonathan Glixon traces musical practices from the origins of the
earliest confraternities in the mid-thirteenth century to their
suppression under the French and Austrian governments in the early
nineteenth century.
Glixon first discusses the scole grandi, the largest and most
important of the Venetian confraternities. Scole grandi hosted some
of the most elaborate musical events in the Venetian calendar,
including lavish annual festivities for each scola's patron saint
and often enlisting such high-profile musicians as Giovanni
Gabrieli and Claudio Monteverdi. Glixon places detailed
descriptions of these events in the context of the scole grandi's
long histories, as the roles of salaried musicians, singers, string
players, and organists evolved over the centuries.
The book's second part is concerned with the scole piccole, the
numerous smaller confraternities born in churches throughout
Venice. These local organizations, usually consisting of a modest
number of salaried musicians augmented by hired players, took part
in annual festivities and performances and played a crucial role in
local cultural life.
Detailed appendixes include a calendar of musical events at all
Venetian confraternities in the early eighteenth century and a
complete listing of musicians for an important seventeenth century
festival. The result of painstaking research, Honoring God and the
City demonstrates the vital role of confraternitiesin the musical
and ceremonial life of Venice.
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