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Books > Music > Theory of music & musicology > General
This book explains the state of the art in the use of the discrete
Fourier transform (DFT) of musical structures such as rhythms or
scales. In particular the author explains the DFT of pitch-class
distributions, homometry and the phase retrieval problem, nil
Fourier coefficients and tilings, saliency, extrapolation to the
continuous Fourier transform and continuous spaces, and the meaning
of the phases of Fourier coefficients. This is the first textbook
dedicated to this subject, and with supporting examples and
exercises this is suitable for researchers and advanced
undergraduate and graduate students of music, computer science and
engineering. The author has made online supplementary material
available, and the book is also suitable for practitioners who want
to learn about techniques for understanding musical notions and who
want to gain musical insights into mathematical problems.
The renowned treatise on music, by an eleventh-century monk, in a
critical edition with annotated English translation, introduction,
and detailed indexes. Long recognized as one of the most important
medieval treatises on music, the Musica of Hermannus Contractus is
here presented in a newly revised translation, with commentary
reflecting the best current scholarship. A polymath and monk,
Hermannus Contractus (1013-54) contributed to the important
advancements made in European arts and sciences in the first half
of the eleventh century, writing on history, astronomy, and
time-keeping devices,among other topics, and composing several
chants. His music theory, founded on a systematic treatment of
traditional concepts and terminology dating back to the ancient
Greeks, is concerned largely with the organization of pitchin
Gregorian chant. Hermann's approach stems from Germanic
species-based thought, and is marked by a distinction between
aspects of form and aspects of position, privileging the latter. He
expresses this in terms imported from then-new developments in
Italian music theory, thus acting as a nexus for the two
traditions. Numerology and number symbolism play significant roles
in Hermann's theories, and his critiques of other theorists offer
insights into medieval intellectual life. Hermann also uses chant
citations and exercises to help his readers apply theory to
practice. John L. Snyder's revised edition of Ellinwood's
long-standard 1952 text and translation offers a new introduction,
including codicological descriptions of the sources; a critical
edition of the Latin text with an annotated English translation on
facing pages; appendices detailing the documents pertaining to
Hermann's life, his citations of plainsong, and his original
diastematic notation system; and greatly expanded indexes. Snyder's
Musica will serve as the standard version of this major historical
document for years to come. Leonard Ellinwood (1905-94) served in
the Library of Congress cataloging divisions in music and in the
humanities for thirty-five years. He published scholarly works and
editions of both medieval music and church music. John L. Snyder is
Professor of Music Theory and Musicology at the University of
Houston's Moores School of Music.
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Elizabeth K Goetsch; Foreword by Betsy Phillips
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Few Mexican musicians in the twentieth century achieved as much
notoriety or had such an international impact as the popular singer
and songwriter Agustin Lara (1897-1970). Widely known as "el flaco
de oro" ("the Golden Skinny"), this remarkably thin fellow was
prolific across the genres of bolero, ballad, and folk. His most
beloved "Granada," a song so enduring that it has been covered by
the likes of Mario Lanza, Frank Sinatra, and Placido Domingo, is
today a standard in the vocal repertory. However, there exists very
little biographical literature on Lara in English. In AgustinLara:
A Cultural Biography, author Andrew Wood's informed and informative
placement of Lara's work in a broader cultural context presents a
rich and comprehensive reading of the life of this significant
musical figure. Lara's career as a media celebrity as well as
musician provides an excellent window on Mexican society in the
mid-twentieth century and on popular culture in Latin America. Wood
also delves into Lara's music itself, bringing to light how the
composer's work unites a number of important currents in Latin
music of his day, particularly the bolero. With close musicological
focus and in-depth cultural analysis riding alongside the
biographical narrative, Agustin Lara: A Cultural Biography is a
welcome read to aficionados and performers of Latin American
musics, as well as a valuable addition to the study of modern
Mexican music and Latin American popular culture as a whole."
Geistliche Lieder und Psalmen, 1567, was compiled and published by
Johann Leisentrit, a Roman Catholic priest who from 1559 to the
time of his death in 1586, was Dean at the Cathedral of St. Peter's
in Bautzen, a town in southeastern Germany. His hymnbook appeared
in three complete editions (1567, 1573, 1584), and in abridged
editions in 1575, 1576, and 1589. By adapting the vernacular hymn,
a genre created by Protestant reformers, Leisentrit hoped to bring
back to the "true church" (wahrglaubiger Christlicher Kirchen)
those who had defected to Lutheranism. This was a formidable
ambition because his diocese was located adjacent to the
Moravian-Bohemian regions where the Protestant movement was born
and remained vital. Containing approximately 260 texts set to 175
notated melodies, many borrowed from Protestant sources and adapted
to serve Roman Catholic objectives, Leisentrit's book was the
second Catholic hymnbook to be published in the sixteenth century.
It surpassed its Protestant and Catholic precursors in scope and
provided a model for the profusion of hymnbooks of numerous
confessions that appeared in Germany in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries . Wetzel and Heitmeyer present their study in
two parts: The first comprises six contextual chapters that survey
earlier German achievements in hymnody, provide analyses of the
texts and music in Leisentrit's book, and assess his achievement
within the volatile environment of the Counter Reformation. The
second gives the melodies in modern notation along with the first
stanzas of the texts; provides detailed concordances and references
to sources that identify textual and musical provenances; and
concludes with six appendixes to facilitate scholarly
cross-references. Fourteen of the seventy wood engravings from
Leisentrit's book, many of which are visual representations of the
prevailing confessional conflicts, are given in enlarged
reproductions. The authors provide the only comprehensive study in
English of a unique religious figure and his efforts to achieve
confessional reconciliation in the decades following the Council of
Trent. They add to a more accurate interpretation of the
relationship between Lutherans and Catholics in the sixteenth
century and support the hypothesis that some Lutherans remained
more liturgically formal than their Catholic contemporaries.
U2's significant career far exceeds that of most average successful
rock bands, with a prolific output of thirteen well-received studio
albums and a sometimes relentless touring schedule. The band is
famous for uniquely drawing together music, art, faith, and
activism, all within a lucrative career that has given each of
these elements an unusual degree of social and cultural resonance.
Broad-minded musically and intellectually, U2'soutput is
thematically rich, addressing a slew of topics, from questions of
faith to anxieties about commercialism to outright political
statements. With one of the largest fan bases in the history of
rock music, U2 and their work require contextualization and
exploration. In U2: Rock 'n' Roll to Change the World, Timothy D.
Neufeld takes up this challenge. Neufeld explores U2's move from
the youthful idealism of a band barely able to play instruments
through its many phases of artistic expression and cultural
engagement to its employment of faith and activism as a foundation
for its success. This book outlines how U2 reshaped the very
musical and even political culture that had originally shaped it,
demonstrating through close readings of its musical work the
dynamic interplay of artistic expression and social engagement.
Listen to Hip Hop! Exploring a Musical Genre provides an overview
of hip-hop music for scholars and fans of the genre, with a focus
on 50 defining artists, songs, and albums. Listen to Hip Hop!
Exploring a Musical Genre explores non-rap hip hop music, and as
such it serves as a compliment to Listen to Rap! Exploring a
Musical Genre (Greenwood Press, Anthony J. Fonseca, 2019), which
discussed at length 50 must-hear rap artists, albums, and songs.
This book aims to provide a close listening/reading of a diverse
set of songs and lyrics by a variety of artists who represent
different styles outside of rap music. Most entries focus on
specific songs, carefully analyzing and deconstructing musical
elements, discussing their sound, and paying close attention to
instrumentation and production values-including sampling, a staple
of rap and an element used in some hip hop dance songs. Though some
of the artists included may be normally associated with other
musical genres and use hip hop elements sparingly, those in this
book have achieved iconic status. Finally, sections on the
background and history of hip hop, hip hop's impact on popular
culture, and the legacy of hip hop provide context through which
readers can approach the entries. Provides readers with a history
of non-rap hip hop music Offers critical analysis of 50 must-hear
songs, albums, and musicians that define the genre Explores both
the musical and lyrical dimensions of hip hop music Discusses the
impact on popular culture as well as the legacy of hip hop
When many people think of African music, the first ideas that come
to mind are often of rhythm, drums, and dancing. These perceptions
are rooted in emblematic African and African-derived genres such as
West African drumming, funk, salsa, or samba and, more importantly,
essentialized notions about Africa which have been fueled over
centuries of contact between the "West," Africa, and the African
diaspora. These notions, of course, tend to reduce and often
portray Africa and the diaspora as primitive, exotic, and
monolithic. In Africanness in Action, author Juan Diego Diaz
explores this dynamic through the perspectives of Black musicians
in Bahia, Brazil, a site imagined by many as a diasporic epicenter
of African survivals and purity. Black musicians from Bahia, Diaz
argues, assert Afro-Brazilian identities, promote social change,
and critique racial inequality by creatively engaging essentialized
tropes about African music and culture. Instead of reproducing
these notions, musicians demonstrate agency by strategically
emphasizing or downplaying them.
If writing about music is like dancing about architecture, you'd do
best to hone your chops and avoid cliches (like the one that begins
this sentence) by learning from the prime movers." How to Write
About Music" offers a selection of the best writers on what is
perhaps our most universally beloved art form. Selections from the
critically-acclaimed 33 1/3 series appear alongside new interviews
and insights from authors like Jonathan Lethem, Carl Wilson and Kim
Cooper." How to Write About Music "includes primary sources of
inspiration from a variety of go-to genres such as: the album
review, the personal essay, the blog post and the interview along
with tips, writing prompts, and advice from the writers themselves.
An extensive further reader section accompanies each chapter for a
complete picture of contemporary music writing.Music critics of the
past and the present offer inspiration through their work on
artists like Neutral Milk Hotel, J.Dilla, The Rolling Stones, Joy
Division, Lana Del Rey, Nirvana, Nas, Radiohead and countless
others." How to Write About Music" is an invaluable tool for anyone
who has ever dreamed of getting their music writing published and a
pleasure for anyone who loves to read about music.
It is hard to imagine two composers more different in talent and
temperament than the French, mostly self-taught Hector Berlioz and
German, highly cultivated Felix Mendelssohn. The two were an "odd
couple" Berlioz grew up in provincial France, the son of a country
doctor; he moved to Paris to study medicine but gravitated toward
music in his early twenties. His views and music represent the more
progressive Romantic ideals of the nineteenth-century. Mendelssohn,
on the other hand, was probably the most talented musician after
Mozart. He enjoyed a comfortable life and a fine education in
Berlin, where he absorbed the classical tradition in music,
religion, and philosophy. As a pathway into their life and music, a
new original play, Hector & Felix, tells of the two encounters
between the composers, who first met in Rome in 1831 and twelve
years later in Leipzig in 1843. Using letters and historical
documents of their life, opinions, and music, the play imagines
their discussion during two different periods of their career. Act
1 is set in Rome, where Berlioz (aged 27) was in residence at the
French Academy after winning the Prix de Rome and where Mendelssohn
(aged 22) happened to be visiting at the end of a Grand Tour
through Europe. Act 2 is set in Leipzig, where Mendelssohn had
established himself as conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and at
a time when Berlioz is traveling through Germany organizing
concerts to pay his expenses. Each act is divided into scenes in
places or venues (e.g., Villa Medici, Cafe Greco, Mendelssohn's
living room) where the two men converse about music, art,
literature, and other topics.
This is a facsimile reprint of the 1773 edition. Originally in two
volumes but now bound as one. There is a small bibliography
provided by the publisher.
Alfred Brendel, one of the greatest pianists of our time, is
renowned for his masterly interpretations of Haydn, Mozart,
Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt, and has been credited with rescuing
from oblivion the piano music of Schubert's last years. Far from
having merely one string to his bow, however, Brendel is also one
of the world's most remarkable writers on music - possessed of the
rare ability to bring the clarity and originality of expression
that characterised his performances to the printed page. The
definitive collection of his award-winning writings and essays,
Music, Sense and Nonsense combines all of his work originally
published in his two classic books, Musical Thoughts and
Afterthoughts and Music Sounded Out, along with significant new
material on a lifetime of recording, performance habits and
reflections on life and art. As well as providing stimulating
reading, this new edition provides a unique insight into the
exceptional mind of one of the outstanding musicians of the
twentieth and twenty-first centuries.Whether discussing Bach or
Beethoven, Schubert or Schoenberg, Brendel's reflections are
illuminating and challenging, a treasure for the specialist and
music lover alike.
Breaking new ground in the field of Sound Studies, this book
provides an in-depth study of the culture and physicality of
dancehall reggae music. The reggae sound system has exerted a major
influence on music and popular culture. Every night, on the streets
of inner city Kingston, Jamaica, Dancehall sessions stage a
visceral, immersive and immensely pleasurable experience of sonic
dominance for the participating crowd. "Sonic Bodies" concentrates
on the skilled performance of the crewmembers responsible for this
signature of Jamaican music: the audio engineers designing,
building and fine-tuning the hugely powerful "set" of equipment;
the selectors choosing the music tracks played; and, MCs (DJs) on
the mic hyping up the crowd. Julian Henriques proposes that these
dancehall "vibes" are taken literally as the periodic movement of
vibrations, and offers an analysis of how a sound system operates -
not only at auditory, but also at corporeal and sociocultural
frequencies. "Sonic Bodies" formulates a fascinating auditory
critique of visual dominance and the dualities inherent in ideas of
image, text or discourse. This innovative book questions the
assumptions that reason resides only in the mind, that
communication is an exchange of information and that meaning is
only ever representation.
Facsimile reprint of "The Seventh edition, Corrected and Elarged.
Printed by W. Godbid, for J. Playford at his Shop in the Temple
near the Church. 1674."
Sound is an integral part of contemporary art. Once understood to
be a marginal practice, increasingly we encounter sound in art
exhibitions through an array of sound making works in various art
forms, at times played to very high audio levels. However, works of
art are far from the only thing one might hear: music performances,
floor talks, exhibition openings and the noisy background sounds
that emanate from the gallery cafe fill contemporary exhibition
environments. Far from being hallowed spaces of quiet reflection,
what this means is that galleries have swiftly become very noisy
places. As such, a straightforward consideration of artworks alone
can then no longer account for our experiences of art galleries and
museums. To date there has been minimal scholarship directed
towards the intricacies of our experiences of sound that occur
within the bounds of this purportedly 'visual' art space. Kelly
addresses this gap in knowledge through the examination of
historical and contemporary sound in gallery environments,
broadening our understanding of artists who work with sound, the
institutions that exhibit these works, and the audiences that visit
them. Gallery Sound argues for the importance of all of the sounds
to be heard within the walls of art spaces, and in doing so listens
not only to the deliberate inclusion of sound within the art
gallery in the form of artworks, performances, and music, but also
to its incidental sounds, such as their ambient sounds and the
noise generated by audiences. More than this, however, Gallery
Sound turns its attention to the ways in which the acoustic
characteristics specific to gallery spaces have been mined by
artists for creative outputs, ushering in entirely new art forms.
Every recorded performance of Mahler shymphonies--and Das
Lied--from 1924 until press time! What a labor and how sorely
needed! Music Journal In the past 25 years a revival of interest in
the music of Gustav Mahler has resulted in nearly 300 new
recordings of his symphonies. The breadth and complexity of these
works, together with the plethora of recent releases, signals the
need for a guide that will be useful both to novice and the
experienced collector. Lewis M. Smoley's book fills this need,
providing critical analysis and specific recording information for
all known recordings of Mahler's symphonies as well as indexes by
conductor, orchestra, and label. The result of extensive research,
this volume includes many recordings that have not appeared in
previous listings. Recording made around the world from 1924
through 1986 are treated in chapters devoted to each of the 11
symphonies--including Das Lied von der Erde and the unfinished
10th. Listings are arranged alphabetically under the name of the
conductor and analyzed in terms of quality of performance, specific
interpretation and interpretive styles, and sonics. Recordings of
special merit are noted. Entries supply information about reissues
as well as original pressings, type of recording, and alternative
versions of some of the scores. Cross-referenced indexes list
conductor, orchestra, vocal soloists, chorus, and record label for
the recordings discussed. The foreword and preface place Mahler's
recorded symphonies in perspective and discuss some of the
interpretive and textual issues that continue to be debated. This
single-volume guide is appropriate for both the average listener
and the serious enthusiast, and will also be a valuable addition to
the collections of music schools and conservatories.
Schubert's Workshop offers a fresh study of the composer's
compositional technique and its development, rooted in the author's
experience of realising performing versions of Franz Schubert's
unfinished works. Through close examination of Schubert's use of
technical and structural devices, Brian Newbould demonstrates that
Schubert was much more technically innovative than has been
supposed, and argues that the composer's technical discoveries
constitute a rich legacy of specific influences on later composers.
Providing rich new insights into the creative practice of one of
the major figures of classical music, this two-volume study
reframes our understanding of Schubert as an innovator who
constantly pushed at the frontiers of style and expression.
Margot E. Fassler's richly documented history-winner of the Otto
Kinkeldey Award from the American Musicological Society and the
John Nicholas Brown Prize from the Medieval Academy of
America-demonstrates how the Augustinians of St. Victor, Paris,
used an art of memory to build sonic models of the church. This
musical art developed over time, inspired by the religious ideals
of Hugh and Richard of St. Victor and their understandings of image
and the spiritual journey. Gothic Song: Victorine Sequences and
Augustinian Reform in Twelfth-Century Paris demonstrates the
centrality of sequences to western medieval Christian liturgical
and artistic experience, and to our understanding of change and
continuity in medieval culture. Fassler examines the figure of Adam
of St. Victor and the possible layers within the repertories
created at various churches in Paris, probes the ways the Victorine
sequences worked musically and exegetically, and situates this
repertory within the intellectual and spiritual ideals of the
Augustinian canons regular, especially those of the Abbey of St.
Victor. Originally published in hardover in 1993, this paperback
edition includes a new introduction by Fassler, in which she
reviews the state of scholarship on late sequences since the
original publication of Gothic Song. Her notes to the introduction
provide the bibliography necessary for situating the Victorine
sequences, and the late sequences in general, in contemporary
thought.
The translation of the third volume of Syntagma musicum, a multi-volume work by German composer and theorist Michael Praetorius (1571-1621). Volume III deals with terminolgy and performance practice, and offers us the most detailed commentary available from the 17th century about the performance of particular pieces of music. Praetorius is the most often quoted and excerpted writer on performance practice. In his translation, Kite=Powell has worked with a notoriously difficult syntax to produce a definitive English edition of this important work.
This rigorous book is a complete and up-to-date reference for the
Csound system from the perspective of its main developers and power
users. It explains the system, including the basic modes of
operation and its programming language; it explores the many ways
users can interact with the system, including the latest features;
and it describes key applications such as instrument design, signal
processing, and creative electronic music composition. The Csound
system has been adopted by many educational institutions as part of
their undergraduate and graduate teaching programs, and it is used
by practitioners worldwide. This book is suitable for students,
lecturers, composers, sound designers, programmers, and researchers
in the areas of music, sound, and audio signal processing.
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