Printed music and writing about music involve the use of complex systems of notation and a wealth of technical terms in several languages. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Musical Terms provides clear, succinct, definitions of a comprehensive range of the musical terms, in English and other European languages, that are likely to be encountered in Western music. Over 2,500 A-Z entries range across a spectrum of subjects, among them: rhythm, metre, forms, genres, pitch, scales, chords, harmony and counterpoint, notational systems, composition and analysis, performance practice, tempo, expression, musical periods, artistic movements, computer applications, acoustics, and many more. Entries provide etymologies, and are fully cross-referenced. Some are illustrated with music examples and tables. An appendix lists all composers mentioned in the Dictionary, with their dates. It is an ideal book for students and teachers of music - it covers all the terms required in the SMAB musical theory exams - as well as for professional musicians, those learning to play musical instruments, and members of choirs, and musical groups. It will also be a useful quick reference book for concert-goers, CD-collectors, and radio listeners.

Malcolm Forsyth (1936-2011) was a musical legend: a much-loved composer, performer, teacher, and mentor. Reflections on Malcolm Forsyth presents a captivating and approachable portrait of one of Canada's finest modern composers. Readers will discover both public and private sides to the man and gain fresh insights from critical assessments of a broad range of Forsyth's compositions, his continuing popular appreciation, and his lasting influence on the next generation of musicians and music scholars. Drawing from the perspectives of leading scholars, composers, and musicians, as well as on those of family, friends, students, and colleagues, Reflections on Malcolm Forsyth honours the rich life and cultural significance of this exceptional creative mind. It is important reading for music students and researchers, professional performers, and anyone who loves contemporary music. Contributors: Tommy Banks, Allan Gordon Bell, Nora Bumanis, Robin Elliott, Amanda Forsyth, Valerie Forsyth, Allan Gilliland, Carl Hare, Mary I. Ingraham, Edward Jurkowski, Ryan McClelland, John McPherson, Fordyce C. (Duke) Pier, Roxane Prevost, Kathy Primos, Tanya Prochazka, Leonard Ratzlaff, Rayfield Rideout, Robert C. Rival, Julia Shaw, Dale Sorensen, Christopher Taylor

A group of resourceful kids start "solution-seekers.com," a website where "cybervisitors" can get answers to questions that trouble them. But when one questioner asks the true meaning of Christmas, the kids seek to unravel the mystery by journeying back through the prophecies of the Old Testament. What they find is a series of "S" words that reveal a "spectacular story " With creative characters, humorous dialogue and great music, The "S" Files is a children's Christmas musical your kids will love performing.

The Educated Listener: A New Approach to Music Appreciation helps students develop the skills they need to creatively and intelligently discuss and listen to classical music. Readers will learn about the musical genres, forms, and techniques used by composers of classical music, which will help them become educated listeners. Section One of the text presents readers with basic information regarding the basic elements of music, including rhythm, tempo, and dynamics; the instruments and voice types used in music; and the most common ensembles of music, such as choirs, bands, and orchestras. The remaining sections focus on specific time periods and delve into the compositional and performance techniques, musical forms and genres, and composers that were important and influential. These sections explore the music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque Era, Classical Era, Romantic Era, Twentieth Century, and Contemporary Era. The third edition features tables highlighting historical context, a much-expanded index, new images, and fresh material regarding contemporary music. With an accessible approach, The Educated Listener is an ideal textbook for courses in music appreciation or music history.

Compositional Choices and Meaning in the Vocal Music of J. S. Bach collects seventeen essays by leading Bach scholars. The authors each address in some way such questions of meaning in J. S. Bach's vocal compositions-including his Passions, Masses, Magnificat, and cantatas-with particular attention to how such meaning arises out of the intentionality of Bach's own compositional choices or (in Part IV in particular) how meaning is discovered, and created, through the reception of Bach's vocal works. And the authors do not consider such compositional choices in a vacuum, but rather discuss Bach's artistic intentions within the framework of broader cultural trends-social, historical, theological, musical, etc. Such questions of compositional choice and meaning frame the four primary approaches to Bach's vocal music taken by the authors in this volume, as seen across the book's four parts: Part I: How might the study of historical theology inform our understanding of Bach's compositional choices in his music for the church (cantatas, Passions, masses)? Part II: How can we apply traditional analytical tools to understand better how Bach's compositions were created and how they might have been heard by his contemporaries? Part III: What we can understand anew through the study of Bach's self-borrowing (i.e., parody), which always changed the earlier meaning of a composition through changes in textual content, compositional characteristics, the work's context within a larger composition, and often the performance context (from court to church, for example)? Part IV: What can the study of reception teach us about a work's meaning(s) in Bach's time, during the time of his immediate successors, and at various points since then (including our present)? The chapters in this volume thus reflect the breadth of current Bach research in its attention not only to source study and analysis, but also to meanings and contexts for understanding Bach's compositions.