"The first English translation of lectures by a French contemporary of Debussy and Ravel"

French composer and educator Vincent d'Indy differed from contemporaries Debussy and Ravel in his conservative political and philosophical ideas and in his musical style. This redaction and English translation of his "Cours de composition musicale" includes the introductory lectures for the course he taught at the Schola Cantorum in Paris.

D'Indy's ideas about composition, best articulated in the lectures presented here, were unique in their combination of historical concepts and music theory. This is the first publication of d'Indy's work in English. In addition to a faithful translation, Gail Hilson Woldu provides annotations that clarify d'Indy's often complex concepts and correct his occasional errors of fact. In her introduction, Woldu places d'Indy in the world of French music education at the turn of the twentieth century, identifies the chief musical influences on the composer, and discusses the political and religious controversies surrounding the Schola Cantorum and the Paris Conservatoire. The book concludes with the pioneering work of d'Indy scholar Merle Montgomery, who was the first to translate the Cours into English. Her study offers a comparative framework for understanding d'Indy's place in the history of music composition and theory.

This volume introduces students and scholars of music history and composition to an influential teacher and prolific composer of the early twentieth century.

Ice Cube is one of the most influential figures in the history of rap and hip-hop. Best known for the vitriol of his "angry black man" recordings of the late 1980s and mid 1990s, Ice Cube epitomizes the genre often referred to as gangsta rap. Much of his music from these years is focused on the disturbing realities of life in black urban ghettos, and as a result it chronicles such complex and controversial issues as racial stereotypes, street gangs, racial profiling, "black on black" crime, teen pregnancy, absentee fathers, and male-female relationships. His recordings with NWA are noteworthy for their sardonic humor in discussing dire issues. The group's landmark CD Straight Outta Compton (1988) is a palette of urban woes recounted in aggressive and hostile street vernacular, while Ice Cube's recordings of the 1990s now represent paradigms of the gangsta style. The first three chapters of The Words and Music of Ice Cube explore Ice Cube's recordings between 1988 and 1996 and situate Ice Cube in the context of other rappers of this period-most notably Public Enemy, Ice-T, Tupac, Biggie, and Snoop Dogg-whose music also chronicled explosive issues in urban ghettos. The fourth chapter considers Ice Cube's career in film, beginning with a discussion of his performance in Boyz n the Hood and ending with a look at his most recent films, Barber Shop, Barber Shop II, Are We There Yet? And Are We Done Yet? The fifth and final chapter looks back over all of Ice Cube's work to date and considers his impact and his legacy in music and popular culture at large. A discography, filmography, and bibliography supplement the work.