Born in Gloucester in 1890 Ivor Gurney began writing songs and poems in his teens, taking his inspiration from the Severn Valley countryside he grew up in. Sent to the Western Front during the First World War Gurney experienced the desolation and horror of war, which made a profound impression on him. At his death in 1937 he was beginning to be acknowledged as one of England's finest composers but it took several more decades for his work as a war poet to be fully appreciated.

The composer Michael Hurd - also a native of Gloucester - explores the life of a man who was deeply affected by what he saw in the trenches and who ended his days in a lunatic asylum. Charting his life from childhood and family to student days in London, where one of his tutors was Vaughan Williams, to his time at the Front and his final disintegration into madness, Hurd captures the essence of this exceptional man in a lively and compelling narrative. First published in 1978 "The Ordeal of Ivor Gurney" includes a wealth of previously unpublished material and is a moving and extraordinary account of a tragic genius.

A survey of the influence of the Arthurian legends on musical works. King Arthur in Music is the first book to be devoted to the subject. The range of musical material is too wide for a single author to tackle satisfactorily, and the nine contributors to this volume are experts in the very different fields involved. The first essay, by Robert Shay, deals with the late seventeenth century semi-opera King Arthur, while the final essay by William Everitt looks at the appearances of Arthur on stage and screen and the scores that have accompanied these. Between these two extremes, the main body of the book deals largely with opera as we now understand it, from Wagner's 'Tristan' and 'Parsifal' to Harrison Birtwistle's 'Sir Gawain and the GreenKnight'. Some works have never been performed, such as Hubert Parry's 'Guenever' and Rutland Boughton's Arthurian cycle, while others have only recently been staged or revived, such as Isaac Albeniz's 'Merlin' and Ernest Chausson's 'Le roi Artus', both striking post-Wagnerian works in very different styles: 'Merlin', for instance, begins with a passage based on Gregorian chant. The range of music is therefore wider than one might at first suspect, and other aspects of Arthurian music are brought out in the introduction, which is a general survey of the field, and in Jerome V.Reel's comprehensive listing of Arthurian musical items which is printed as an appendix. Contributors ROBERT ADLINGTON, RICHARD BARBER, WALTER A. CLARK, JEREMY DIBBLE, WILLIAM A. EVERITT, TONY HUNT, MICHAEL HURD, JEROME V. REEL, NIGEL SIMEONE, ROBERT SHAY, DEREK WATSON.

Biographical insights into two outstanding musical personalities and commentary on the vitality of the British musical scene of the period. The letters that passed, on an almost daily basis, between the composers Howard Ferguson and Gerald Finzi provide not only a fascinating commentary on the British musical scene of the period 1926-1956, but also what amounts to a unique dual-biography of two remarkable, though very different, personalities. Their lives, their loves, their enthusiasms and their prejudices are laid bare with a rare degree of candour, so that we learn not only what it was liketo be witness to an art that was enjoying an unprecedented explosion of creative vitality, but also how they came to explore and consolidate their own exceptional talents. Biographical background narratives provide links that make clear what intimate correspondents inevitably take for granted, and explanations are given for references that the passage of time has made obscure. Their lives are thus revealed in all their diversity - tragedy and comedy, achievement and frustration, justifiable pride and unreasoning prejudice playing equal parts in this absorbing tale of two outstanding musical personalities of the twentieth century.

At a time when "Friday night lights" shone only on white high school football games, African American teams across Texas burned up the gridiron on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The segregated high schools in the Prairie View Interscholastic League (the African American counterpart of the University Interscholastic League, which excluded black schools from membership until 1967) created an exciting brand of football that produced hundreds of outstanding players, many of whom became college All-Americans, All-Pros, and Pro Football Hall of Famers, including NFL greats such as "Mean" Joe Green (Temple Dunbar), Otis Taylor (Houston Worthing), Dick "Night Train" Lane (Austin Anderson), Ken Houston (Lufkin Dunbar), and Bubba Smith (Beaumont Charlton-Pollard). Thursday Night Lights tells the inspiring, largely unknown story of African American high school football in Texas. Drawing on interviews, newspaper stories, and memorabilia, Michael Hurd introduces the players, coaches, schools, and towns where African Americans built powerhouse football programs under the PVIL leadership. He covers fifty years (1920-1970) of high school football history, including championship seasons and legendary rivalries such as the annual Turkey Day Classic game between Houston schools Jack Yates and Phillis Wheatley, which drew standing-room-only crowds of up to 40,000, making it the largest prep sports event in postwar America. In telling this story, Hurd explains why the PVIL was necessary, traces its development, and shows how football offered a potent source of pride and ambition in the black community, helping black kids succeed both athletically and educationally in a racist society.

'Way of the Witness' presents itself to you as a companion and journal, with whom to maintain your journey. Drawing upon messages from 'Enter the Witness' and 'Reference Point,' it engages your active sense for processing these materials. The activities are simply presented and easily managed, as they supplement a lifetime already rich with experience. We are ever with you through this process. - The Gathering

As the fourth book in the "Enter the Witness" series, "There is Nowhere Else" acquaints its readers with the presence of individuals called 'Invisibles.' These guides reveal additional secrets toward a successful management of Reality's challenges.

From the very start, 'Enter the Witness' draws you into a state of virtual communication with beings beyond your planetary experience. They've come to assist you in the realization of your current circumstances, and with an offer of certain rescue. Ever felt as if you didn't quite belong here? Ever wondered if there was more to this life? You're ready to begin! On a deeper level, 'Enter the Witness' presents thematically, with an emphasis upon the concept of the Witness, as valued and described in traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Easily accessible in language and perspective, this book draws the reader into a virtual dialogue with personalities who suggest the nature of human existence as being one of illusion. These personalities also arrive in the form of new psychological archetypes, enabling reader connections on a symbolic level. Through means direct and indirect, the reader gradually moves into a deeper understanding of this important concept.

Texans in World War II offers an informative look at the challenges and changes faced by Texans on the home front during the Second World War. This collection of essays by leading scholars of Texas history covers topics from the African American and Tejano experience to organized labor, from the expanding opportunities for women to the importance of oil and agriculture. Texans in World War II makes local the frequently studied social history of wartime, bringing it home to Texas.An eye-opening read for Texans eager to learn more about this defining era in their state's history, this book will also prove deeply informative for scholars, students, and general readers seeking detailed, definitive information about World War II and its implications for daily life, economic growth, and social and political change in the Lone Star State.