The harpsichord was the standard keyboard instrument for three centuries before the invention of the piano. It enjoyed a revival in the second half of the twentieth century, but because of the interruption in its history as a more regularly used instrument, many details about its construction are lacking. In The Harpsichord Stringing Handbook, Thomas Donahue integrates available historical evidence and modern physical principles-from both musicological and scientific literature-to provide practical quantitative information about the stringing of this instrument. The Harpsichord Stringing Handbook covers the composition and properties of iron and brass wire, the interrelationship of frequency to string length, safety factors involved with stringing, the scaling of string lengths, the calculation of diameters, and the determination of the transition from iron to brass in mixed-strung instruments. Supplemental topics include the elasticity and plasticity of wire, inharmonicity, tension and stress, and the interpolation of string lengths. Additional material includes data on selected historical harpsichords, absolute diameters of historical gauge numbering systems, a generated list of tensile strength values for historical wire, and sizes and tensile strengths of currently available wire. This book offers specific guidance for instrument makers, restorers, curators, technicians, musicians, kit builders, wire manufacturers, and acousticians, filling in critical details that historical treatises and surviving instruments may not clearly address.

In Essays in Honor of Christopher Hogwood: The Maestro's Direction, Thomas Donahue has collected several essays from authors who have been motivated and inspired by the distinguished keyboard player, music editor, writer, and conductor, Christopher Hogwood, in honor of his 70th birthday in 2011. As is clearly shown in the assembled articles, Hogwood has had considerable influence in the latter half of the 20th century in advocating the historically informed performance of early music. Contributions from such scholars as Yo Tomita, Richard Troeger, Sabine K. Klaus, Bridget Cunningham, and Annette Richards pay tribute to this major musician of the 20th century, one of the strongest advocates for the performance of early music. The volume begins with a foreword by Bernard Brauchli, followed by a chronology of Hogwood's education and career, including his publications and awards. The succeeding essays cover a variety of subjects associated with Hogwood's approach to early music, including the interpretation of composers' notations, discussions of musical instrument construction and use, elucidation of performance traditions and conventions of the past, and analysis of the music itself. The essays provide insights on the music of Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and J.S. and C.P.E. Bach and consider various keyboard instruments such as the clavichord, square piano, spinet, and claviorgan. An afterword by Hogwood himself completes this well rounded collection.

In A Style and Usage Guide to Writing About Music, Thomas Donahue presents a collection of guidelines to help express through the written word the special notations, terms, and concepts found in the discipline of music. It concentrates on questions of style and format in the interest of good formal writing within the context of United-States English, so that writers may communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. While compiling the guidelines, Donahue reviewed content from many other music and general guides. He documented the most common formats in order to assist the writer in selecting an appropriate format for the given circumstance when more than one may apply. The book draws on profuse musically-oriented examples and is arranged by topics both musical and typographic, such as the proper use and spelling of composer names and musical concepts; the use of notes, pitches, and octave delineations; letters and numbers employed to describe form and harmony; when, where, and how to apply compound words and hyphenation of terms and names; and the proper citation of musical and audiovisual sources. The book concludes with a glossary of typographic terms, a bibliography, and a comprehensive index, making this a valuable resource for students, scholars, teachers, and writers.

Documents the craft of the organbuilder Gerhard Brunzema (1927-1992) in terms of the organs he built and how his instruments and his approach to organbuilding had an influence on music history. Divided into two parts, Part I contains essays by people who knew Brunzema and his work, and documents his skill both in the restoration of historically significant instruments in Europe, as well as in the building of new organs in his own style throughout the world. Also included in this section are two musical compositions in his memory by Gerhard Krapf and Barrie Cabena. Part II details the organs themselves during the three phases of his career: in Germany (1954-1971) with his partner Jurgen Ahrend; in Quebec, Canada (1972-1979) with Casavant Freres; and in Ontario (1980-1992) in his own workshop. This section features a complete listing of all the organs he built, descriptions of seventy organs, and a complete technical documentation of one of his instruments. Also included are three articles by Brunzema, proposals for organs that were never built, an annotated discography, a listing of the published photographs of his organs, videography, bibliography, 16 black and white photographs and 41 line drawings.

Fraternal Bonds is a Massachusetts based murder mystery. Protagonist Stephen Nicholson, a full-time correction officer and part-time private investigator, becomes entwined in a murdersome tale which challenges loyalties to old friends while warding off the throes of prison corruption.