New Publications,
New Music Book Publications - 1st June 2020
Welcome to our latest selection of new music books. Our picks this time round include an analysis of self-quotation in the music of Schubert; a biography of American composer Augusta Browne; an examination of gender politics in French Baroque opera; a consideration of the cultural context of the polyphonic Mass; a study of the relationship between music and the sublime; a lavishly-illustrated biography for younger readers of violin virtuoso, Itzhak Perlman; and a guide for singers on various mind-body awareness techniques including yoga, Alexander Technique, and the Feldenkrais Method.
Self-Quotation in Schubert - "Ave Maria", the Second Piano Trio, and Other Works
Scott Messing; University of Rochester Press; Hardback
Centring on Ave Maria and the Piano Trio No. 2, this study interrogates the concept of self-quotation from the standpoints of terminology and authorial intent, demonstrating how Schubert's practice of self-quotation relates to prevailing practices in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It then goes on to analyse the musical relationships between the two works and the circumstances that led Schubert to compose each of them.
Available Format: Book
This picture-book biography of violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman will inspire young readers. Despite enormous obstacles including a near-fatal bout of polio that left him crippled for life, Itzhak persevered, honing his extraordinary gift. Gorgeously illustrated with extensive back matter, this book recounts Itzhak's childhood journey from a boy with a dream to an internationally-acclaimed violin virtuoso.
Available Format: Book
Augusta Browne - Composer and Woman of Letters in Nineteenth-Century America
Bonny H. Miller; University of Rochester Press; Hardback
Hailed as one of the most prolific women composers in the USA before 1870, Augusta Browne was also a dedicated educator and journalist. This book presents her story, assesses her musical works, and describes her literary publications. Making use of recently-digitised sheet music as well as archives of newspapers and books, it provides the first-ever comprehensive account of this notable life in American music.
Available Format: Book
Coquettes, Wives, and Widows - Gender Politics in French Baroque Opera and Theater
Marcie Ray; University of Rochester Press; Hardback
This book explores how seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French theatrical works frequently portrayed independent-minded women as agents of chaos who deployed their sexuality to destabilise class demarcations, or to destroy families and at times the monarchy itself. It examines a wide range of works from Rameau's Platée and Campra's Aréthuse to works from the Comédie-Française and fairgound theatres.
Available Format: Book
The Cultural Life of the Early Polyphonic Mass: Medieval Context to Modern Revival
Andrew Kirkman; Cambridge University Press; Paperback
The polyphonic Mass has long been seen as the pre-eminent musical genre of the late Middle Ages, yet close consideration of the meaning of these compositions for their composers and original users has begun only much more recently. This book considers the genre both as an expression of the needs of the society in which it arose and as a fulfilment of aesthetic priorities that arose in the wake of the Enlightenment.
Available Format: Book
Music and the Sonorous Sublime in European Culture, 1680-1880
Sarah Hibberd & Miranda Stanyon (editors); Cambridge University Press; Hardback
This volume offers an historically-situated study of the relationship between music, sound and the sublime. Together, the authors distinguish between the different aesthetics of production, representation and effect, while understanding these as often mutually reinforcing approaches. They demonstrate music's strength in playing out the sublime as transfer, transport and transmission of power, allied to the persistent theme of destruction, deaths and endings.
Available Format: Book
So You Want to Sing with Awareness: A Guide for Performers
Matthew Hoch (editor); Rowman & Littlefield; Paperback
Yoga, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Method, Pilates, Body Mapping... These techniques all promote optimum vocal performance through mind-body awareness, but where should a singer begin? This book welcomes singers into all of these methods, allowing them to explore each option's history and application to singing and determine which methods may best meet their needs as performers.
Available Format: Book
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