New Publications,
New Music Book Publications - 1st May 2023
Welcome to our latest selection of new music publications, including an extensive guide to this summer's BBC Proms season, an analysis of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd's 1575 collection of sacred music (Cantiones sacrae), essays on Beethoven by scholars at the University of Manchester, a discussion of music in Oxford during the twentieth century, studies of songs by Clara Schumann and Benjamin Britten, a new edition of a book offering an understanding of the physiology of breathing and the function of the singing voice, a history of the "Broadway Body", and an unofficial companion to the Eurovision Song Contest.
Tallis and Byrd’s Cantiones sacrae (1575): A Sacred Argument
Jeremy L. Smith; Boydell & Brewer; Hardback
Thomas Tallis's and William Byrd's Cantiones, quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur of 1575 is one of the first sets of sacred music printed in England. Dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I to mark the seventeenth year of her reign, each composer contributed seventeen motets to the collection. But what did they mean to convey by their use of the word "argument" in the title? This book claims that the texts they chose to set were intended to develop a theme, or argument, on the topic of sacred judgment.
Available Format: Book
Manchester Beethoven Studies
Barry Cooper & Matthew Pilcher (editors); Manchester University Press; Hardback
This book presents ten chapters by scholars with close ties to the University of Manchester. It throws new light on many aspects of Beethoven’s life and works, with a special emphasis on early or little-known compositions such as his concert aria Erste Liebe, his String Quintet Op. 104, and his folksong settings. Additionally, biographical elements are prominent in a wide-ranging reassessment of his religious attitudes and beliefs.
Available Format: Book
Music in Twentieth-Century Oxford: New Directions
Robin Darwall-Smith & Susan Wollenberg (editors); Boydell & Brewer; Hardback
Oxford, with its collegiate system and centuries-long tradition of musical activity, presents a distinctive and multi-layered picture of the role of music in urban culture and university life. The chapters shed light on music's unique ability to link 'town and gown', as shown by the Oxford Bach Choir, the city's many churches, and the major choral foundations. The work of Oxford composers, including George Butterworth, Nicola Lefanu, Edmund Rubbra, and William Walton, is also surveyed.
Available Format: Book
Focusing on Clara Schumann's central contributions to the genre of the German art song, this is the first book-length critical study of her songs. Although relatively few in number, they were published and reviewed favourably during her lifetime, and they continue to be programmed regularly in recitals. Highlighting their distinctive features, the book treats them as a prism, casting light on them to explore questions that foster a deeper understanding of the work of female composers.
Available Format: Book
Britten’s Donne, Hardy and Blake Songs: Cyclic Design and Meaning
Gordon Sly; Boydell & Brewer; Hardback
This book presents an analytical study that looks at the overarching designs of Benjamin Britten's solo song cycles setting texts by John Donne, Thomas Hardy, and William Blake. By questioning when a group of songs ought to be understood not merely as a collection, but as a cycle, it shows that Britten's personal selection and arrangement is indispensable to understanding their extra-musical communication. It also offers a broader narrative revealing Britten's evolving philosophical convictions in post-war Britain.
Available Format: Book
This expanded edition includes a new introduction as well as an appendix offering case studies and practical insights from teachers about how this book has impacted their voice instruction. An understanding of how the singing voice functions should be a prerequisite for all those who wish to teach singing. Consequently, the book describes the anatomy and physiology of breathing and phonation, and examines the acoustical laws necessary for an understanding of resonation.
Available Format: Book
The Voice of Virtue: Moral Song and the Practice of French Stoicism, 1574-1652
Melinda Latour; Oxford University Press; Hardback
Guided by reparative traditions granting music therapeutic power, composers and performers across the Catholic and Protestant confessions turned to moral song as a means of repairing personal and collective virtue damaged by the Wars of Religion in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Bringing together a repertoire of little-known music prints and a rich visual culture, this book not only illuminates the influence of Stoicism on music, but also reveals that Neostoicism cannot be fully understood as a cultural movement without accounting for its vibrant musical sounds.
Available Format: Book
Broadway has long preserved the ideology of the "Broadway Body": the hyper-fit, exceptionally able performer who represents how musicals favour certain kinds of bodies. This book explores how ability, sexuality, and size intersect with gender, race, and ethnicity in casting, to tell a history of Broadway's inclusion of various forms of embodied difference while revealing its simultaneous ambivalence toward non-conforming bodies.
Available Format: Book
Packed full of trivia and party games, plus thirty-two pages of full-colour photos, what better way is there to celebrate the flamboyant show than with this unofficial guide to the biggest singing contest in the world? This volume recaps the highs and lows of the decades-old competition, including its most shocking moments, photos of the worst-dressed acts, top-scoring countries, and those who score "nul points".
Available Format: Book
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