New Publications,
New Music Book Publications - 5th June 2023
Welcome to our latest selection of new music publications, including an account of Rachmaninoff's final years spent living in America, an analysis of the value of music and how it can bring communities together, a history of minimalism in music, an introduction to medieval polyphony and song, a guide to the Great American Songbook, a paperback edition of Kate Molleson's award-winning reappraisal of twentieth-century music, an exploration of what happens when a Broadway musical is turned into a Hollywood film, a study of music at the Chapel Royal in Dublin from 1814 to 1922, and an examination of the Strasbourg Cantiones of 1539.
In 1940 Sergei Rachmaninoff, living in exile in America, broke his creative silence and composed a swan song to his Russian homeland. What happened in those final haunted years and how did he come to write his farewell masterpiece, the Symphonic Dances? Using a wide range of sources, including important newly-translated texts, this book conjures impressions of this enigmatic figure, his friends and the world he encountered.
Available Format: Book
As countries went into lockdown in 2020, people turned to music for comfort and solidarity. Neighbours sang to each other from their balconies; people participated in online music sessions that created an experience of socially distanced togetherness. This book argues that the value of music goes far beyond simple enjoyment: it can also enhance well-being, interpersonal relationships, cultural tolerance, and civil cohesion.
Available Format: Book
On Minimalism: Documenting a Musical Movement
Kerry O'Brien & William Robin; University of California Press; Paperback
When composers like Philip Glass and Steve Reich began creating hypnotically repetitive music in the 1960s, it upended the world of American composition. But minimalism was more than a classical phenomenon: its harmonies and pulses swept through the broader avant-garde landscape. This book moves from its beginnings in psychedelic counterculture through to its influences on ambient jazz, doom metal, and electronic music.
Available Format: Book
Medieval Polyphony and Song (Cambridge Introductions to Music)
Helen Deeming & Frieda van der Heijden; Cambridge University Press; Paperback
What characterises medieval polyphony and song? Who composed this music, sang it, and wrote it down? Where and when did the different genres originate, and under what circumstances were they created and performed? This book gives a comprehensive introduction to the rich variety of polyphonic practices and song traditions during the Middle Ages. Each chapter focuses on a particular geographical location, setting out the specific local contexts of the music created there.
Available Format: Book
The Great American Songbook: 201 Favorites You Ought to Know (& Love)
Steven Suskin; Backbeat Books; Paperback
The Great American Songbook - that sprawling canon of popular songs, standards, and show tunes from roughly the 1920s to the 1950s - is a foundational text of American pop music. Attempting to plumb its depths can be a daunting prospect. This carefully-curated and cheerfully-opinionated guidebook surveys 201 of the most significant selections from the songbook, ranging from celebrated masterpieces to forgotten gems. Year by year, it puts songwriters and their contributions in context, and explains what makes each song such a distinctive treat.
Available Format: Book
Sound Within Sound: A History of Radical Twentieth Century Composers
Kate Molleson; Faber & Faber; Paperback
From Ethiopia and the Philippines to Mexico, Jerusalem, Russia and beyond, this book tells the stories of ten figures who altered the course of musical history, only to be sidelined and denied recognition during an era that systemically favoured certain sounds over others. Now available in paperback, it is an energetic reappraisal of twentieth-century classical music that opens up the world far beyond its established centres, challenges stereotypical portrayals of the genre, and shatters its traditional canon.
Available Format: Book
A Fine Romance: Adapting Broadway to Hollywood in the Studio System Era
Geoffrey Block; Oxford University Press; Hardback
How do we compare a Broadway musical to its Hollywood counterpart? From enduring classics like Oklahoma!, Brigadoon, and West Side Story to lesser-known gems such as Cabin in the Sky, Call Me Madam, and Silk Stockings, this book delves into what happens during the transfer of stories from stage to film, the critical criteria that motivate decisions to alter or preserve stage elements when adapting to film, and the dramatic and musical consequences at play in these artistic and commercial choices.
Available Format: Book
The Choral Foundation of the Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle: Constitution, Liturgy, Music, 1814-1922
David Michael O'Shea; Boydell & Brewer; Hardback
The Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle, was the place of worship of the British monarch's representative in Ireland from 1814 until the inception of the Irish Free State in 1922. It was founded and maintained by the joint efforts of church and state, and thus its history provides valuable insights into how the relationship between religion and politics shaped Irish society and identity. This study investigates the Chapel's constitution, liturgy and music through an examination of previously unexplored primary material.
Available Format: Book
The Strasbourg Cantiones of 1539: Protestant City, Catholic Music
Daniel Trocme-Latter; Boydell & Brewer; Hardback
The Cantiones quinque vocum selectissimæ are a collection of twenty-eight Latin five-voice motets by composers including Gombert, Willaert, and Jacquet of Mantua. This book comprises a critical study of the anthology in terms of the circumstances of its assemblage and printing, its confessional significance, and the music itself, alongside brief biographical details of the composers - including the lesser-known ones (e.g. Ferrariensis, Sarton, Billon) - and a full list of all concordant sources.
Available Format: Book
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