Traditional Nursery Rhymes; With Their old Tunes & new Accompaniments
European Musical Competitions, 1700-1940
As music moved from the church and court into the public sphere, competitions - as loci of taste, judgements of one performer's excellence over another, or as a way to improve the musical abilities of a nation - became increasingly important throughout Europe. Such competitions had multivalent meanings: in some cases, they became a way to achieve public fame and have a lucrative career in an era when individual patronage was on the wane. In others, they encouraged new national schools of performance, attempted to resurrect a historical tradition, or placed an official imprimatur on an existing one. European Musical Competitions, 1700-1940: History, Contexts and Meanings is the first volume to investigate the rise and preponderance of such contests throughout the continent. The fourteen essays in this volume address competitions by individuals from Johann Sebastian Bach to Josefa Bustamante in locations across Europe from Dublin to St. Petersburg and Osijetk to Paris. It further illumines how government-sponsored institutions in such diverse places tried to both foster musical abilities and foment taste.
Bach's Church Cantatas
What is a cantata? How and why did Bach compose his cantatas? What did cantatas mean to Bach and what do they mean today? In Bach's Church Cantatas Ruth Tatlow addresses these questions through discussion of five of Bach's most beloved works enriched by newly researched insights that will intrigue both first-time and experienced listeners. With the overarching theme of Glory from the Gallery, this guide starts by introducing Bach's aims for his church cantatas. It examines the devotional content, the theology, and the poetic form of the cantata texts to help the reader appreciate Bach's musical responses. By analysing his choice of voices and instruments, compositional construction, structural symmetries, and other features in the music, Tatlow asks what significance these held for Bach, and how understanding this can help the listener of his music today. The text is illustrated by numerous rarely seen images from seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century sources. The book ends by reimagining the cantatas and their glories from galleries for all creeds and cultures. Written in an accessible style for both non-specialists and those already familiar with Bach, Bach's Church Cantatas uses new research and ways of listening to help us better understand and appreciate the variety of cantata styles and their relevance in the modern world beyond their original liturgical setting.
Wholehearted Voice Pedagogy
Wholehearted Voice Pedagogy: An Integrative Approach to Training Vocal Artists investigates how to develop healthy, equitable, student-teacher relationships in both applied and independent voice lessons. Knitting together research from cognitive science, education, mindfulness, and sports psychology, the book promotes a student-centered approach to teaching that gives singers agency over their vocal expression and buoys teacher well-being.Divided into two parts, the book begins by examining the student-teacher relationship. It explores the history of this relationship, analyses contemporary opportunities and challenges impacting students and teachers, reflects on four holistic pillars of teaching, and offers recommendations for developing healthy boundaries and clear communication with students. The second part focuses on fostering a singer's artistry, covering such topics as selecting repertoire with the student, examining motor skill learning and various practice modalities, cultivating vibrant performances through artistic research, and creating an equitable rubric for assessment. Throughout the book, research is supported by anecdotes and insights from a diverse roster of Western classical, musical theatre, and CCM voice teachers.Synthesized with reflective questions, recommendations for further reading, and a robust online companion, Wholehearted Voice Pedagogy presents an integrative approach to instruction that empowers singing artists and engenders connected, gratifying teaching. This book is a valuable resource for early-career and established voice teachers alike, and offers vibrant resources for vocal pedagogy courses.
The Life and Music of G矇rard Grisey
The first biography of the composer G矇rard Grisey shows how the artist's sensuality and rigor came together to form the musical genre known as spectralism. The French composer G矇rard Grisey (1946-98) changed the course of music history with his small but potent output. Labeled "spectral" music, his compositions looked to the physics of sound and the capacities of human perception for material and inspiration. Born in Belfort, Grisey was the son of a French Resistance veteran turned car mechanic and a homemaker. His first instrument was as humble as his background: the accordion. But Grisey rose from his provincial background to the heights of his profession. This first biography of Grisey traces his journey from rigid Catholicism to broader mysticism; his studies in Olivier Messiaen's legendary composition class; the development of the first "spectral" works in the 1970s; Grisey's stint teaching at the University of California at Berkeley, during which he suffered severe depression; the development of his late, post-spectral style; and his untimely death at the age of 52, shortly after completing his masterpiece on death, the Four Songs for Crossing the Threshold. Drawing on original archival research, interviews with more than fifty of Grisey's colleagues, friends, and lovers, and the study of previously overlooked sketches, this biography shows the delirium and form at the heart of Grisey's life and art--the structured sensuality that allowed him to revolutionize the music of the twentieth century.
Backstage in Hong Kong
After 50 momentous years, little is remembered of the chaos the Hong Kong Philharmonic faced in its early days as a professional outfit. John Duffus arrived in Hong Kong in 1979 as its fifth general manager in as many years. In this entertaining memoir he highlights those problems and illustrates how, with typical Scottish grit and determination, he helped get the orchestra on the road as an international ensemble. John's subsequent concerts as a Hong Kong impresario with superstars Luciano Pavarotti, Jos矇 Carreras, Pl獺cido Domingo, Kiri Te Kanawa, Yo-Yo Ma and many others - including pop icons Dionne Warwick and Olivia Newton-John - make for fascinating and occasionally shocking stories, as do the almost unbelievable backstage dramas he reveals while managing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Asian companies and bringing CATS and Phantom of the Opera to Hong Kong. Most of the details in this book have never before been published.
