This is the final book in the series on orchestral conducting that Norman Del Mar had been writing until his death in February 1994. As with the previous books, each chapter is devoted to a specific work, and once again all the major orchestral works of this important composer are covered. The book culminates in an important study of The Dream of Gerontius completed by his son Jonathan, himself a conductor. Norman Del Mar was renowned in his generation as an interpreter of English music and in particular for his understanding of Elgar's music. His explanations of the subtleties of guiding an orchestra through these magnificent scores are an invaluable help to all those who seek to clarify this elusive music. Elgar's own recordings are frequently consulted but not always accepted.
Berlioz, the enfant terrible of music if ever there was one, was always a favorite of the late Norman Del Mar. In this volume (seen through the press by his son Jonathan) Norman Del Mar brings all his wide experience to the explanations and elucidation of the more difficult points of conducting these works. The most imaginative orchestrator ever is treated with wisdom and perception and many doubtful technical points are clarified in this invaluable handbook. Anyone wanting to know more about Berlioz's works, be they student or music-loving listener, will find their enjoyment enhanced after reading this indispensable study. The three extraordinary symphonies are considered in detail, followed by six overtures, and other important works. The volume culminates in chapters on the Grande Messe des morts and Te Deum which give true insight into these major choral pieces. Del Mar's writing style is easily approachable and carries the reader along in eager anticipation as understanding is assimilated from his own infectious enthusiasm.
Titles in Dictionaries for the Modern Musician: A Scarecrow Press Music Series offer both the novice and the advanced artist key information designed to convey the field of study and performance for a major instrument or instrument class, as well as the workings of musicians in areas from conducting to composing. Unlike other encyclopedic works, contributions to this series focus primarily on the knowledge required by the contemporary musical student or performer. Each dictionary covers topics from instrument parts to playing technique, major works to key figures. A must-have for any musician’s personal library! Filling a vital need in the rapidly changing and complex field of conducting, A Dictionary for the Modern Conductor is a concise one-volume reference tool that brings together for the first time information covering a broad array of topics essential for today’s conductor to know. Author and conductor Emily Freeman Brown offers easy-to-read definitions of key musical terms, translated foreign terms, examples of usage from orchestral music and practical vocabulary in multiple languages. A Dictionary for the Modern Conductor includes biographies of major conductors and other individual important to the world of modern conducting, emphasizing throughout their contributions to the progress of the conducting professional; critical information on major orchestras, significant ensembles, key institutions and organizations, with a focus on the ways in which they preserve and advance today’s musical life; and practical entries covering baton and rehearsal techniques, bowing terms, information about instruments, voice types and much more. In a series of appendixes, A Dictionary for the Modern Conductor also covers such topics as orchestral works that changed the art and practice of conducting, a short historiography of conducting, a comprehensive bibliography, a look at conducting recitative, and a list of pitches, interval names, rhythmic terms, orchestral and percussion instrument names, and finally translations of all of these categories of information into French, German, Italian, and Spanish. A Dictionary for the Modern Conductor will appeal to aspiring conductors and seasoned professionals. It is an invaluable resource.
Drawing on a vast amount of source material, much of it previously unpublished, Moore here presents Sir Edward Elgar's life and works as inseparable parts of a single creative whole.
This book is the only complete and up-to-date annotated bibliography available on women's activities and contributions in the creation and performance of music through the ages. Encompassing major books, articles and recordings published over the past five decades, the book examines a broad cross-section of contemporary thought, with each entry - with over 500 devoted to resources from countries outside the US - including annotation along with a critical description of content.
The interrelationship of music and theology is a burgeoning area of scholarship in which conceptual issues have been explored by musicologists and theologians including Jeremy Begbie, Quentin Faulkner and Jon Michael Spencer. Their important work has opened up opportunities for focussed, critical studies of the ways in which music and theology can be seen to interact in specific repertoires, genres, and institutions as well as the work of particular composers, religious leaders and scholars. This collection of essays explores such areas in relation to the religious, musical and social history of nineteenth-century Britain. The book does not simply present a history of sacred music of the period, but examines the role of music in the diverse religious life of a century that encompassed the Oxford Movement, Catholic Emancipation, religious revivals involving many different denominations, the production of several landmark hymnals and greater legal recognition for religions other than Christianity. The book therefore provides a valuable guide to the music of this complex historical period.
Edward Elgar rose from obscurity to become the most popular English composer of his day. Elgar's music is known world-wide and works such as the 'Enigma Variations' and 'The Dream of Gerontius' together with the two symphonies and the two concertos have established him as one of the greatest British composers of all time. The Elgar Society was founded in 1951 to further the cause of Elgar's music and the present volume of essays has been compiled as an expression of gratitude for the work that it has done. These essays reflect the variety and richness of Elgar's music and the debate that this music continues to encourage. The book is not simply for academics however; lovers of music in general will find much to entertain them and it will add greatly to our appreciation of Elgar.
Edward Elgar occupies a pivotal place in the British cultural imagination. His music has been heard as emblematic of Empire and the English landscape. The recent success of Anthony Payne's elaboration of the sketches for Elgar's Third Symphony has prompted a critical revaluation of his music. This Companion provides an accessible and vivid account of Elgar's work in its historical and cultural context. Established authorities on British music and scholars new in the field examine Elgar's music from a range of critical perspectives, including nationalism, post-colonialism, decadence, reception and musical influences. There are also chapters on interpretation, including his own (Elgar was the first major composer to commit a representative quantity of his own work to record), and on Elgar's relationships with the BBC and with his publishers. The book includes much new material, drawing on original research, as well as providing a comprehensive introduction to Elgar's major musical achievements.
This important new biography of Elgar draws on letters and documents which have become available in the last twenty-five years. Michael Kennedy, a leading scholar of British music and a distinguished musical biographer, uses this new material, which includes Elgar's own vast correspondence, in an attempt to get to the centre of the composer's complex personality. Elgar's letters reveal his unpredictable swings of mood, from gaiety and a fondness for puns to morose self-pity and a feeling that he was 'not wanted'.
