For the beginner or the devotee—it's everything the classical music buff needs to know. The major composers from Bach and Bartok to Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky Significant performers from Maurice Andre and Leornard Bernstein to Georg Solti and Yo Yo Ma The landmark works from Appalachian Spring to Don Juan A concise history of classical music A deconstruction of the art form The language of classical music Valuable resources for the Curious Listener
A concise history of jazz The noteworthy composers and musicians, from Jelly Roll Morton and Thelonious Monk to Miles Davis and Charles Mingus Major performers from Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald to Nat King Cole and Duke Ellington Classic songs and compositions The most influential recordings of all time A complete guide to jazz terminology and lingo Valuable resources for the Curious Listener
Examining the changing face of the genre from its beginnings at the end of the 19th century to its international popularity today, this book traces the social climate that inspired the blues and takes a look at the unmistakable influences that blues had on 20th-century music. Includes information on performances from Muddy Waters to Eric Clapton.
A comprehensive listener's guide to American folk music provides a concise history of the musical genre and its most important performers, along with an A-to-Z glossary of terms, information on stylistic variations, helpful resources, and a listing of dozens of essential folk music CDs.
Song & Social Change in Latin America offers seven essays from a diverse group of scholars on the topic of music as a reflection of the many social-political upheavals throughout Latin America from the 20th century to the present. Topics covered include: the Tropicália movement in Brazil, the Nueva Canción in Central America, Rock in Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Peru, the Vallenato in Colombia, Trova in Cuba, and urban music of Puerto Rico in the mid-20th century. The collection also includes five interviews from prominent and up-and-coming musicians —Ruben Blades, Roy Brown, Habana Abierta, Ana Tijoux, and Mare— representing a variety of musical genres and political issues in Central America, the Caribbean, South America, and Mexico.
Musical vernaculars are a rare and challenging object of study. Their sound can include everything—from local folk and popular songs to random foreign hits and fragments of classic repertoire. It is an everchanging element—eclectic, whimsical, and resistant to regularity. Based on the author’s multicultural experience, proficiency in Russian and Jewish music history, and interest in anthropology, this book explores the essential features of vernaculars. They can have varying degrees of changeability; some are quite stable, and exist in closed rural or immigrant communities (phylo-vernacular), while others are dynamic, like those of an urbanized population (onto-vernacular). These types of vernacular can turn into one another when communities migrate—that is, agricultural people move to cities, and the townspeople settle on the land. Understanding the changes in the vernacular repertoires as something natural, this book defends the value of urbanized folk music, disputing the traditional view of art-music composers of rural folk songs as only “authentic” and suitable for expressing nationalistic sentiments. The book also examines unexpected interconnections between Russian and Jewish music, both in their vernacular manifestations and the creative work of Sergei Slonimsky and Dmitry Shostakovich.
Global Beat Fusion The History of the Future of Music Words & Pix by Derek Beres Foreword by Ajay Naidu "Derek Beres is part reporter and part prophet standing in the middle of the eye of the World Music storm that is raining new musical genres on the Earth today, each one fused by the love of song and spirit." -Krishna Das, kirtan artist "I met Derek Beres as a writer interested in shedding light on what was happening in the world of future music. I know him now as a major force pushing this scene in all directions. He has gone so far deep inside that he has become exactly what he writes about. He will forget to write one chapter of this book and that is the one about himself." -Karsh Kale, tabla player/DJ/producer "Derek Beres is a modern-day shaman. He knows new hybrids of electronic and non-Western music deliver the same ecstatic release as ancient tribal rituals of so-called primitive societies, and that the implications go far beyond an ambient groove. For Beres, the fusion of technology and ritual, the reconciliation of mind, body and spirit that electronic world music represents, is not just the cutting edge of modern entertainment but the early stages of a numinous revolution in American culture. In Global Beat Fusion he explains why music is the new religion, and how, in one sense or another, we are all destined to become believers." -Guy Garcia, author of The New Mainstream: How the Multicultural Consumer is Transforming American Business For exclusive interviews, pictures, events artist info and more visit www.globalbeatfusion.com Cover artwork by Craig Anthony Miller www.craiganthonymiller.com Outside the Box Publishing www.otbpublishing.com
A guide for music: compositions, events, forms, genres, groups, history, industry, instruments, language, live music, musicians, songs, musicology, techniques, terminology , theory, music video. Music is a human activity which involves structured and audible sounds, which is used for artistic or aesthetic, entertainment, or ceremonial purposes. The traditional or classical European aspects of music often listed are those elements given primacy in European-influenced classical music: melody, harmony, rhythm, tone color/timbre, and form. A more comprehensive list is given by stating the aspects of sound: pitch, timbre, loudness, and duration. Common terms used to discuss particular pieces include melody, which is a succession of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord, which is a simultaneity of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord progression, which is a succession of chords (simultaneity succession); harmony, which is the relationship between two or more pitches; counterpoint, which is the simultaneity and organization of different melodies; and rhythm, which is the organization of the durational aspects of music.
Major composers including Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, and Strauss * Legendary singers from the great divas to the Three Tenors * What to look for and listen to at the opera * The history of opera and why it endures * Stylistic variations and basic theoretical underpinnings * Appreciating the art form * Biographies of the opera's greatest artists * A survey of classic operas
