New Books Shelf (May 28-June 4, 2008) June 3, 2008
Posted by Angela Mace in : Uncategorized , trackback
Wednesday is an eagerly anticipated day in the music department. Why? It’s the day Pat Canovai rotates the display of newly received books, CDs, DVDs, and journals. Within hours, faculty and students can be observed leafing through the books, waiting impatiently for the day a week later when the books will go into circulation. Especially exciting in the new CD collection this week is an album by the Duke Music Department’s very own John Brown, with the John Brown Quintet.
In new books this week, the selection ranges from a new installment in the Global Music Series (Lau, Frederick, Music in China: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008) to a reprint of Leonard Bernstein’s The Infinite Variety of Music (New York: Amadeus Press, 2007). Of special note is the new biography of Hall Johnson. Although the details of Johnson’s life have until now remained in shadow, Johnson’s concert arrangements of spirituals were performed by singers of the highest caliber from Marian Anderson to Denyce Graves. The author, Eugene Thamon Simpson, was a friend and student of Johnson, and writes with the enthusiasm and engaging warmth of a good friend, while retaining the objectivity necessary to document his facts carefully. (Simpson, Eugene Thamon, Hall Johnson: His Life, His Spirit, and His Music. Toronto: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2008).
Each year now brings a new bicentenary of some favorite 19th-century composer. After the excitement of festivals, concerts, and conferences has faded, we can look forward to more permanent commemorations of a great composer as conference proceedings and collected essays work their way through the press. Berlioz: Scenes from the Life and Work, edited by Peter Bloom for the Eastman Studies in Music series, comes in the aftermath of Berlioz’s 200th birthday celebrations in 2003. A confluence of respected authors from Jacques Barzun to David Cairns, the essays are organized into six loosely defined topics from “Aesthetic Issues” to “An Artist’s Life”, which explore in turn the multi-faceted talent and career path of one of the 19th century’s most enigmatic and eccentric musical pioneers. (Bloom, Peter. Berlioz: Scenes from the Life and Work. Rochester, N.Y.: Rochester University Press, 2008).
These items will be available for circulation on June 4, 2008.
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