When first published in 1947, A Short History of Opera immediately achieved international status as a classic in the field. Now, more than five decades later, this thoroughly revised and expanded fourth edition informs and entertains opera lovers just as its predecessors have. The fourth edition incorporates new scholarship that traces the most important developments in the evolution of musical drama. After surveying anticipations of the operatic form in the lyric theater of the Greeks, medieval dramatic music, and other forerunners, the book reveals the genre's beginnings in the seventeenth century and follows its progress to the present day. A Short History of Opera examines not only the standard performance repertoire, but also works considered important for the genre's development. Its expanded scope investigates opera from Eastern European countries and Finland. The section on twentieth-century opera has been reorganized around national operatic traditions including a chapter devoted solely to opera in the United States, which incorporates material on the American musical and ties between classical opera and popular musical theater. A separate section on Chinese opera is also included. With an extensive multilanguage bibliography, more than one hundred musical examples, and stage illustrations, this authoritative one-volume survey will be invaluable to students and serious opera buffs. New fans will also find it highly accessible and informative. Extremely thorough in its coverage, A Short History of Opera is now more than ever the book to turn to for anyone who wants to know about the history of this art form.
First Published in 1999, Hermine Weigel Williams’ study draws on more than thirty years of research to fill this noticeable lacuna , and presents here the first full scale life and works of the composer for over ninety years. Part One of the book surveys the biographical aspects of Conti’s career. Appointed court theorist at the age of nineteen, Conti was promoted to court composer in 1713-14. Williams examines Conti’s creative collaborations with some of the leading poet-librettists of the day, and the influence of his music that can be identified in works by Telemann, Bach and Handel. Part Two comprises close analyses of Conti’s compositions: his instrumental music, cantatas, operas, intermezzos, oratorios and sacred music. Williams reveals Conti as a composer who constantly experimented with a wide range of French, German and Italian ideas and techniques to create his own diverse musico-dramatic style.
Thomas Hastings (1784-1872) is generally remembered as a compiler and composer of hymn tunes and anthems, but rarely is he spoken of as a prolific writer of hymn texts. Nor do many people refer to Hastings as an author, even though he penned several books and contributed numerous articles for newspapers and journals that were primarily, but not exclusively, related to his lifelong quest to reform the music used for Protestant services of worship. All of these various aspects of Hastings career are addressed in this, the first published study of Hastings life and career. The book is designed to awaken interest in this musician's contributions and to serve as a foundation upon which future studies of nineteenth-century American sacred music can build. Of particular interest is the fact that much of the material for this biographical profile has been drawn from sources not previously investigated by scholars in the field.
The fourth edition incorporates new scholarship that traces the most important developments in the evolution of musical drama. After surveying anticipations of the operatic form in the lyric theater of the Greeks, medieval dramatic music, and other forerunners, the book reveals the genre's beginnings in the seventeenth century and follows its progress to the present day."--Jacket.
Thomas Hastings (1784-1872) is generally remembered as a compiler and composer of hymn tunes and anthems, but rarely is he spoken of as a prolific writer of hymn texts. Nor do many people refer to Hastings as an author, even though he penned several books and contributed numerous articles for newspapers and journals that were primarily, but not exclusively, related to his lifelong quest to reform the music used for Protestant services of worship. All of these various aspects of Hastings career are addressed in this, the first published study of Hastings life and career. The book is designed to awaken interest in this musician's contributions and to serve as a foundation upon which future studies of nineteenth-century American sacred music can build. Of particular interest is the fact that much of the material for this biographical profile has been drawn from sources not previously investigated by scholars in the field.
Edward Robinson (1794-1863) was a highly regarded philologist, lexicographer, orientalist, and biblical geographer, whose redrawing of the maps of ancient Israel laid the foundation for the field of modern biblical archaeology. Robinson graduated from Hamilton College in 1816, married Eliza Kirkland, and after her untimely death in 1819, went to Andover Theological Seminary to study Hebrew with Moses Stuart. While working with Stuart, Robinson decided to pursue a theological education, not at Andover, but at a German university. He sailed for Europe in 1826, studied at the university in Halle, and four years later returned to Andover as a member of the seminarys faculty. Throughout his European sojourn, Robinson wrote to his sister Elisabeth, providing a wealth of information about European culture and customs. These letters offer a valuable resource for nineteenth-century studies, for they contain detailed descriptions of the churches, art museums, and libraries he visited, the mountains he climbed, and the famous persons he met, such as Schleiermacher, Goethe, Schiller, General Lafayette, A. von Humboldt, and the Grimm brothers. From 1837 until his death, Robinson held the position of professor of biblical studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he resided with his second wife, Therese von Jakob Robinson, and his two children
First Published in 1999, Hermine Weigel Williams’ study draws on more than thirty years of research to fill this noticeable lacuna , and presents here the first full scale life and works of the composer for over ninety years. Part One of the book surveys the biographical aspects of Conti’s career. Appointed court theorist at the age of nineteen, Conti was promoted to court composer in 1713-14. Williams examines Conti’s creative collaborations with some of the leading poet-librettists of the day, and the influence of his music that can be identified in works by Telemann, Bach and Handel. Part Two comprises close analyses of Conti’s compositions: his instrumental music, cantatas, operas, intermezzos, oratorios and sacred music. Williams reveals Conti as a composer who constantly experimented with a wide range of French, German and Italian ideas and techniques to create his own diverse musico-dramatic style.
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