Reviews for A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers: A-C, Vol. 1

The average rating for A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers: A-C, Vol. 1 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-02-29 00:00:00 Irene Isbister If you are looking for theory then this book is subtle, nuanced, and judicious. She allows you to make up your own mind on how to use her work. But the real discovery here is historical. Every chapter tells a fascinating story that doubles back on itself three or four times -- there is just no predicting where these stories will go. One learns a tremendous amount about music in India, the history of India, and the everyday contours of music theory on the street, in the schools, and at the palaces. I was particularly struck by how the changes in technology -- importing the violin, advent of the mic, incorporation of the gramophone -- influence ideas of modernity/tradition, class/gender, and linguistic nationalism. If you give this book the time it deserves it rewards you in countless ways. I plan to read it again.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-09-22 00:00:00 Vicky Schulz This is an amazing, amazing book that deserves so much more recognition than it is likely getting. Anyone who rates it less than "five stars" doesn't understand its significance. It really isn't even something you can rate. It's an American classic, a historic document. Imagine a young single white woman in the late 1800's taking to the road, by herself or sometimes with some company, to visit what remains of the major Native American tribes in the United States. Imagine creating enough of a relationship with the elders of each of these tribes to record some of their most sacred chants and songs (includes the actual music scores). Imagine capturing some of their images with cameras of that time. Natalie Curtis knew Native Americans as they might have been before European colonialism, were on the verge of extinction. As is said in other reviews, this is nothing less than a seminal work all the more tragic because she was killed just a few days after presenting it at the Sorbonne. This book is an American treasure and classic that preserves and honors not only Native American tribes but the compassion and vision of Natalie Curtis herself.