The co-editors of this book of essays, Anna Maria Busse Berger and Henry Spiller, have collected a multitude of narratives addressing how outsiders transformed the fabric of Indonesian musical history.
Notably, Busse Berger has spent most of her career working in early-music scholarship; she now exemplifies the trend toward expanding the definition of early music to a global scale.
The Fabric of Indonesian Music History Read More »
A new recording of golden-age viola da gamba music, highlighted by Marin Marais and Antoine Fourqueray, makes for a rewarding debut album. Pairing the viol with just a single theorbo, intriguingly, allows for easy, conversational flow between the two musicians.
Caroline Nicolas’ Gamba Debut: Stylish and Personal Read More »
Anyone curious about the phenomenal growth of early music in the last decades of the 20th century is bound to run across the name David Munrow. In his short but ebullient career, just nine years, the English musician, scholar, and entrepreneur arguably did more than anyone to create the early-music scene we know today.
The Brilliant David Munrow, Gone a Half Century Read More »
In 18th- and 19th-century Europe (and colonial culture in the Americas), dancing was used to make social connections and impress members of one’s class. ‘Dance and Sociability’ offers detailed descriptions of the social context for European dance among the upper classes during this period, including a thought-provoking article on how to define “grace.”
Dancing for Fun, Dancing as a Social Grace Read More »
Great artists express their identities through their art, yet many artists are forced to live in a society that does not accept their true identity. ‘Passing Fancy: Beauty in a Moment of Chaos,’ from Sonnambula, an ensemble of violins, viols, and keyboard, explores works by a range of such societal outcasts from the 16th and 17th centuries.
Sleepwalkers, Outcasts, Beauty, Chaos Read More »
