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From the neighborhood pianist of silent movie days to the synthesized effects and "music video" sequences of the 1980s: the great and not-so-great moments in film scoring. Scores from countless films, from Birth of a Nation (1915) through Top Gun (1986), are painstakingly analyzed: how does the score relate to onscreen activity? How does it follow or depart from tradition? How does it represent the strengths and foibles of its composer? The book includes discussion of trend-setting work such as Max Steiner's King Kong (1933-an early instance of music carrying a significant portion of onscreen action), Bernard Herrmann's Psycho (1960, with its unusual, high, scraping strings-only support of the famous shower scene), and Alex North's A Streetcar Named Desire (1951-the first essentially jazz-oriented score), as well as remarks on the work that followed within the resulting trends. Discussions are enhanced by musical reproductions of significant themes and motives. Chapters on 14 individual composers working largely within the United States are given perspective by summary chapters on the silent and early sound years, the decades 1930-1980, and the work of composers outside the United States. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A helpful, detailed survey of a neglected field
Music written for films does not get the credit it deserves.The best film composers, like the ones discussed in this book, have produced some of the most stirring and enjoyable music of recent times.After an interesting introductory chapter on the transition from silents to sound,Darby and Du Bois discuss fourteen composers in detail, including the main themes they wrote for particular movies.All the scores each composer worked on are listed at the end of the chapter.Other chapters review film music developments by period, briefly discussing other composers.An appendix lists the scores nominated for Academy Awards from the first in 1934 to 1988.Readers with a serious interest in film music will find this book a valuable resource, though it needs to be updated to include the 1990's.Readers with only a casual interest may find that the detailed discussions of themes tell them more than they want to know.

An excellent resource within its limits
This is an excellent reference, especially for the filmographies of the major Hollywood composers. I know of no other resource where one can get such extensive lists of films scored by given composers. Nor do I know of a resource that has this much information about the careers of so many of the classic film composers.

The book does restrict itself to composers of the classical style, with the exception of their occasional forays into jazz or pop, rather than look at the film work of actual jazz-based composers such as Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Mark Isham, to name a few. A single reference to Duke Ellington is to his influence on Alex North. The only reference to "Young Man with a Horn" is to Max Steiner, no mention or credit goes to Harry James.

Nor will you find any mention of the huge influence of MTV on film scoring and film scoring technique, nor any of the rock-based composers. I'd love to see a discussion of, for example, Tangerine Dream's score to "Risky Business," particularly the ride on the elevated train, and follow that trend right on through to the beautiful and perfectly expressive score for "American Beauty" by Thomas Newman, which includes a subtle and masterful rhythmic control that owes next to nothing to any formal classical pedagogy I've ever come across.

But the authors can not be faulted for the fact that film music has become much too big a subject for a single book.

I confess I was disappointed with what seems to me to be a lack of depth in the analyses of individual films. Some of this is perhaps due to philosophical disagreements I have with authors. In the introduction, they write of there being two broad stylistic categories of scoring techniques: the "motivic" versus "atmospheric," and then come down strongly in favor of the former. But how useful is this distinction? A great film score combines both--these are not mutually exclusive techniques!

Perhaps following the faulty logic of this duality, the musical analyses in the book seem to consist mostly of the listing and description of musical motives and themes when they appear as 'leit motifs.' This can be a helpful starting point, but it seems to me one gains little additional insight into either the film itself or the score from such an enumeration. Likewise, there are solid descriptions of various techniques used by the composers. I learned, for example, that Miklos Rozsa often uses the device of carrying a melodic line forward in the strings, followed at a short distance by French horns in imitative counterpoint, and have found myself noticing this in his films. But it would be nice to see more about when and why this or that technique is used, or how the motives are developed and transformed, contributing to the dramatic course of a film.

Elsewhere in the introduction the author's write: "The initial and very demanding questions are 'how much music' and 'how prominent should it be.'" To me, the first questions in deciding how to score a film concern understanding the dramatic flow and structure of a film, as well as a sense of the overall "texture" of the experience. One cannot come to solid conclusions about instrumentation or spotting until one gets a feel for the film, and what it is trying to accomplish, and what musical devices or techniques to use in serving those ends.

They also subscribe to what I find to be a persistant and annoying notion that if film music should "..sound fully self-sufficient, we can safely assume that it has served the drama badly." Is this necessarily true? Is "Alexander Nevsky" badly served by Prokovieff's wonderful score? "City Lights" badly served by "Smile"? "Gone With the Wind" by "Tara's Theme"? How do we explain the striking commercial success of so many soundtrack CD's?

Perhaps Hanns Eisler's "Composing for the Films," with its wonderfully acerbic first chapter, devoted to debunking the myths of conventional Hollywood film scoring, would be a useful companion read.

In summary, this book can't be beat as a description of the major film composers, their filmographies and career outlines, and can be highly recommended on that basis alone. No where else have I seen such a thorough description of who worked with who, and the sort of work they did, and when. But the analyses of techniques and trends is limited by a philosophical over-emphasis on the "motivic" approach to scoring, giving us much that is quite good in the way of description but little in the way of insight into the inner workings of a great film and score pairing.

Must Read for Students of Film Music
The appreciation of film music as art is a relatively new development. Afew pioneer books opened the door, and there has been an increasing numberof analytic works since then that have given us insight into thisfascinating medium. But, the field grows so quickly that books are quicklyout of date. One of the newest works in this field is American FilmMusic by Darby and Du Bois. It certainly joins the ranks of the very bestthat has been produced. It would be helpful to have a background in musicand film, but there is much valuable information for novices and expertsalike. The book can be divided into chapters describing general trendsof the periods of film music (from silent film to the 1980s) and chaptersdevoted to individual composers (from Max Steiner to John Williams). Inboth cases, general background material is summarized in a succinct, yetthorough manner. But the most impressive contributions are theanalyses (with musical quotations) of a remarkable number of individualfilms. Among the most detailed and valuable discussions are those forBreil's music to D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, Max Steiner's Gone withthe Wind, Korngold's Anthony Adverse, Herrmann's Citizen Kane, andMorricone's The Mission. This material is supported by an excellentbibliography, extensive backnotes, and a useful list of Academy Awards inmusic. The only "weakness" to be seen is that it does end in1990, and the observations of the 1980s are relatively brief. James Horner,for example, is seen as a rising star rather than the giant that he hasbecome. As with its predecessors, this book already needs to be updated, asituation which the authors will hopefully remedy in a 2nd edition. ... Read more

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In this first extensive study in English of the Greek composer Jani Christou (1926-1970), Anna M. Lucciano presents his exceptionally striking personality, that of a highly original composer who made an essential contribution to new music.
Anna M. Lucciano has long studied the private archives of Jani Christou. She is a musicologist specializing in Greek contemporary music and is Professor of the History of Music, Musical Aesthetics and Analysis at the Conservatoire d'Aix-en Provence. ... Read more

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Following the pattern established with his pioneering work, Woodwind Music of Black Composers, Horne now presents a comparable work for the string music of Black composers. Organized in alphabetical order by composer, each entry provides information on the composer's life and career and then details all works that include strings as well as information about commission, premiere, and composer bibliography, and discography. The volume includes a string index as well as a general discography and bibliography. ... Read more

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In this sophisticated analysis of the music of Austrian composer Alban Berg, Dave Headlam charts Berg`s development from late-romantic tonality to atonality and finally to his own distinctive dodecaphonic language. In so doing, Headlam defines Berg`s musical language and brings to light the compositional continuity that underlies all of his works. ... Read more

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"The first in a projected series of idiom-specific bibliographies in black music, this work treats classical music. It is a comprehensive index to newspaper and periodical indexes, biographical dictionaries, bibliographies, dissertations and theses, music collections, and published discographies. . . . Scholars, researchers, students, and reference librarians will find that this guide makes searching easier; bibliographers will welcome its detailed and helpful bibliographies. . . . A very fine addition for all music and academic libraries." Choice ... Read more

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This radical new analysis focuses on Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Gil Evans, among many other composers, and includes musical examples from the author's own work. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

I love this book!


I love this book! While the research is scholarly, the writing is fluid and compelling, devoid of academic lingo which might otherwise frighten off those who are not students of music. I felt like I really got to know each of the composers here personally, and the book prompted me to track down their music online. I have a list of sources at my website, AfroAmericanHeritage dot com

This is an essential work providing a historical overview plus a closer look at the life and works of Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989) Julia Perry (1924-1979) Margaret Bonds (1913-1972) Irene Britton Smith (1907-1999) Dorothy Rudd Moore (b.1940) Valerie Capers (b.1935) Mary Watkins (b. 1939) and Regina Harris Baiocchi (b. 1956). Despite having gained national and international recognition during their lifetimes, the contributions of many of these women are forgotten today. Includes a selected list of composers and a selected Bibliography/Discography.

Recommended to anyone interested in Music History, African American and/or Women's Studies.

Great Reference book of overlooked Composers...A true Diamond!
This book is fantastic.Helen Walker-Hill does another great job of publishing a work about African American Women composers.The book also contains never before seen photos and detailed biographical information about the composers.This book is a gem!
This book goes great with African American Women Composers: A century of Music, edited by Helen Walker-Hill. ... Read more

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Intended to document unfamiliar repertoire for the organ and harpsichord and to open avenues for further research, this exhaustive reference work catalogues music for organ or harpsichord with and without instruments, voices, and choirs by more than 700 women composers from some 40 countries. Heinrich provides biographies for each composer and listings, descriptions, and sources for each composition. Each listing is classified within the Instrumentation and Title indexes. The volume also contains addresses of publishers, libraries and record companies. It is valuable for organists as well as harpsichordists, choral and instrumental conductors, and performers in chamber ensembles. ... Read more

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The career of the composer George Butterworth was cruelly cut short by a sniper's bullet at the Somme. His name is kept alive by the popularity of his orchestral tone-poems, such as The Banks of Green Willow and A Shropshire Lad, and his songs. In this book, the first full-length study of Butterworth, Michael Barlow traces his brief life: from preparatory school through Eton and Oxford, a teaching post at Radley, study at the Royal College of Music, a period as a music critic for The Times - and his enlisting in August 1914 which, two years later, led to his heroic death at the Somme. All of Butterworth's surviving compositions are discussed, and important chapters examine his Housman settings and his friendship with Vaughan Williams. Butterworth was also prominent in the folksong revival, and chronicled here for the first time are his extensive activities as a folksong and dance collector. The book also includes some of Butterworth's own writings on music. ... Read more

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Presents a theoretical and analytical approach to Bartok's music. Wilson begins by discussing a number of fundamental musical materials that Bartok employed, and using these he describes a series of flexible, behaviourally defined harmonic functions and a model of pitch hierarchy. ... Read more

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A practical guide for guitarists searching for new repertoire that includes women composers, this unique book lists musical works by instrumentation followed by biographies of each composer. The format first leads users to available pieces in possible ensembles and then to the biographical section, which introduces them to the composers, many of whom have been completely unknown in the guitar world. Appendixes list addresses for composers and publishers. Indexes cross reference composers with their works. ... Read more

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Extensive and generously illustrated interviews have been a feature of the lively Danish music periodical "Dansk Musik Tidsskrift" (Danish Music Review) since the 1960s. Now a long-standing tradition, these "conversations" with influential composers from all over the world are prepared by professional musicians and experienced writers on music. This volume is a collection of interviews selected from issues published since 1990 by Anders Beyer, the journal's editor-in-chief. The book gives an up-to-date picture of the North European musical perspectives through interviews with composers from each of the Nordic countries. These are further complemented by interviews with trend-setting composers from the rest of Europe and America. The interviews have been edited and translated into English to make them accessible to a wider audience. The volume features interviews with composers including Erik Bergman, Tikhon Chrennikov, Edison Denisov, Hans Gerfors, Philip Glass, Sofia Gubaidulina and Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An enjoyable collection of interviews with many of the great contemporary composers
The journal Dansk Musik Tidskrift is one of the most informative publications for new music around. Its interviews have often plumbed composer's works and thought processes to depths that make Gramophone or BBC Music look like magazines for primary school readers. THE VOICE OF MUSIC offers English readers interviews conducted by Anders Beyers with 22 composers through the 1990s. The composers and, if noted, the date when the interviews first appeared in DMT are: Gyorgy Ligeti (92/93), Karl Aage Rasmussen (97/98), Sofia Gubaidulina (93/94), Thorkell Sigurbjornsson (98/99), Olav Anton Thommessen (98/99), Erik Bergman, Vagn Holmboe (96/97), Per Norgard, Arne Nordheim (98/99), Karlheinz Stockhausen (92/93), Edison Denisov (91/92), Ingvar Lidholm (97/98), Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (92/93), Hans Gefors (94/95), Alfred Schnittke (90/91), Jukka Tiensuu (91/92), Tikhon Khrennikov (92/93), Pawel Szymanski (92/93), Philip Glass (95/96), Magnus Lindberg (89/90), Iannis Xenakis (96/97), and Kaija Saariaho (99/00).

No reviewer can be expected to be interested in all of these figures, but I did read most of the interviews and learnt a great deal about my favourite composers. The interview with Karlheinz Stockhausen is the longest in the book and illustrates well the combination of creative figure and complete lunatic that he became in the last few decades of his life. The interview with Alfred Schnittke, on the other hand, is extremely brief and touches only on the inspiration Schnittke drew from Mahler. Jukka Tiensuu famously doesn't write programme notes for his music, so interviews like this are a glimpse into his creative process. The interview with Ligeti is especially poignant because it was written just before his withdrawal from public life, and gives detailed plans for the Alice opera he didn't succeed in writing.

All in all, THE VOICE OF MUSIC is sure to prove an interesting read to fans of contemporary composers. While it now appears out of print, and Ashgate never issued a paperback, seek it out somewhere. ... Read more

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"Provides convenient access to a body of solo, recital, concerto, and chamber music literature that will enrich the repertoire of the violinist. Includes a biographies section which briefly summarizes the life and work of women composers from the Baroque to 20th century American and International. The music section identifies and describes compositions in 12 genre categories. The discography organizes recorded works by composer and by title." Reference and Research Book News ... Read more

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In this first comprehensive analytical study of the music of Sergei Prokofiev, Minturn sets the prolific Russian composer`s work in historical, cultural, and biographical contexts. He examines a variety of Prokofiev`s compositions for piano, orchestra, chamber ensembles, and voice from a sophisticated theoretical point of view and finds throughout these works an enduring central theme of the interplay between tradition and innovation. ... Read more

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Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) is frequently considered the most significant American female composer in the twentieth century. With Aaron Copland and Henry Cowell she was a key member of the 1920s musical avant-garde, and she was the first woman to win a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in music composition. But her legacy extends far beyond the cutting edge of modern music. Collaborating with poet Carl Sandburg on folk song arrangements in the twenties, and with the famous folk-song collectors John and Alan Lomax in the 1930s, she emerged as a central figure in the American folk music revival. In addition, she became an energetic proponent of social change in the 1930s and devoted much of her last decades to progressive causes. This engrossing new biography emphasizes the choices Crawford Seeger made in her roles as composer, activist, teacher, wife and mother. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a musical revolutionary from many perspectives
Judith Tick does an indispensable service here in writing the first full-length biography of Ruth Crawford Seeger. And it is a damn shame that Seeger was takened in 1951 an early age for someone with a consummate giftfor composition. Tick traverses her entire life down to the walks from onelibrary to another to concerts in Chicago, along Michigan Avenue.Infrequently we never read about Seeger's radicalism, her days, as mostartists with the Labour Movement in the United States throughout the earlypart of this century. Tick makes us believe Seeger's understanding ofthis,not only in writing politically progressive music, music whichidentifies with the exploited, but how these experiences in facing thesedark times informed her more abstract music. Tick gives a great narrativeon these pre-McCarthy Era times,placing Seeger's work in a context,in factso much so that her creativity suffered under too much involvement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very interesting Brahms
This book, by Bernard Jacobson is very interesting as it takes a slightly different tack from standard biographies/musical analysis materials. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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Alexander Scriabin was one of a few major composers who revolutionized musical style in the first decade of the twentieth century by eliminating key as a structural principle and by establishing a new use of dissonant harmonies.This book by James M. Baker is a study of Scriabin's twentieth-century music, the first thorough analysis of the composer's evolution from conventional tonality to his later atonal structure.Baker demonstrates that in Scriabin's transitional music, tonal and atonal procedures-generally considered mutually exclusive-work together to create unified compositions. Baker places Scriabin's harmony in the perspective of voice leading, applying Schenkerian techniques of analysis to his music for the first time.He explains the great variety of sonorities and their complex relations within the framework of set-complex theory and introduces an original method of statistical analysis to survey Scriabin's harmonic practice from 1903 to 1914.Offering comprehensive analyses of a considerable number of complete compositions, including such important works as the Fifth Piano Sonata and the Poem of Ecstasy, Baker concludes with a penetrating examination of Prometheus, Scriabin's largest and most complex composition. The literature thus far on Scriabin has emphasized aspects of his often eccentric personality and has focused narrowly on his use of certain characteristic harmonies, especially the famous "mystic chord."This thought-provoking theoretical treatise takes an important step toward a deeper understanding of the composer's accomplishments. ... Read more

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"... Strickland's own deep involvement with the works of these composers [is] revealed by the questions and comments he poses in an appreciative, Paterian way. His profound pleasure in these works also leads him to scrutinize and challenge them intimately." -- Publishers Weekly

"This is an indispensable book about American music... " -- Fanfare

"... exhilarating... Any of the interviews in American Composers will stimulate your curiosity and appetite."  -- Hungry Mind Review

"... not only engaging, but also a useful representation of the major compositional styles of the 1980s and their corresponding practitioners." -- Notes

Philip Glass, Keith Jarrett, Meredith Monk, and eight other active American composers reveal a broad spectrum of musical personalities in these candid, in-depth conversations. Witty and articulate, their remarks convey the great vitality, diversity, and distinctiveness of today's American music.