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Wolken als Motiv in der Kunst vereinen mehrere Facetten der Auseinandersetzung mit Natur, Himmel und Landschaft einerseits und mit dem Zufälligen, dem Unbestimmten, dem Vergänglichen andererseits. Das Buch präsentiert über 50 Werke zeitgenössischer österreichischer Künstler zum Thema Wolken, u. a. von Heinz Gappmayr und Eva Schlegel. Essays, u. a. von Berthold Ecker und Barbara Frischmuth, beschäftigen sich mit den flüchtigen Erscheinungen des Himmels aus kunstgeschichtlicher, fotohistorischer, mythologischer und literarischer Sicht.

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"... a generous treatment of some of Brahms's most endearing and imaginative creations." -- Choice

"... an excellent addition to the literature on vocal chamber music... " -- Notes

In this sequel to A Guide to the Solo Songs of Johannes Brahms, Lucien Stark opens up a beautiful and largely neglected repertoire, providing the full German text for each song, along with a new English translation, notes on vocal ranges, and a wealth of engaging commentary of technical, aesthetic, and historical interest.

Customer Reviews (1)

Missing quotations limit the value
The vocal duets and quartets by Brahms are performed very rarely these days, but their number includes some works that can stand with the composer's finest efforts and are thus deserving of more frequent hearings.In this book, Lucien Stark analyzes the 25 duets (including the fivenumbers of Opus 75, which were written for one or two voices but are almostalways done as solos) and 61 quartets that comprise this body ofwork.

For each song, Stark provides the German text, along with anEnglish translation. He does not attempt to maintain the rhyme or meter inthe translation, which lets him reflect accurately the meaning of theGerman. He then gives the range employed for each voice in the work, theapproximate timing for a performance, and the form. This information isfollowed by a brief descriptive analysis of the work. Stark's analyses arenot so detailed or exhaustively researched as those by Eric Sams in hisjust-published volume on Brahms's solo works.

The major deficiency ofthis book is the absence of musical quotations. In his introduction, theauthor admits that "much of the analysis assumes that a score will beaccessible to the reader." Scores for many of these works areavailable only as individual sheets -- and for a few, not in print at all-- which makes it difficult to get full value from much of Stark'sotherwise commendable writing. A 158-page book that sells for $35 shouldhave been expanded with quotations of key musical material. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Notes, published by Music Library Association, Inc. on June 1, 1997. The length of the article is 1478 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A Guide to the Solo Songs of Johannes Brahms.
Author: Heather Platt
Publication: Notes (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 1997
Publisher: Music Library Association, Inc.
Volume: v53Issue: n4Page: p1160(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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