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Elvis - The Legend: The Authorized Book from the Official Graceland Archive
by Gillian G. GaarElvis passed away in 1977 but his spirit lives on. His records still sell, his movies are still hugely popular and his concerts are still discussed by new generations of fans. The Elvis Presley estate has tens of thousands of photographs and miles of video footage from all eras of Elvis' career and fans' hunger for new imagery and information on the King remains unsated. This publication is a beautiful, desirable package, ideal for any Elvis fan. This book tells the personal story of Elvis and his relationships with those near and dear to him and contains more than 150 colour and black and white photographs from the Graceland archives, accompanied by insightful text from an author with a proven Elvis track record.To take you closer than ever before to the King, 30 items of rare memorabilia are carefully reproduced on the page, including personal letters, receipts, telegrams, publicity material and other fascinating items which provide new insight into the life of a legend.There are photographs of Elvis himself, Elvis with friends and family, and all manner of personal artifacts, including guitars, jewelry, clothing, vehicles and more.
Elvis Costello and Thatcherism: A Psycho-Social Exploration (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)
by David Pilgrim Richard OrmrodThe emergence of Thatcherism around 1980, which ushered in a period of neo-liberalism in British politics that still resonates today, led musicians, like other artists, to respond to their context of production. This book uses the early work of one of these musicians, Elvis Costello, to explore the relationship between popular music and politics in one historical period. It is not a biography but an exploration of the interaction between a creative musician's works and their context of constraint and opportunity. Pilgrim and Ormrod unpack the political meaning of Thatcherism and deal with matters arising in that political context about Costello's life but which had resonance for many others at the time (and still do). These topics include the politics of race, class, gender and ageing, emphasising the recurring theme of nostalgia in modern and post-modern life. Throughout the book examples are provided of Costello's songs and how they work musically to illustrate or stimulate the contextual discussion. The book will be of significant interest to musicologists, sociologists and social psychologists.
Elvis Has Left the Building: The Death of the King and the Rise of Punk Rock
by Dylan Jones&“An interesting look at how 1977 marked the explosion of punk alongside this heartbreaking (though not altogether surprising) loss of a legend&” (USA Today). In the late 1970s, punk music was setting out to destroy everything Elvis Presley had come to represent. But punk couldn&’t destroy The King himself—he had already done that, succumbing to his excesses at Graceland on August 16, 1977. Ever since, Elvis has permeated the world in ways that are bizarre and inexplicable: a pop icon while alive, he has become almost a religious icon in death, a modern-day martyr crucified on the wheel of drugs, celebrity culture, junk food, and sex. In Elvis Has Left the Building, Dylan Jones takes us back to those heady days around the time of his death and the simultaneous rise of punk. Evoking the hysteria and devotion of The King&’s numerous disciples and imitators, Jones offers a uniquely insightful commentary on Elvis&’s life, times, and outrageous demise. Recounting how the artist single-handedly changed the course of popular music and culture, he also delves deep into the cult of The King and reveals what Elvis&’s death meant—and still means to us today. &“I&’m not sure punk would have existed without [Elvis]. In fact I&’m not sure a lot of things would have existed without him. Dylan Jones is the right man to ponder such questions.&” —Bono &“A gripping tale of impossible success and terrible waste and lost beauty that veers from Memphis to Las Vegas and all the way to the broken backstreets of London.&” —Tony Parsons, author of The Hanging Club
Elvis Ignited: The Rise of an Icon in Florida
by Bob Kealing“A persuasive argument that Presley’s “moonshot” to fame could not have happened without Florida. . . . Deftly captures a pre-Interstate Florida where an anonymous Presley would be traveling for grueling hours down every two-laner in the state in his signature automobile.”—Palm Beach Post “I don’t think there was a better time and place to be a teenager than in Florida in the 1950s. It was such a magical place. Elvis is part of what contributed to that excitement.”—Bob Graham, former Florida governor and United States senator “Kealing tells us the story of what happened when Elvis arrived in Florida and what role the Sunshine State played in his life and musical career. This is a critical era in the Elvis Saga.”—William McKeen, editor of Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay: An Anthology “A Florida-centric look at his 1956 breakout state for people who thought they knew everything about Elvis.”—Joel Selvin, author of Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock’s Darkest Day “Presents a great picture of what it was like to be a touring musician in the 1950s and also of Florida at the time and how the culture was changed by the shock of Elvis.”—Joy Wallace Dickinson, author of Remembering Orlando: Tales from Elvis to Disney It was his most electric and influential time as a live performer. The young and hungry Elvis burst onto stages large and small—sexy, controversial, brimming with talent and ambition. One lightning-hot year in Florida fueled his rise from novelty act to headlining megastar. Elvis Ignited tracks the rising star through his tours of Florida, from 1955 when Presley was an unknown to 1956 when Presley played more concerts in Florida than in any other state. In only fifteen months, Presley toured Florida four times, becoming the object of worship, scorn, and controversy. Struck by a new kind of music and performances so different from anything they had known before, Floridians saw how special Elvis was before the rest of the world caught on. Before their very eyes, he transformed from Hillbilly Cat to the King of Rock and Roll. Bob Kealing interviews people who saw the King up close, recalling the time-stands-still memories of hearing his iconic songs for the first time. He speaks with Floridians who helped Elvis along the way: the late Jim Kirk from Ocala, who offered Presley his first headlining opportunity; former governor and U.S. senator Bob Graham, who saw the young rockabilly god at the dawning of Elvis mania; Steve Binder, who produced Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special; and Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Louvin, who opened for Presley in Florida. Kealing follows Elvis after his return from the Army to his homecoming TV special in Miami with Frank Sinatra and through the filming of Follow That Dream in Florida in 1961, offering unique insights into the singer’s relationship with co-star Anne Helm, his controversial manager Tom Parker, and the beginnings of his melancholy as a prisoner of fame. This book is a roadmap to Elvis’s time in the Sunshine State, a guide to the many small and large venues he played up and down the peninsula, and a spotlight on the people who witnessed, supported, and even opposed his meteoric rise to fame. It was a turning point in American music history; it was the arrival of rock and roll.
Elvis Is King!
by Jonah WinterElvis Presley--the King of Rock 'n' Roll, still beloved by millions of Americans--comes to vibrant, gyrating life in this extraordinary picture-book biography from an award-winning author and the winner of a New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award.Here's the perfect book for anyone who wants to introduce rock 'n' roll and its king to the child in their lives. In single- page "chapters" with titles like "The First Cheeseburger Ever Eaten by Elvis" and "Shazam! A Blond Boy Turns into a Black-Haired Teenager," readers can follow key moments in Presley's life, from his birth on the wrong side of the railroad tracks in the Deep South, to playing his first guitar in grade school, to being so nervous during a performance as a teenager that he starts shaking . . . and changes the world!Jonah Winter and Red Nose Studio have created a tour-de-force that captures a boy's loneliness and longing, along with the energy and excitement, passion, and raw talent that was Elvis Presley."Readers will want to pore over this thoroughly engaging volume." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Elvis Presley
by Bobbie Ann MasonA vibrant, sympathetic portrait of the once and future king of rock ?n? roll by the award-winning author of Shiloh and In Country To this clear-eyed portrait of the first rock ?n? roll superstar, Bobbie Ann Mason brings a novelist?s insight and the empathy of a fellow Southerner who, from the first time she heard his voice on the family radio, knew that Elvis was ?one of us. ? Elvis Presley deftly braids the mythic and human aspects of his story, capturing both the charismatic, boundary-breaking singer who reveled in his celebrity and the soft-spoken, working-class Southern boy who was fatally unprepared for his success. The result is a riveting, tragic book that goes to the heart of the American dream. .
Elvis Presley
by Mark P BernardoWeaving the story of the King's personal and public life with detailed descriptions of the locations in Memphis that served as the setting for his musical education and evolution, this pop culture guide offers a refreshingly even-handed account of Elvis Presley's life. Elvis came to Memphis as a 13-year-old boy, and within a few years, he was shocking and seducing the world with a mixture of moves and sounds he had first seen and heard in the city's streets, churches, and bars. This comprehensive tour of places on which Elvis left his mark includes the Peabody Hotel, where he had his senior prom; Ellis Auditorium, where he played his first show; the Sun Studio, where he recorded his first singles; Lansky Brothers Clothiers, where he bought his suits; and Graceland, where he lived with his wife Priscilla and died in 1977. Anecdotes about each of the locations and how they shaped Elvis's personal and musical identity enhance the travel information, while street maps and a handy size make this book an invaluable companion to Memphis visitors and lovers of rock and roll.
Elvis Presley
by Wilborn Hampton"Elvis left no one indifferent to rock and roll." So begins award-winning author Wilborn Hampton's thoughtful account of the beloved and controversial Elvis Presley.
Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender
by Elvis PresleyThe king of rock-and-roll's #1 hit song "Love Me Tender" is now an endearing picture bookAdapted from the unforgettable classic song, Elvis Presley's Love MeTender is a heartwarming ode to the special bond between children and the adults who love and care for them--be they parents, grandparents, adoptive parents, aunts, uncles, or guardians. With its simple, timeless message, Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender is destined to join Guess How Much I Love You as a baby shower staple. And the sweet, inclusive illustrations make it a book every family will treasure "all through the years, 'till the end of time."
Elvis Presley's Quiéreme con ternura
by Elvis PresleyQuiéreme con ternura. Quiéreme con dulzura. Nunca me dejes ir. Has llenado mi vida. Te quiero mucho, mi amor. Tomando como punto de partida la letra oficial de la conocida canción de Elvis Presley, este precioso y tierno álbum ilustrado es una oda al lazo de amor que existe entre padres e hijos.
Elvis Presley, storie e leggende
by Daniel IchbiahElvis Presley, storie e leggende di Daniel Ichbiah Biografia di Elvis Presley Al 16 agosto 2017, sono passati 40 anni da quando il Re ci ha lasciati. Tuttavia, la sua popolarità sembra intatta: nell'ottobre 2016, l'album „The Wonder of you” si è piazzato al numero 1 in Inghilterra dal momento della sua pubblicazione. Meglio ancora, il mito intorno alla sua persona non ha cessato di crescere. Il cantante Little Richard creatore di Tutti Frutti non ha forse detto su di lui: «Elvis è stato un dono di Dio, non c'è altra spiegazione. Ogni qualche migliaio di anni, un Messia viene in mezzo a noi. Questa volta è stato Elvis.» Storie e leggende Ci sono molte storie e leggende che girano intorno a Elvis Presley. Aspettatevi molte sorprese perché scoprirete storie sorprendenti. Aneddoti poco conosciuti, testimonianze inaspettate di alcuni parenti. Teorie dubbie che sembrano però reggere. Qual è la parte della leggenda? Qual è la parte della verità? Qual è la parte delle menzogne? . Perché il Colonnello Parker non ha mai permesso a Elvis di girare in Europa? È possibile che nutrisse dei timori a livello personale all'idea di rimettere piede in Olanda, il suo paese natale? . Perché Elvis è andato a trovare Nixon alla fine del 1970? E quale missione segreta gli avrebbe affidato il Presidente? Un giorno Elvis andò in un MacDo e nessuno lo riconobbe. L'abbiamo solo scambiato per una delle migliaia di persone che cercano di assomigliargli! . Verso il 1977, più di un parente ha riferito che Elvis non ne poteva più. Non ne poteva più di dare concerto dopo concerto, la coppia tranquillizzante/emozionante aveva totalmente stravolto la sua vita. Sognava l'esistenza di un americano medio. Potrebbe aver cercato volontariamente di scomparire? Al di là del cantante che milioni di persone adorano, scopriamo incredibili aneddoti sul personaggio stesso, e su quanto spesso fosse amm
Elvis Presley: A Little Golden Book Biography (Little Golden Book)
by Lisa Jean RogersDream big with a Little Golden Book biography about the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley! Little Golden Book biographies are the perfect introduction to nonfiction for young readers—as well as fans of all ages!This Little Golden Book about Elvis Presley—legendary movie star and the King of Rock and Roll thanks to songs like "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Hound Dog"—is an inspiring read-aloud for young children and fans of any age.Look for more Little Golden Book biographies:Dolly PartonTaylor SwiftThe BeatlesElton JohnWillie NelsonThe Bee Gees
Elvis and Gladys (Southern Icons Series)
by Elaine DundyWho on the planet doesn't know that Elvis Presley gave electrifying performances and enthralled millions? Who doesn't know that he was the King of Rock 'n' Roll? But who knows that the King himself lived in the thrall of one dominant person? This was Gladys Smith Presley, his protective, indulgent, beloved mother. Elvis and Gladys, one of the best researched and most acclaimed books on Elvis's early life, reconstructs the extraordinary role Gladys played in her son's formative years. Uncovering facts not seen by other biographers, Elvis and Gladys reconstructs for the first time the history of the mother and son's devoted relationship and reveals new information about Elvis—his Cherokee ancestry, his boyhood obsession with comic books, and his early compulsion to rescue his family from poverty. Coming to life in the compelling narrative is the poignant story of a unique boy and the maternal tie that bound him. It is at once an intimate psychological portrait of a tragic relationship and a mesmerizing tale of the early years of an international idol. “For once, a legend is presented to us by the mind and heart of a literate, careful biographer who cares,” wrote Liz Smith in the New York Daily News when Elvis and Gladys was originally published in 1985. This is the book, Smith says, “for any Elvis lover who wants to know more about what made Presley the man he was and the mama's boy he became.” The Boston Globe called this thoughtful, informative biography of one of popular music's most enduring stars “nothing less than the best Elvis book yet.”
Elvis and the Colonel: An Insider's Look at the Most Legendary Partnership in Show Business
by Greg McDonald Marshall TerrillA fresh biography of legendary entertainment manager Colonel Tom Parker, with a contrarian and corrective point of view.Colonel Tom Parker, often reviled in his time, led the strategy from the earliest days of Elvis's career. Together, they built the most legendary partnership in show business. For the first time, Colonel Parker's story is told by an insider, Greg McDonald, who worked under Parker for years. Never-before-heard stories of Parker's collaboration with Elvis reveal the man behind the legend and the strategies that made Elvis a commercial groundbreaker.Ingrained lore has it that Parker took advantage of "poor country boy" Elvis to sign the singer who became "The King". But Elvis and the Colonel shows that Elvis was not foolish when it came to business arrangements. This book is full of stories of innovations Parker made with his star client, including:--ingenious merchandising (eg, selling both "I love Elvis" and "I hate Elvis" buttons)--licensing and branding, from suits to toys, ashtrays to guitars--establishing The King as an artist-in-residence in Las Vegas--creating televised concert events, like Elvis' Christmas specialMany of the practices Parker established are still deployed today by most major agencies. Parker's experience as a carny and an immigrant shaped his management style when he was at his peak, showing how he adapted big top practices to the big time. The heart of Elvis and the Colonel is the long, strong, warm and complex relationship between two iconic men.
Elvis by the Presleys: Intimate Stories from Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, and Other Family Members
by Priscilla Presley Lisa Marie PresleyFor the first time, the inside story of legendary entertainer Elvis Presley&’s life featuring intimate stories from Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, and other family membersThis stunningly illustrated book depicts Elvis as a husband, father, son, cousin, friend, spiritual seeker as those who knew him best come together to memorialize our greatest star. Culled from hours of family interviews (much of it appearing exclusively in this book), enhanced with Elvis quotes, and illustrated with private family photographs and images of personal memorabilia from the archives of Graceland/Elvis Presley Enterprises, Elvis by the Presleys is an extraordinary document about an extraordinary figure.In all, the book is the compelling result of a historic gathering of voices of those who not only witnessed from the wings Elvis Presley&’s public life, but also knew the superstar out of the spotlight. His former wife Priscilla Presley, their daughter Lisa Marie Presley, his cousin Patsy Presley Geranen, Priscilla&’s parents, and members of the combined and extended families sensitively and candidly share their intimate perspective on the real person, while at the same time celebrating one of America&’s greatest stars. Elvis by the Presleys is a uniquely fascinating treasure.As Priscilla Presley puts it in Elvis by the Presleys, &“Who can think of Elvis without thinking of Graceland?&” Here Graceland is seen as a teeming family retreat, where the kitchen was the center of operations; where tag football games were played in the yard; where folks drove golf carts up and down the hills; and where Elvis spent many of his happiest times.Elvis by the Presleys reveals life at Graceland like never before. We witness the arc of his love affair with Priscilla; Elvis as a father to his adored Lisa Marie; his obsessions and passions; and the strength of his musical legacy, which continues unabated to this day. There are Christmas cards here, too; contracts and invoices; selections from Lisa Marie&’s childhood scrapbook; and even a picture of the champagne bottle (signed) from Elvis and Priscilla&’s wedding.Here, now, is the tumultuous story of the life of a lovely yet complex man; a portrait of the career of a brilliantly accomplished yet often frustrated artist; an insider&’s tale of enduring love, related with warmth and unguarded candor . . . and a story told the way only a family can tell it
Elvis in Vegas: How the King Reinvented the Las Vegas Show
by Richard ZoglinThe story of how Las Vegas saved Elvis and Elvis saved Las Vegas in the greatest musical comeback of all time.The conventional wisdom is that Las Vegas is what destroyed Elvis Presley, launching him on a downward spiral of drugs, boredom, erratic stage behavior, and eventually his fatal overdose. But in Elvis in Vegas, Richard Zoglin takes an alternate view, arguing that Vegas is where the King of Rock and Roll resurrected his career, reinvented himself as a performer, and created the most exciting show in Vegas history. Elvis’s 1969 opening night in Vegas was his first time back on a live stage in more than eight years. His career had gone sour—bad movies, and mediocre pop songs that no longer made the charts. He’d been dismissed by most critics as over the hill. But in Vegas he played the biggest showroom in the biggest hotel in the city, drawing more people for his four-week engagement than any other show in Vegas history. His performance got rave reviews, “Suspicious Minds” gave him his first number-one hit in seven years, and Elvis became Vegas’s biggest star. Over the next seven years, he performed more than 600 shows there, and sold out every one. Las Vegas was changed too. The intimate night-club-style shows of the Rat Pack, who made Vegas the nation’s premier live-entertainment center in the 1950s and ‘60s, catered largely to well-heeled older gamblers. Elvis brought a new kind of experience: an over-the-top, rock-concert-like extravaganza. He set a new bar for Vegas performers, with the biggest salary, the biggest musical production, and the biggest promotion campaign the city had ever seen. In doing so, he opened the door to a new generation of pop/rock performers, and brought a new audience to Vegas—a mass audience from Middle America that Vegas depends on for its success to this day. A classic comeback tale set against the backdrop of Las Vegas’s golden age, Richard Zoglin’s Elvis in Vegas is a feel-good story for the ages.
Elvis, Hank, and Me: Making Musical History on the Louisiana Hayride
by Bill Sloan Horace LoganIn 1948, Horace "Hoss" Logan, a young radio producer in Shreveport, Louisiana, started booking talent for a new weekly music show called the Louisiana Hayride. Performed for a live audience and broadcast nationally over the CBS Radio network, the show became known as the "Cradle of the Stars." In this affectionate memoir, Hoss Logan recalls the Hayride's heyday with behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the dozens of musicians he knew and nurtured, including Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Kitty Wells, Slim Whitman, Hank Williams, Faron Young, and many more. As producer, emcee, and friend to the Hayride performers, Logan gives us a personal look into musical history - from Hank Williams's ups and downs to the teenage Elvis's first performance on national radio to the ways the Hayride's many emerging stars expanded our idea about what country music could be.
Elvis, Strait, to Jesus: An Iconic Producer's Journey with Legends of Rock 'n' Roll, Country, and Gospel Music
by Tony BrownThis striking photographic journey shows how Tony Brown became the King of Nashville: from pianist for Elvis Presley, to president of MCA Records Nashville, to producer of over 100 number-one country songs that are beloved by millions. ELVIS, STRAIT, TO JESUS celebrates a music icon's legendary rise, his history-making industry relationships, and how these friendships gave us the songs we still live by.The magic of Tony Brown's forty-year career is revealed in pictures, with historical and behind-the-scenes images, snapshots from the "Elvis years," and stylish contemporary portraits staged in a French Renaissance chair of friends, musicians, and artists including:George Strait - Reba McEntire - Trisha Yearwood - Brooks & Dunn - Vince Gill - Lionel Richie - Lyle Lovett - Patty Loveless - Steve Earle - Rosanne Cash - Emmylou Harris - Jimmy Buffett - Marty Stuart - Bernie Taupin - Don Was - William Lee Golden - Rodney Crowell - David Briggs - Glen D. Hardin - Donnie Sumner, and more.Tony's fascinating anecdotes accompanying the photos unveil the encounters that led to mega-hits by George Strait, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, and countless others; he recounts how he became the accidental founder of Americana music with the edgy signings of Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett to MCA, as well as his unforgettable memories of life on tour with Elvis Presley. He also retraces his North Carolina roots and honors the legends of rock, country, and gospel with whom he forged an inimitable music legacy. This special tribute is one that no fan of music or artistic photography should be without.
Elvis: My Best Man
by George Klein Chuck CrisafulliWhen George Klein was thirteen, he couldn't have known how important the new kid in class u the one with the guitar, the boy named Elvis u would become in his life. But from the first time GK (as he was nicknamed by Elvis) heard this kid sing, he knew that Elvis Presley was someone extraordinary. In this heartfelt, entertaining and affectionate memoir, George Klein writes candidly about their close friendship, which began at school and continued through Elvis's rise to fame and the wild swirl of his tumultuous life, right up to the singer's tragic death. Writing with the authority of someone who was in the midst of it all, from the good times at Graceland and hanging out with Hollywood stars to butting heads with Elvis's iron-handed manager, Colonel Tom Parker, GK reveals who the King really was and how he acted when the stage lights were off. Full of anecdotes and first-hand accounts of some of the most defining moments in the legend's life, Elvis: My Best Man captures the true essence of the man behind the music.
Emanuel Feuermann
by Annette MorreauThe meteoric career of the Austrian cellist Emanuel Feuermann ended with his sudden and tragic death in 1942, aged only 39. A brilliant soloist and chamber performer, many expected him to inherit from Pablo Casals the reputation of the greatest cellist of all time. The trio he formed with Jasha Heifetz and Artur Rubinstein was considered the leading chamber ensemble in the world. This biography of Feuermann - a combination of documentary and oral history and narrative - discusses his life, work and legacy, and seeks to award him the place in musical history that he was denied by his early death. Born 100 years ago in a humble Galician shtetl, Feuermann grew to maturity in a tumultuous era. Annette Morreau gives an account of the world wars, politics, music culture, and recording history that form the context of his achievements. She also provides invaluable detail about Feuermann's life, drawing on interviews and private letters of family, colleagues, students and friends, as well as on a wealth of first-hand recollections from some of the most distinguished musicians of the 20th century. Morreau describes Feuermann's unique style of playing, basing her assessments on the many surviving recordings he made and on contemporary press reviews gathered worldwide. Moreover, so that readers can judge Feuermann's extraordinary talent for themselves, a CD with examples of his performances is included with the book.
Embellishing the Liturgy: Tropes and Polyphony (Music in Medieval Europe)
by Alejandro Enrique PlanchartAfter the imposition of Gregorian chant upon most of Europe by the authority of the Carolingian kings and emperors in the eighth and ninth centuries, a large number of repertories arose in connection with the new chant and its liturgy. Of these repertories, the tropes, together with the sequences, represent the main creative activity of European musicians in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries. Because they were not an absolutely official part of the liturgy, as was Gregorian chant, they reflect local traditions, particularly in terms of melody, and more so than the new pieces that were composed at the time. In addition, the earlier layers of tropes represent, in many cases, a survival of the pre local pre Gregorian melodic traditions. This volume provides an introduction to the study of tropes in the form of an extensive anthology of major studies and a comprehensive bibliography and constitutes a classic reference resource for the study of one of the most important musico-liturgical genres of the central middle ages.
Emblems Of Eloquence: Opera And Women's Voices In Seventeenth-century Venice
by Wendy Beth HellerOpera developed during a time when the position of women--their rights and freedoms, their virtues and vices, and even the most basic substance of their sexuality--was constantly debated. Many of these controversies manifested themselves in the representation of the historical and mythological women whose voices were heard on the Venetian operatic stage. Drawing upon a complex web of early modern sources and ancient texts, this engaging study is the first comprehensive treatment of women, gender, and sexuality in seventeenth-century opera. Wendy Heller explores the operatic manifestations of female chastity, power, transvestism, androgyny, and desire, showing how the emerging genre was shaped by and infused with the Republic's taste for the erotic and its ambivalent attitudes toward women and sexuality. Heller begins by examining contemporary Venetian writings about gender and sexuality that influenced the development of female vocality in opera. The Venetian reception and transformation of ancient texts--by Ovid, Virgil, Tacitus, and Diodorus Siculus--form the background for her penetrating analyses of the musical and dramatic representation of five extraordinary women as presented in operas by Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, and their successors in Venice: Dido, queen of Carthage (Cavalli); Octavia, wife of Nero (Monteverdi); the nymph Callisto (Cavalli); Queen Semiramis of Assyria (Pietro Andrea Ziani); and Messalina, wife of Claudius (Carlo Pallavicino).
Embodied Knowledge in Ensemble Performance (Sempre Studies In The Psychology Of Music Ser.)
by J.Murphy McCalebPerforming in musical ensembles provides a remarkable opportunity for interaction between people. When playing a piece of music together, musicians contribute to the creation of an artistic work that is shaped through their individual performances. However, even though ensembles are a large part of musical activity, questions remain as to how they function. In Embodied Knowledge in Ensemble Performance, Murphy McCaleb explores the processes by which musicians interact with each other through performance. McCaleb begins by breaking down current models of ensemble interaction, particularly those that rely on the same kind of communication found in conversation. In order to find a new way of describing this interaction, McCaleb considers the nature of the information being shared between musicians during performance. Using examples from postgraduate ensembles at Birmingham Conservatoire as well as his own reflective practice, he examines how an understanding of the relationship between musicians and their instruments may affect the way performers infer information within an ensemble. Drawing upon research from musicology, occupational psychology, and philosophy, and including a DVD of excerpts from rehearsals and performances, Embodied Knowledge provides an holistic approach to ensemble research in a manner accessible to performers, researchers and teachers.
Embodied Nostalgia: Early Twentieth Century Social Dance and the Choreographing of Broadway Musical Theatre (Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies)
by Phoebe RumseyEmbodied Nostalgia is a collection of interlocking case studies that focus on how social dance in musical theatre brings forth the dancer on stage as a site of embodied history, cultural memory, and nostalgia, and asks what social dance is doing performatively, dramaturgically, and critically in musical theatre. The case studies in this volume are all Broadway musicals set during the Jazz Age (1910-1950), however, performed and produced after that time, creating a spectrum of nostalgic impulses that are interrogated for social and political resonance and meaning. All reflect the fractures or changes in the social dance when brought to the stage and expose the complexities of the embodied nostalgia – broadly interpreted as the physicalizing of community memories, longings, and historical meaning – the dances carry with them. Particular attention is focused on the Black ownership of the social dances and the subsequent appropriation, cultural theft, and forgotten legacies. By approaching musical theatre through this lens of social dance––always already deeply connected to notions of class and race––and the politics of choreography therein, a unique and necessary method to describing, discussing, and critically evaluating the body in motion in musical theatre is put forth.
Embodiment of Musical Creativity: The Cognitive and Performative Causality of Musical Composition (SEMPRE Studies in The Psychology of Music)
by Zvonimir NagyEmbodiment of Musical Creativity offers an innovative look at the interdisciplinary nature of creativity in musical composition. Using examples from empirical and theoretical research in creativity studies, music theory and cognition, psychology and philosophy, performance and education studies, and the author’s own creative practice, the book examines how the reciprocity of cognition and performativity contributes to our understanding of musical creativity in composition. From the composer’s perspective the book investigates the psychological attributes of creative cognition whose associations become the foundation for an understanding of embodied creativity in musical composition. The book defines the embodiment of musical creativity as a cognitive and performative causality: a relationship between the cause and effect of our experience when composing music. Considering the theoretical, practical, contextual, and pedagogical implications of embodied creative experience, the book redefines aspects of musical composition to reflect the changing ways that musical creativity is understood and evaluated. Embodiment of Musical Creativity provides a comparative study of musical composition, in turn articulating a new perspective on musical creativity.