Music and Inspiration - Softcover

Harvey, Jonathan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571200257 ISBN 13: 9780571200252

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2000

Synopsis

Inspiration - the factor common to all composers throughout musical history, in whatever period or place they have worked, whatever style they have embraced; yet never before has it been the subject of study. Here, one of Britain's foremost composers, Jonathan Harvey, draws widely on the writings of many composers in an effort to understand and define what inspiration really is. His choice of material is wide-ranging, aiming to chart what it is that composers from different backgrounds have in common and how the concept of inspiration persists within otherwise very different musical cultures.

About this title

About the Author

Jonathan Harvey is a composer and professor of music at Stanford University. Michael Downes is a conductor, cellist, and musicologist. He lectures in music at Canterbury Christ Church, University College.

Reviews

This is Downes's reworking of British composer Harvey's 1964 doctoral thesis, with some updates by Harvey (music, Stanford). Bringing into play philosophy, religion, and the unknown, it pursues the elusive topic of inspiration by delving into the source of the muse for a variety of composers from Beethoven to Stravinsky. Brahms, for example, believed that God blessed musicians with inspiration. The level of discussion varies greatly, moving from factual to inspirational, general to precise. At times, the reader is expected to be acquainted with the tenets of many of the world's religions; elsewhere, references to particular compositions presuppose detailed knowledge of a large musical repertory. Those technicalities aside, this captivating, stimulating, charming, provocative, and well-written work is recommended for public and academic libraries.DTimothy J. McGee, Univ. of Toronto
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Harvey sees the unconscious as the source of inspiration, for inspiration is the assimilated life experiences of the composer coming into consciousness for the creation, nurturance, and polishing of musical ideas. The composer refines the music further by considering the audience, the reason a piece is being composed, and the expression of emotion the composer desires in the piece. Some composers have attempted to compose for the entire world (e.g., Beethoven in his Ninth Symphony), others for specific situations (e.g., Copland in Appalachian Spring). Harvey strings brief passages from the writings of many composers of the previous three centuries into short essays on inspiration and the composers' needs to fit their music into their world. This quick-reading book, edited by Downes from Harvey's 1964 doctoral thesis, affords insight into the compositional process, from life experiences to finished work. Alan Hirsch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571200257
• ISBN 13: 9780571200252
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192
• Editor: Downes Michael