From Gypsy to Bohemian: A Study of the Musical Rhapsody

Pages: xxii + 247 p. NEW. Hardback. Illustrations:15 b/w, 13 musical examples. Language(s):English. Brepols, Publication Year:2021 -- SUMMARY This volume examines the concept of rhapsody through a broad lens. Beginning with a discussion of the meaning(s) of the term itself, it then traces the history and reception of the genre and its significance in European culture. It argues for a close relationship between the idea of rhapsody and the concept of Gypsiness by demonstrating that rhapsody and Gypsiness can be seen as manifestations of the same types of influence and preferences for certain aesthetic categories. The book pays special attention to the seminal role of Franz Liszt in its discussion of the instrumental rhapsody. Ultimately, it reveals the consequences of historiographical representations of the rhapsody (e.g. the ossification of the image of the European Gypsy musician as a bard/rhapsode, the fossilization of presumptions concerning the nature of so-called Gypsies) as well as unexpected similarities and differences between the rhapsody and the ballad as romantic genres with national implications. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Prolegomenon Chapter One Gypsy Musicians as Rhapsodes of the Nineteenth Century Chapter Two Gypsy Improvisation and the Idea of Rhapsody Chapter Three The Gypsy Character of Musical Rhapsody Chapter Fourth Gypsy, Hungarian, Romanian The National Element in Rhapsodies Chapter Five Between Rhapsody and Ballad Postscript: Continuations and Reactivations Bibliography Index of Names.…