A SHORT HISTORY OF MUSIC IN AMERICA

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 2, 1957

From the piety of the Pilgrims, from the patriotism of the soldier in the Civil War and the war of 1812, from the sounds of cities and the sighs of slaves America's music took its forms. And always there was the primal echo of the Indian. That was the everyday music. But the dressed-up Sunday music for the concert halls was borrowed, copied often from Europe. Tracing the history of our national music and of the men and events who shaped it, the authors acknowledge the long overdue debt to European wellsprings; they freely admit too that the motives prompting the foundation of many of the great Opera houses and concert halls were not always pure- that they followed suspiciously closely on the heels of the industrial revolution. The numerous virtuosi and composers whose biographies are summarized are predominantly foreign born. But there has been a chrysalis of indigenous music, a coming-of-age with the work of Bernstein, of Copland, of Gershwin. Television, movies, ballet have each modified and added their share. A summing up with a bibliography of further reading for serious students of music.

Pub Date: Nov. 2, 1957

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Crowell

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1957

Categories: NONFICTION