A layman's primer on the psychology and history of the human response to music. Jourdain, a California composer and pianist, goes at his subject with the zeal of an impresario, approaching music from as many different angles as he can think of: the anthropological, the biological, the aesthetic, the moral, and the physical. The book that results from his discoveries swarms with information. We learn that ``all in all, it took some 500 million years—well over a hundred million generations of animals—to evolve from the first hint of sound to an ear that can fathom Don Giovanni.'' Readers also benefit from detailed explanations of the mechanics of hearing for crickets (whose `` `ears' consist of thinnings on [their] front knees that vibrate only at certain frequencies made by rasping cricket legs''), various birds, dinosaurs, whales, as well as Jourdain's main focus, homo sapiens. He divides the book into chapters on the basics of sound and aspects of music (e.g., harmony and rhythm) and the ways we perceive them, then goes on to consider the neurological and emotional adaptations of composers and musicians to the demands of music, noting that there is no proof that any ``particular brand of emotionality is tied to musical greatness.'' Although the title implies that ecstasy is central to Jourdain's musical interest, this isn't addressed until the last chapter, which looks at music as a means of psychic healing and regeneration (``it lifts us from our frozen mental habits and makes our minds move in ways they ordinarily cannot''). Jourdain is an able guide in matters scientific. His comments on music as an art are less sophisticated. When discussing musical understanding, he remarks, `` `Meaning' is one of those fuzzy concepts that keep philosophers in business. It has no simple explanation.'' A know-it-all he isn't. But Jourdain knows enough to keep us listening.
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-688-14236-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1997
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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