Pendragon Press
The instrumental music of Iannis Xenakis; theory, practice, self-borrowing.
A specialist in the music of Greek-French composer Xenakis (1992-2001), Gibson (music analysis, U. of Évora, Portugal) looks at his instrumental music first from the perspective of his compositional procedures, emphasizing how he incorporated pre-existing material into a new composition. Then he turns to some of the main theories or compositional principles the composer put forth, not in their scientific base, but in their applications within his works. In the final chapter he considers compositional procedures that Xenakis used but never fully theorized: random walks, arborescences relying essentially on graphic means, and cellular automata. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The John Marsh journals; the life and times of a gentleman composer (1752-1828); v.1, rev.ed.
Marsh's History of my Private Life, a journal he maintained throughout almost his entire life, was little known or read outside of a small circle of specialists until the 1998 edition made the entire text available. It contains detailed and colorful accounts of life and the arts in Chicester and other towns of southern England, where he lived and worked. This first volume begins with his birth and proceeds to 1800-01. For this revision, errors have been corrected, new information about Marsh and Chicester incorporated, the bibliography updated, and a real and functional index provided. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Manon; a performance guide.
Dibbern, head of music for Minnesota Opera, translated the libretto of Jules Massenet's (1842-1912) opera Manon from the original French into both English and International Phonetic Alphabet symbols to provide a study guide for singers preparing perform it. She includes her interview with Canadian soprano Nathalie Paulin, who played Manon in the 2004 production by Opéra de Québec, and a review of French diction concepts. There is no index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
