What are the interactions between transnational communication and national cultures? This work attempts to answer this critical question in the study of culture and communication. It takes as its vehicle of study the music industry and music making in 13 different cultures, presenting an insider's view of a global cultural experience. Of interest to musicologists and sociologists alike, plus anyone fascinated by distant cultures and how they are affected by external as well as internal communication systems.

The chapters are a collection of research findings produced for the...

Ottenberg synthesizes material from a variety of sources--annals, memoirs, and scholarly sources--and, with them, weaves a coherent narrative of what was performed where, by whom, and what developments took place. Works, companies, and individual singers are discussed to reveal the 19th-century world of performance styles and audience expectations. This is a fascinating look at a relatively unexplored part of American musical and cultural history; the book casts new light on opera in America--its variety, popularity, and appeal to changing audiences throughout the century.

The purpose of this book is to present a survey of Jewish music to illuminate its special role as a mirror of history, tradition, and cultural heritage. The 27 topical chapters have been placed within a modified chronological perspective to present a historic picture of virtually every important development in Jewish music. The book represents a culmination of several decades of the author's dedicated labor and scholarly study in this field.

At the time of Marshall McLuhan's death in 1980, his was a major voice in our understanding on media and society. And yet, few analyses of his impact have been written. In clarifying McLuhan, Neill provides a critical, yet sympathetic assessment of McLuhan's work and impact. While the author dismisses McLuhan's basic theory that the medium is the message, he points to McLuhan's importance, and argues for a re-examination of McLuhan as an artist and a poet.

Boggs presents a readable, even exciting, history of Salsa, showing how Afro-Cuban music was embraced in New York City, how it has undergone cycles of popularity, and how it has been replicated abroad. Extensively illustrated with photographs of the bands and clubs as well as the key leaders and promoters, a night at the Palladium, the Cheetah, or the Park Palace comes alive. In addition, Boggs provides interviews with such key figures as Palladium Mambero Ernie Ensley and Izzy 'Mr. Salsa' Sanabria.

From its roots in Cuba through present-day Salsa clubs, Boggs provides a tour of a...

This first in-depth study of European national anthems analyzes their evolution as indicative of the culture, characteristics, and histories of the 15 different nations. Beyond these specific features, The Voice of Nations explores common themes such as the quest for liberty, independence, patriotism, national resurrection, and self-determination. The book also probes the reasons why these anthems are still in use and addresses their relevance in the era of European integration. Professor Eyck, a European-born historian, uses primary sources hitherto unavailable in this country and...

Embracing the entire history of jazz poetry, the work defines this inspired literary genre as poetry necessarily informed by jazz music. It discusses the major figures and various movements from the racist poems of the 1920s to contemporary times when the tone of jazz poetry experienced a dramatic change from elegy to celebration. The jazz music of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane transliterated into poetry by the likes of Langston Hughes and Sterling Brown is but a part of this vital work. This unusual volume will be of interest to scholars and students of literature, music, American and...

The reflexive approach and the concept of bimusicality have made possible this in-depth study of the Rada rite, the foundation of the complex and sensationalized religion of Haiti, Vodun. Fleurant returned to his native Haiti to immerse himself in the socio-cultural life of those who practice the religion that was brought to Haiti by the people captured in Africa from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Through total immersion in daily life culture and apprenticeship in the music culture (reflexive approach and concept of bimusicality), the author has accessed information and provided a...

Wagner's "Ring," an important phenomenon of the German drama tradition, is situated and examined alongside other major works of the canon. Wagner defines tragedy as a mythological drama. The theoretical foundation of the "Ring" is a complex dialectic of history and myth. By contrasting the "Ring" with the dramas of Schiller, Hebbel, Hofmannsthal, and Brecht different facets of Wagner's work are uniquely highlighted beyond theoretical generalizations or broad overviews. This series of comparisons offers fresh insight into the interrelationships of the "Ring" with the previous German drama...

Consisting of six studies that present hermeneutical analyses of Wagnerian dramas, this book discusses Wagner's mature single dramas from "Hollander" to "Parsifal" with reference to the concept of Romantic irony and the basic theoretical orientation of post-structuralism. Wagner is best known as a composer of mythological works, but these music-dramas contain basic problems that essentially contradict what is regarded as their mythological or legendary nature. They all self-referentially play out certain critical processes. Focusing on the very issue of interpretation, this work asks how...