This groundbreaking book shows for the first time the profound and transformative influence of American literature, music, and mythology on European music. Acknowledging the impact of European tradition on American composers, Jack Sullivan contends that, beginning in the nineteenth century, an even more powerful musical current flowed from the New World to the Old.

For centuries, distinguished writers have taken on the challenge of describing great music and its significance in their lives. From Joseph Addison to Virgil Thomson, writers in and out of the music field have used their most vivid language to conjure the sounds and emotions of the music that mattered most to them. Yet until this book, no single volume has ever collected the best of this writing in one place. Scattered in magazines, essay collections, and program notes, this literature is largely unknown to the general reader who often thinks that music essays are for musicians only and even...