The Music of Harrison Birtwistle [Hardcover]

This book gives a comprehensive view of Harrison Birtwistle's music, considering its wider cultural significance.Harrison Birtwistle is one of the most eminent and acclaimed of contemporary British composers. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive view of his large and varied output, containing descriptions of every published work, and also of a number of withdrawn and unpublished pieces. The book is structured around a number of broad themes--theatre, song, time and texture--themes of significance to Birtwistle, but also to much other music. This approach avoids in-depth technical analysis, and Dr Adlington focuses instead upon the music's wider cultural significance.Harrison Birtwistle is one of the most eminent and acclaimed of contemporary British composers. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive view of his large and varied output, containing descriptions of every published work, and also of a number of withdrawn and unpublished pieces. The book is structured around a number of broad themes--theatre, song, time and texture--themes of significance to Birtwistle, but also to much other music. This approach avoids in-depth technical analysis, and Dr Adlington focuses instead upon the music's wider cultural significance.Harrison Birtwistle (1934- ) is one of the most eminent and acclaimed of contemporary British composers. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive view of his large and varied output, containing descriptions of every published work, and also a number of withdrawn and unpublished pieces. The book is structured around a number of broad themes--theater, song, time and texture--themes of significance to Birtwistle, but also to much other music. This approach avoids in-depth technical analysis, and Dr. Adlington focuses instead on the music's wider cultural significance.Acknowledgements; Abbreviations and note on sources; Introduction; Part I. Theatres: 1. Violence; 2. Myth; 3. Music and drama; 4. Narratives and rituals; ParlS–