American Fuging-Tunes, 1770-1820: A Descriptive Catalog (Music Reference Collection) [Hardcover]

Karl Kroeger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0313290008 | ISBN-13: 978-0313290008

The fuging-tune has long been associated with American music. Indeed, it was once thought to have been an American innovation, but research has shown that, like much else in 18th-century America, the fuging-tune had its origins in England. The American composer adopted and developed it, added his own expressive touches, and made it a primary vehicle for his musical creativity. The almost 1300 fuging-tunes by American composers published between 1770 and 1820 testify to their widespread popularity and musical impact. They represent about a quarter of all the pieces composed by American psalmodists, and are by far the most imaginative musical settings for religious poetry.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“...A useful work by a recognized authority for identifying and describing approximately 1,300 fuging-tunes published in American tunebooks for the period studies. The tunes are listed alphabetically under composers' names. Each entry includes a numerical incipit of the first 13 pitches of the main melody and information on the tune structure and length, fuges, rhythm, poetic meter and first line of text, and earliest sources. Recommended for advanced undergraduate and graduate collections.”–Choice

“Kroeger, catalogs 1,298 fuging-tunes, essentially every one published in America. Extremely useful multiple indexes, coinciding with the citations, conclude the volume. The author does an excellent job with his material, and users need not worry about his comprehensiveness or his scholarship. An excellent acquisition for all libraries interested in early American liturgical/secular music or those establishing a comprehensive music collection. Colonial historians would even appreciate the brief biographies, many of which are not readily found elsewhere.”–RQ Summer 1994

About the Author

KARL KROEGER is Professor and Music Librarian at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (October 30, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313290008
• ISBN-13: 978-0313290008
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,050,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good reference for anyone working with Am. hymnody., July 17, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: American Fuging-Tunes, 1770-1820: A Descriptive Catalog (Music Reference Collection) (Hardcover)

Kroeger's tune census has almost everything I want in a reference work of this sort. He even includes brief biographical sketches of the composers. I've used the first line index to quickly look up hymn text authors. The one complaint I have is that Kroeger never gives a master list of the tune incipits. When I wanted to look up a fuging tune with a tune name other than that given it by its composer, there was no easy way to see if it was in Kroeger's catalog. I ended up having to search for it via the metrical index (fortunately the tune I was searching for was *not* in Common Meter!)

I keep this book on the shelf handy to my desk and find myself reaching for it often.

--Karen Willard