Customer Reviews

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Cambridge Music Handbooks)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At the heart of the matter is the question: Is Sgt Pepper a piece of modern classic music? If one were to look at the other books in the Cambridge Music Handbook series (they're all on works of classical composers, [and here I do not refer to the "Classical" period, but to the generic category of classical]), the question seems already answered, and all that remains is to see just how Mr. Moore will prove this. This he does achieve, albeit through much technical information (both musical and socio-cultural), rather than through truly moving and eloquent persusasion. Moore's analysis of each song's music is fascinating (how the Beatles aurally represent concepts) and his thematic analysis is equally good, even if you don't always agree with him (I mean, is "Within You, Without You" really the pivotal song of the album?) But that aside, his commentary on "A Day in the Life" is excellent. Here even the distanced scholar is moved, he writes (paraphrase here) "...the final chords [of the Sgt Pepper reprise] have not yet died away when the strumming of a lone acoustic guitar begin and the innocent listener is lead into one of the most harrowing songs ever written...". All in all, a good effort and worth the reading of every Beatles fan, student of music or pop culture.

If a series of books concerned with serious music embraces the Beatles its the final word.
Yet its not that surprising when you realise the Beatles were being discussed by classical music critics as far back as 1963.
A couple of years later we began to find things like The Baroque Beatles and it went on through the years to the interpretations by different Symphony Orchestras.
Today Paul McCartney is,himself,in the classical catalogues courtesy of things like Liverpool Oratorio and Standing Stone
In the early 60s classical and pop were a great divide and the Beatles were to narrow it immensley when their music was picked up by orchestras.
Sgt Pepper is their most famous album and has been treated many times to symphonic interpretations.
Its now gone full circle as the Beatles are a musical genre