The Dickinson Songs of Aaron Copland (Cms Sourcebooks in American Music) [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Larry Starr (Author), Michael J. Budds (Author, Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: Pendragon Pr (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157647092X
• ISBN-13: 978-1576470923
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,579,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dickinson Songs of Aaron Copland, January 14, 2008

By 

Dr. James L. Franklin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dickinson Songs of Aaron Copland (Cms Sourcebooks in American Music) (Paperback)

The text and the enclosed CD are an excellent tools for the study these songs and also as an introduction to the poetry of Emily Dickinson. The footnotes and bibliography provide useful leads for further study. The entire score is essential for fully appreciating the detailed examination of each song although the text includes many musical examples. Ideally the text would have been enhanced if it were possible to provide a miniature score of the songs along with numbering of measures.
James L. Franklin, M.D.

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what is needed, September 8, 2009

By 

Thomas J. Busse "Gibarian" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dickinson Songs of Aaron Copland (Cms Sourcebooks in American Music) (Paperback)

First: read this book next to the score, take out a pencil, and start annotating the score as you read.


This is the exact type of book on music that is the most informative and useful, but it is also the exact type of book on music one hardly ever sees. The author methodically steps through each song pointing out how the song works. The author freely expresses his opinions, yet any intelligent reader can see them as such. In a way, after reading the author's analysis, one knows enough about the music to even argue against the author's conclusions. The book is verly loosely footnoted, but this gives the impression the author does not feel constrained in his writing.

Other books in this category include Rheinhold Brinkmann's "Late Idyll" (the Brahms 2cd Symphony), David Fanning's book on the Shostakovich's 8th String Quartet, and George Stauffer's book on the Bach B-Minor Mass.

One rarely sees this type of discussion "more academic" writing [sorry for the scare quotes]. What is perhaps the most famous series of books on single works in English, the Cambridge Music Handbooks, fails to accomplish what this author does. That series formats the discussion in terms of a series of articles on various facets of each work, but none of these articles sufficiently covers the innards of this music.


The only unfortunate thing is the book's typography - not the author's fault. The body text is given a sans-serif typeface on lines far too wide to support its readability. The edges are ragged, and the type is far too tracked (i.e. too much space between words). I'm not a typography snob, but just happen to know the terminology and recognize this is one of the worst typeset books I have ever seen.