A Theory of Musical Narrative (Musical Meaning and Interpretation) [Hardcover]

Byron Almén (Author)

Book Description

Series: Musical Meaning and Interpretation | Publication Date: November 26, 2008

This comprehensive volume offers a wide-ranging perspective on the stories that art-music has told since the start of the 20th century. Contributors challenge the broadly held opinion that the loss of tonality in some music after 1900 also meant the loss of narrative in that music. On the contrary, the editors and the essayists in this book demonstrate how experiments in approaching narrative in other media, such as fiction and cinema, suggested fresh possibilities for musical narrative, which composers were quick to exploit. The new conceptions of time, narrative voice, plot, and character that accompanied these experiments also had a significant impact on contemporary music. The repertoire explored in the collection ranges across a wide variety of genres and includes composers from Charles Ives and the Pet Shop Boys to Thomas Adès and Dmitri Shostakovich.

(2009)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this pathbreaking study, Byron Almén convincingly demonstrates that a piece of music can convey a narrative that is intrinsically musical, not added by a program or text." —J. Peter Burkholder, Distinguished Professor of Musicology, Indiana University

(J. Peter Burkholder, Distinguished Professor of Musicology, Indiana University )

"Almén's work is far reaching both for music theory and musicology and will make a substantial and timely contribution to the study of musical narrative." — Michael Klein, Associate Professor of Music Theory, Temple University

(Michael Klein, Associate Professor of Music Theory, Temple University )

Reimagining literary narrative theory in musical terms, Almén (Univ. of Texas, Austin) has appropriated, explicitly, various constructs and methods, albeit with qualification. The endeavor is informed by semiotic and topic theories--The Semiotics of Music, ed. by Eero Tarasti (1987), was a progenitor. That the outcome seems so natural, elegant, and convincing testifies to the author's careful work and deep understanding. He asserts that the book does not provide an analytic method but, rather, a framework; several analyses, large and small, will serve as a primer for others. In the first part of the book, Almén explains the theoretical underpinning; in the second part, he introduces four narrative archetypes that correspond precisely to the four mythoi Northrop Frye gave in his essay 'Archetypal Criticism' (Anatomy of Criticism, 1957). It would seem that Almén's theory can be applied as a means of understanding any musical work, regardless of type or style or purpose. Might a fundamental connectedness of seemingly disparate musics be revealed? That would be something. The book is out of range for all but the most intrepid undergraduates, but it is a must for all music theory collections. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers and faculty. --Choice B. J. Murray, Brevard College, August 2009

(B. J. Murray, Brevard College )

"[N]atural, elegant, and convincing... a must for all music theory collections. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers and faculty." —Choice

(Choice )

From the Publisher

"Almén's work is far reaching both for music theory and musicology and will make a substantial and timely contribution to the study of musical narrative." --Michael Klein, Temple University

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (November 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 025335238X
• ISBN-13: 978-0253352385
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.6 x 1.2 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: #530,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant scholarship, April 23, 2011

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Klavo Philiac (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Theory of Musical Narrative (Musical Meaning and Interpretation) (Hardcover)

This should be considered required reading for any scholarly minded performer, music theory graduate student, or anyone else interested in finding meaning in musical structures without specific semantic content. Very very well done - thank you for your work Dr. Almen.