Formal Functions in Perspective - (Eastman Studies in Music) by Steven Vande Moortele & Julie Pedneault-Deslauriers & Nathan John Martin (Hardcover)

About the Book

Presents thirteen studies that engage with the notion of formal function in a variety of ways

Book Synopsis

Among the more striking developments in contemporary North American music theory is the centrality that questions of musical form (Formenlehre) have enjoyed in recent decades. Formal Functions in Perspective presents thirteen studies that engage with musical form in a variety of ways. The essays, written by established and emerging scholars from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European continent, run the chronological gamut from Haydn and Clementi to Leibowitz and Adorno; they discuss Lieder, arias, and choral music as well as symphonies, concerti, and chamber works; they treat Haydn's humor and Saint-Saens's politics, while discussions of particular pieces range from Mozart's arias to Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht. Running through all of these essays and connecting them thematically is the central notion of formal function. CONTRIBUTORS: Brian Black, L. Poundie Burstein, Andrew Deruchie, Julian Horton, Steven Huebner, Harald Krebs, Henry Klumpenhouwer, Nathan John Martin, Francois de Medicis, Christoph Neidhofer, Julie Pedneault-Deslauriers, Giorgio Sanguinetti, Janet Schmalfeldt, Peter Schubert, Steven Vande MoorteleBR

Review Quotes

Formal Functions in Perspective breaks new ground by offering careful consideration of how best to extend Caplin's ideas about eighteenth-century form [with nineteenth-century repertory]. The book maintains remarkable focus throughout. Every chapter offers its own in-depth readings of musical form, most with several examples. Henry Klumpenhouwer and Giorgio Sanguinetti offer...enlightening, analyses. Vande Moortele's contribution, on connections between Adorno and Caplin, also offers a welcome marriage of formal analysis and broader intellectual trends. One obvious strength of this chapter is the author's ability to synthesize a huge amount of material clearly and succinctly. Nathan John Martin's study of Mozart's arias, Steven Huebner's discussion of texture in Verdi, and especially Harald Krebs's study of sentence structures in Schumann's songs all reward careful reading.--Eric Hogrefe "MUSIC & LETTERS"

Formal Functions in Perspective goes beyond the traditional analysis to look at other types of formal structure and relationships in music. The essays deal with a wide variety of forms -- the symphonic form, arias, sonata-form arias, the lieder, and chamber works -- and the book includes wonderful examples and tables that clearly identify the form parts and transitions. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.-- "CHOICE"

First-rate studies. Fascinating...truly refreshing...incisive analysis.-- "AD PARNASSUM: A JOURNAL OF 18TH- AND 19TH-CENTURY INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC."