The behind-the-scenes story of the worlds most famous palace; painting a picture of the way its residents truly lived and examining the palaces legacy; from French history through todayThe story of Versailles is one of historical drama; under the last three kings of Frances old regime; mixed with the high camp and glamour of the European courts; all in an iconic home for the French arts. The palace itself has been radically altered since 1789; and the court was long ago swept away. Versailles sets out to rediscover what is now a vanished world: a great center of power; seat of royal government; and; for thousands; a home both grand and squalid; bound by social codes almost incomprehensible to us today.Using eyewitness testimony as well as the latest historical research; Spawforth offers the first full account of Versailles in English in over thirty years. Blowing away the myths of Versailles; he analyses afresh the politics behind the Sun Kings construction of the palace and shows how Versailles worked as the seat of a royal court. He probes the conventional picture of a "perpetual house party" of courtiers and gives full weight to the darker side: not just the mounting discomfort of the aging buildings but also the intrigue and status anxiety of its aristocrats. The book brings out clearly the fateful consequences for the French monarchy of its relocation to Versailles and also examines the changing place of Versailles in Frances national identity since 1789. Many books have told the stories of the royals and artists living in Versailles; but this is the first to turn its focus on the palace itself---from architecture and politics to scandal and restoration.
#1562826 in eBooks 2010-03-05 2010-03-05File Name: B003B5M0WC
Review
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful. Basically pretty good. but incompleteBy SpikeThis is a small book. physically (almost pocket sized - but 262 pages. not 42 as described) and in content. that contains much useful information. but it is imbalanced. It covers roughly 5 topics: basic sequencer function. basic rhythm composition (bass. snare. highhat). audio recording of drums. a discussion of the characteristics of drums in certain styles. and a few slightly more advanced topics. The strongest part is on basic composition. which consists of a series of tutorials that incorporate increasingly sophisticated rhythms. from very basic quarter notes (references to "crochets" indicating the british roots of the publication) up through the use of quantization of triplets and sixteenth-notes. with variations. This represents a solid introduction to pattern composition at the bar-level.The sequencer function discussion is fine - based on Cubase and Logic interfaces - but not surprisingly is hopelessly outdated in 2009. for a 2003 publication. It might have been better to dial back slightly on the brand-based examples to focus on the features that exist. and will likely persist. in any drum sequencer. A few screenshots of midi sequences are great. but the various menu options and feature sets change quickly. even for the programs covered. The concepts apply to the many other sequencers out there. (I use Logic. so Im not complaining about the choices.)A chapter is devoted to a catalog of styles (e.g.. Hip Hop. Drum n Bass). describing the role each instrument plays in the groove. and the relative timbre/emphasis. This is fine. except there are no examples of the actual rhythm patterns characteristic or prototypical of the styles. You may get a sense of what the instruments sound like. and their musical context. but not the rhythms themselves.Two chapters are devoted to audio recording of physical drums and drumming. The information is all fine. but I consider to be out of the scope of a book nominally about "programming" (implying building rhythms within a sequencer). There is a brief discussion of less common rhythms (7/8. 5/4. etc.) . but the most glaring omission of the book is on composition. beyond the bar level. How does one assemble various bar patterns effectively? How does the musical style affect choices about assembly? Most glaringly. there is no discussion of composing fills and/or transitions among verse/chorus/bridges.Someone who knows nothing about drum programming on computers would probably benefit from this introduction. The book is short and cost-effective. and there is some good general discussion about the role of drums (including the need. or not. for "authenticity" with respect to substituting for a real drummer). For the home musician with no access to physical drums and/or drummers. there are lengthy sections that arent especially useful. Furthermore. the beginning rhythm programmer will find only hints about composing drum patterns for entire songs - one needs to look elsewhere for more instruction. On the other hand. this is an inexpensive book and the beginner may very well gather enough nuggets to make it worthwhile.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Cute in size. meanders in focus. spotty on useful informationBy Michael WalshI was hoping for a book that spoke specifically about creating drum patterns - like on a step sequencer or with an MPC or with Battery or Maschine. This book has a little of that information but a lot of the book is filled with (sort of useless and old) information about how to set things up in (old versions of) Cubase and Logic. No mention of Ableton Live.. (not that I even want in a rhythm programming book.. but making note that this info is out of date.) There were some clever parts in the book.. the author knows his beats and shares some good tips.. but they are far and few between in the context of the book. I sent this back to 24 hours after getting it in the mail.A much better alternative is "Drum Programming" by Ray F. Badness. The Ray Badness book is not as cute and portable (its larger format) and its not as pretty (design is not the strong point) .. but its the best book Ive found for learning to program drum machines properly and learn some drumming technique at the same time.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy J CI Liked the patterns for my midi drum editor.
