Bettina Varwig places the music of the celebrated Dresden composer Heinrich Schuuml;tz in a richly detailed tapestry of cultural; political; religious and intellectual contexts. Four key events in Schuuml;tzs career ndash; the 1617 Reformation centenary; the performance of his Dafne in 1627; the 1636 funeral composition Musikalische Exequien and the publication of his motet collection Geistliche Chormusik (1648) ndash; are used to explore his musics resonances with broader historical themes; including the effects of the Thirty Years War; contemporary meanings of classical mythology; Lutheran attitudes to death and the afterlife as well as shifting conceptions of time and history in light of early modern scientific advances. These original seventeenth-century circumstances are treated in counterpoint with Schuuml;tzs fascinating later reinvention in nineteenth- and twentieth-century German musical culture; providing a new kind of musicological writing that interweaves layers of historical inquiry from the seventeenth century to the present day.
#1902356 in eBooks 2011-07-07 2011-07-07File Name: B0058TUFQC
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A pretty good set of interviews that cover Romeros careerBy bd2999A pretty good set of interviews that cover Romeros career. It is especially interesting to see some of the shifts over time in the man and his view of things. It is largely consistent but becomes more refined. A fair bit is repeated. as would be expected given that there are only so many movies that get brought up again and again.Is it worth a buy and read? If you are a fan of Romero than sure. Really. a fan of movies in general would probably enjoy it too.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating Subject. Poor EditingBy Eric HoffmanA worthwhile collection of interviews with George Romero spanning over 30 years of fascinating filmmaking. Romero is a wry. charming and modest subject. Unfortunately. this book is marred by numerous typographical errors. Also. the introduction by Tony Williams is. in my opinion. very poorly written (as is his other book on Romero. Knight of the Living Dead). Five stars for the subject matter. one star for the package. averages out at three stars.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. There is much of interest for Romero fans and scholars alikeBy Jon TowlsonOf particular interest to Romero fans is this collection of interviews edited by Tony Williams. Prof. Williamss previous work includes the critical study The Cinema of George A. Romero: Knight of the Living Dead (Wallflower Press. London. 2003) and the acclaimed study of family in the horror film. Hearths of Darkness (Associated University Presses. London. 1996). The interviews in this new collection cover a period of over forty years - from 1969 to 2010 - spanning Night of the Living Dead to Survival of the Dead. The interviews illustrate the various stages in Romeros career with the majority covering the years from 1973 to 1982 - arguably Romeros richest period creatively.Three of the interviews are conducted by Prof. Williams himself (including one taken especially for the book). Many are rare and difficult to find. including an important one from 1979 by Williams. Robin Wood and Richard Lippe at the Toronto Film Festival retrospective of horror films (the event for which Wood wrote his landmark essay. The American Nightmare). Also included is a Paul R. Gagne interview from 1985 - Gagnes The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh (Dodd Mead. 1987) still being the most comprehensive book written on Romero - and two interviews by Dennis Fischer. who wrote the influential Horror Film Directors (McFarland and Co. 1991). including one previously unpublished that covers Bruiser.There is much here for fans and scholars alike: Romero talks openly about the themes in his films (intriguingly. he speaks of Night as an allegory as early as 1973). about his artistic methods and his (often painful) experience in the film business. He is sometimes wary about pinning specific interpretations on his films but his commitment to social commentary is clear and consistent throughout. As critical appreciation increases over the years so do the quality of the interviews: those taken around 1982 show the director at the height of his powers. in complete command and knowing exactly what he wants to say. However. readers seeking the definitive Romero political `statement may be disappointed: when Robin Wood asks Romero his attitude to the possibility of social change. Romero by no means rejects notions of social engagement but says he doesnt think of his work primarily in such terms; the desire to change society might be present but is not a primary conscious motivation. Instead of glib answers. what we get from Romero - in both his films and interviews - is the sense of his working through a complex set of ideas about society. the individual. communication and responsibility. This process is on-going and subject to refinement as each interview - and film - proves. but the themes themselves remain consistent and coherent.Prof. Williams presents each interview in full with no evidence of editorial tinkering. At times this means some repetition; many of the interviews rehash Romeros background and Night of the Living Dead. This also makes the featured chronology and filmography seem a little redundant. Romero scholars may experience deacute;jagrave; vu at times. Parts of the interviews. for example. have been quoted by Gagne in The Zombies that Ate Pittsburgh. Land of the Dead is under-represented: only a short piece is included which even then is more an article than an interview. This seems a bit slim considering the importance of Land as Romeros return to the screen after several years away. Having said that. the interviews covering Romeros experience in Hollywood developmental hell prior to Land are particularly fascinating. detailing as they do his failed projects such as The Mummy and Resident Evil.Prof. Williams omits an afterword from the collection; presumably so that more interviews can be added in future editions. Lets hope that this is the case. Romero seems to have more films in him - Lets hope he gets the chance to make them.
