Bibliographic Details
Title: Lou Harrison: Composing a World
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication Date: 1998
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: New
About this title
Harrison's love affair with the various musics of Asia began at this time and coincided with his affinity for dance rhythms in his music. With his longtime companion Bill Colvig, Harrison invented many sounding instruments (influenced by those in the Indonesian gamelan), which he employed in his symphonies and other compositions. Harrison's development of a tuning method (which he calls "just tone" in contradistinction to "mean tone" or "equal temperament") has become central to his compositional practice and receives in-depth discussion.
Miller and Lieberman (a musicologist/performer and an ethnomusicologist/composer, respectively) began this book as an oral history, but it evolved into a thoroughgoing study of the music as well as of the man. After a brief biography, there are a variety of discrete chapters (e.g., on dance, tuning, homosexuality, politics) with a plethora of music examples. Harrison's lifelong interest in typefaces is also addressed, with examples given. The book includes a catalog of his works and a CD of excerpts from his compositions.
In the last 10 years or so, Harrison has enjoyed many more performances of his music, and his position as one of the leading American composers of his generation has been solidified. This affectionate volume--if more for the specialist than for the casual listener--is an appropriate tribute. --Patrick J. Smith
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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