The Harvard Dictionary of Music by Don Michael Randel (Editor)

Product Details

Synopsis

This classic reference work, the best one-volume music dictionary available, has been brought completely up to date in this new edition. Combining authoritative scholarship and lucid, lively prose, the Fourth Edition of The Harvard Dictionary of Music is the essential guide for musicians, students, and everyone who appreciates music.

The Harvard Dictionary of Music has long been admired for its wide range as well as its reliability. This treasure trove includes entries on all the styles and forms in Western music; comprehensive articles on the music of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Near East; descriptions of instruments enriched by historical background; and articles that reflect today's beat, including popular music, jazz, and rock. Throughout this Fourth Edition, existing articles have been fine-tuned and new entries added so that the dictionary fully reflects current music scholarship and recent developments in musical culture.

Encyclopedia-length articles by notable experts alternate with short entries for quick reference, including definitions and identifications of works and instruments. More than 220 drawings and 250 musical examples enhance the text. This is an invaluable book that no music lover can afford to be without.

Library Journal

As the preface explains, this fourth edition of a classic music reference "proceed[s] directly from its [1986] predecessor," The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. Though coverage of non-Western and Western popular music has been expanded (and indeed these are probably the most significant changes), the core of the dictionary remains the Western classical tradition, and many articles remain nearly unchanged. Much of the article on Southeast Asia, for example, is the same as in the 1986 edition, including the illustrations (though other regional articles, such as Africa, have been rewritten). In the article for "leit motif," the Harvard Dictionary disagrees with Grove Music Online concerning the origin of the term (Grove Music Online claims an earlier use of the term); this article seems to be a verbatim holdover from 1986. The excellent coverage of regional and country-specific music has undergone some changes: the U.S.S.R. has given way to Russia, Baltic countries, etc. Articles on "Rock and Roll" and "Rock" are completely rewritten, and new articles include "Fiddling," "Rap," and "Turntablism." Unlike the Oxford Dictionary of Music, the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music, Random House Encyclopedic Dictionary of Classical Music, or Baker's Dictionary of Music, the Harvard Dictionary almost completely eschews biography, though individual works (such as Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera) are included. Almost every article longer than a paragraph is signed. Despite its relatively modest cost, the book itself is beautifully bound with fine-quality paper. Recommended for all libraries.-Bruce R. Schueneman, Texax A&M Univ. Lib., Kingsville Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Biography

Don Michael Randel, former Professor of Music at Cornell University and Professor of Music and President of the University of Chicago, is President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.