ECHOES OF KETTLEDRUMS is an inventive poetry collection with boundless spring of notions and emotions buttressed in puissant lines.

In defense of our nation, Texas born Sergeant Soria has taken on many missions. Training for and fighting in combat has instilled a patriotic toughness and constant situational awareness within him. However, when he is assigned to the 1996 US Helicopter Team and missioned to compete against twelve foreign countries in an aerial battle over American skies, he confronts the most challenging events of his life. Events ruled by extreme human emotions. A chance meeting immerses this soldier's soul with the most powerful force on Earth, affecting him for the rest of his life. He fights for what she is to him; his soul mate, his one . . . true love. This novel is intended for mature audiences and will take you through the inspiring, behind-the-scene story of one of Americas greatest, yet long forgotten challenges; the 9th World Helicopter Championship. This true historic event captures worldwide attention, locals and foreigners come together in the beautiful state of Oregon for a sportsmanship event equal to none. An event where we came face to face with Americas once dreaded foe, the Russian Federation.

Friedrich Nietzsche regarded himself as the most musical philosopher--he played the piano, wrote his own compositions and espoused a philosophy encouraging all to dance for joy. Central to his life and his ideas were the music and personality of Richard Wagner, whom he both loved and loathed at different times of his life. Nietzsche had considerable influence on composers, many of whom employed Wagnerian sonorities to set his words and respond to his ideas. This book explores Nietzsche's relationship with Wagner, the influence of his writings on the music of Strauss, Mahler, Delius, Scriabin, Busoni and others, his place in Thomas Mann's critique of German Romantic music in the novel Doctor Faustus and his impact on 20th-century popular music.

This volume represents a unique iconographical and documentary history of the timpani. Combining a wealth of pictorial material with extensive written sources, it offers a rich and comprehensive survey of the instrument's history from the middle ages to the present. And in so doing it fills a gap of long standing in the published literature of kettledrums by providing for the first time a combination of visual and descriptive evidence. Presented here is a wide-ranging pictorial lode drawn from a variety of sources-for example, astronomical clocks with their instrumental automata; paintings; baroque organ cases topped by angel-musicians;engravings from books describing court festivals; prints and drawings; decorative etched glassware and inlaid tables; wood carvings; and photographs. Written references reflect a wide and fascinating panoply of descriptions concerning the construction, musical contexts and performance techniques of the timpani-for example, eyewitness accounts chronicling the role of instruments at various historical events; archival documents dealing with payments to musicians or the make-up of instrumental ensembles; regulations concerning court musicians; and even patent specifications. In addition, a prefatory chapter presents a detailed, succinct overview of the history, orchestral role and performance practices of the timpani, including numerous illustrative musical examples. A chart depicting representative milestones in the music for kettledrums highlights such works as the first published opera featuring timpani, the first major composition for two pairs of drums, music with unusual tunings, very high or very low notes demanding unusually small or large instruments, unique playing techniques, such as using the fingers, coins, a wire brush, etc., and the key examples of music requiring multiple timpani and two or more players in various configurations. In short, The Timpani: A History in Pictures and Documents is a fascinating and most unusual book of interest not only to performing musicians, teachers and scholars alike, but one which provides the general reader or music-lover with a glimpse into the world of a hitherto neglected musical instrument.