In the disastrous years before and during the Second World War, when confidence in a harmonious future was as difficult as it was crucial for spiritual survival, two German artists in exile wrote what would become their late masterpieces. The composer Paul Hindemith conceived an opera on the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler's mature life and theories, The Harmony of the World; the poet and novelist Hermann Hesse wrote a complex literary collage, i>The Glass Bead Game. Both works address the topic of universal harmony in the fabric of creation and culture, as well as the urgent problem of how such harmony can heal the spiritual, mental, and emotional developments of individuals and of society at large. The two quests are mirrored into circumstances that are almost equidistant from the mid-20th-century period in which their stories are being told. Hindemith's opera centers on an outstanding intellectual in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, while Hesse's work focuses on this intellectual's counterpart projected into a fictional world of the early 23rd century. In both cases, the quest for harmony and truthful proportion manifests at all levels of the stories told and of the works telling them. Siglind Bruhn's thought-provoking interdisciplinary study is organized along the lines of the seven areas in which scholars of the Pythagorean tradition from Plato to Kepler and beyond found universal harmony paradigmatically realized music, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy (the quadrivium of the medieval liberal arts) complemented by metaphysics, psychology, and art.

Pieces of the Musical World: Sounds and Cultures is a fieldwork-based ethnomusicology textbook that introduces a series of musical worlds each through a single "piece." It focuses on a musical sound or object that provides a springboard from which to tell a story about a particular geographic region, introducing key aspects of the cultures in which it is embedded, contexts of performance, the musicians who create or perform it, the journeys it has travelled, and its changing meanings. A collaborative venture by staff and research ethnomusicologists associated with the Department of Music at SOAS, University of London, Pieces of the Musical World is organized thematically. Three broad themes: "Place", "Spirituality" and "Movement" help teachers to connect contemporary issues in ethnomusicology, including soundscape studies, music and the environment, the politics of identity, diaspora and globalization, and music and the body. Each of the book's fourteen chapters highlights a single musical "piece" broadly defined, spanning the range of "traditional," "popular", "classical" and "contemporary" musics, and even sounds which might be considered "not music." Primary sources and a web site hosting recordings with interactive listening guides, a glossary of musical terms and interviews all help to create a unique and dynamic learning experience of our musical world.

(Vocal Selections). Six has received rave reviews around the world for its modern take on the stories of the six wives of Henry VIII and it's finally opening on Broadway! From Tudor queens to pop princesses, the six wives take the mic to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an exuberant celebration of 21st century girl power! Songs include: All You Wanna Do * Don't Lose Ur Head * Ex-Wives * Get Down * Haus of Holbein * Heart of Stone * I Don't Need Your Love * No Way * Six.

The author of the New York Times bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music reveals music’s role in the evolution of human culture in this thought-provoking book that “will leave you awestruck” (The New York Times). Daniel J. Levitin's astounding debut bestseller, This Is Your Brain on Music, enthralled and delighted readers as it transformed our understanding of how music gets in our heads and stays there. Now in his second New York Times bestseller, his genius for combining science and art reveals how music shaped humanity across cultures and throughout history. Here he identifies six fundamental song functions or types—friendship, joy, comfort, religion, knowledge, and love—then shows how each in its own way has enabled the social bonding necessary for human culture and society to evolve. He shows, in effect, how these “six songs” work in our brains to preserve the emotional history of our lives and species. Dr. Levitin combines cutting-edge scientific research from his music cognition lab at McGill University and work in an array of related fields; his own sometimes hilarious experiences in the music business; and illuminating interviews with musicians such as Sting and David Byrne, as well as conductors, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists. The World in Six Songs is, ultimately, a revolution in our understanding of how human nature evolved—right up to the iPod.

"This volume contains a wide-ranging survey of musics of the world in historical and social contexts, from ancient times to the present day. It begins by describing aspects of musical style and function in relation to the early developments of civilizations, as background to a study of later transformations. It then describes, in some detail, musical traditions of Africa and Asia, in relation to history/geography and to other aspects of culture. A compendium of information currently available as well as a dialectical examination of musical causation and function, this book aims to lead students, teachers, and those who practice Western music towards a deeper understanding of the various musical traditions that contribute to the modern, multicultural environment."--Publisher's description

Typescript, dated Rehearsal Draft April 7, 2018. Without music. Unmarked typescript of a musical that opened April 8, 2018, at the August Wilson Theatre, New York, N.Y., directed by Casy Nicholaw.

Take a musical tour with students in grades 5 and up using Musical Instruments of the World! This 80-page text explains the history and evolution of musical instruments. It also includes information on the development of music on each continent; percussion, brass, string, and wind instruments; and a discussion on symphonies, chamber orchestras, and other ensembles. The book presents information through fun activities and interesting facts for maximum learning reinforcement. It covers music terminology extensively and includes a glossary and answer keys.

(Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook). Features 18 piano/vocal selections from this Broadway hit that won both Tony and Drama Desk awards. Includes a plot synopsis, sensational color photos, and these tunes: The Ballad of Farquaad * Big Bright Beautiful World * Build a Wall * Don't Let Me Go * Donkey Pot Pie * Finale (This Is Our Story) * Freak Flag * I Know It's Today * I Think I Got You Beat * Make a Move * More to the Story * Morning Person * Story of My Life * This Is How a Dream Comes True * Travel Song * What's Up, Duloc? * When Words Fail * Who I'd Be.

Based on a story in the Weekly World News, this is a musical comedy/horror show about a half boy/half bat creature who is discovered in a cave near Hope Falls, West Virginia.

A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 'Full of delightful nuggets' Guardian online 'Entertaining, informative and philosphical ... An essential read' All About History 'Extraordinary range ... All the world and more is here' Evening Standard 165 million years ago saw the birth of rhythm. 66 million years ago came the first melody. 40 thousand years ago Homo sapiens created the first musical instrument. Today music fills our lives. How we have created, performed and listened to music throughout history has defined what our species is and how we understand who we are. Yet it is an overlooked part of our origin story. The Musical Human takes us on an exhilarating journey across the ages – from Bach to BTS and back – to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species. With insights from a wealth of disciplines, world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer renders a global history of music on the widest possible canvas, from global history to our everyday lives, from insects to apes, humans to artificial intelligence. 'Michael Spitzer has pulled off the impossible: a Guns, Germs and Steel for music' Daniel Levitin 'A thrilling exploration of what music has meant and means to humankind' Ian Bostridge