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British Theatres and Music Halls John Earl £5.99 978 0 7478 0627 1 (Album 442) about 56 pp, colour and b/w ills. After decades of destruction, theatres are now recognised as significant architectural records of the societies that produced them and valuable cultural resources for the present day. This book outlines the history of theatres and music halls from the late sixteenth century to the present time, noting changing fashions in entertainment and evolving official attitudes to safety that have, at various times, influenced the architectural character of the buildings. Particular attention is given to the thirty-five years before the First World War, when music hall and variety entertainment developed rapidly, accompanied by a massive surge in theatre building. The account is enlivened with illustrations of the theatres, their architects and their audiences. |
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Michael Messenger £5.99 978 0 7478 0621 9 (Lifeline 46) about 56 pp, colour and b/w ills. Elgar was one of Britain’s greatest composers, but it is not always realised how great a struggle he had to achieve the fame and recognition that he eventually received. Through one tune, Land of Hope and Glory, for years a regular feature of the Last Night of the Proms, Elgar is irrevocably linked with old-fashioned concepts of ‘Empire’ and narrow nationalism, but there is far more to the man than that. He become the most famous British composer of his generation, receiving many of the highest honours that the nation could bestow upon him. His first great success was in 1899 with the Enigma Variations, and for the next twenty years he wrote a stream of oratorios, symphonies, concertos, smaller orchestral pieces and chamber works – musical masterpieces that are still heard and widely enjoyed today. |
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Jeremy Montagu £3.50 978 0 7478 0085 9 (Album 252) 32 pp, 58 ills. This book recounts the history and development of the transverse flute from the middle ages to the present day. It describes the development from the simple cylinder of the middle ages and Renaissance, into the elaborate instrument of the Baroque period for which Bach wrote, and into the classical instrument of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. It describes the changes int he materials from which flutes are made and how flutes work. It is illustrated with many photographs from the greatest collection of flutes in Britain, the Bate Collection of Historical Instruments in Oxford. Jeremy Montagu is one of the leading authorities on the history of musical instruments. Before retiring he was the curator of the Bate Collection of Historical Instruments at the Faculty of Music in the University of Oxford and lectured on the history of instruments. |
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Jeremy Montagu £3.50 978 0 7478 0086 6 (Album 254) 32 pp, 53 ills. This book recounts the history and development of the French horn throughout its musical history. It describes the three main stages of its development: the hunting-horn type, blown with the bell in the air, as used by Bach and Handel; the hand horn, written for by Mozart, Haydn and Beehthoven, which is now being revived by many early-instrument orchestras; and the valve horn, familiar today, but which has gone through many stages since the early nineteenth century. It describes how horns are made and how they work. The book is illustrated with many photographs from the greatest collection of horns in Britain, initially formed by Reginald Morley-Pegge and presented as a memorial by his son to the Bate Collection in Oxford. Jeremy Montagu is one of the leading authorities on the history of musical instruments. Before retiring he was the curator of the Bate Collection of Historical Instruments at the Faculty of Music in the University of Oxford and lectured on the history of instruments.
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Michael Symes £4.50 978 0 7478 0604 2 (Album 433) 40 pp, 68 colour and 16 b/w ills. How has magic as a present-day entertainment come about? This book surveys the history of magic from about 1800 and looks at some of the lively characters who have contributed to its development – performers who would often demonstrate not only miraculous feats of conjuring but also considerable powers of showmanship. The book also considers magical artefacts, in particular some antique pieces. Magical posters, delightful and evocative, suggest mystery and something special to behold in a show. There is also a look at the craftsmen who created the apparatus and the dealers who sold it. Finally there is a brief survey of magicians’ clubs and societies. No secrets are revealed, but plenty of intriguing material is included. |
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Kevin McElhone 978 0 7478 0578 6 (Album 333) 48 pp, 107 colour and 7 b/w ills. The sound of a street ‘barrel organ‘ or a fairground organ may revive distant memories for older people or stir an interest in younger folk. Wealthier families may have possessed their own automatic music machines in the form of a player piano, a Polyphon or cylinder musical box. If well treated, these instruments may still be in working order. This book covers the history, development, use and fall from favour of many types of exotic instruments, from pocket-sized musical boxes to roll-playing pipe organs. It describes pianolas, organettes, roller organs, orchestrions, nickelodeons, carillons and many more. Kevin McElhone is archivist of the Musical Box Society of Great Britain, which caters for all kinds of automatic musical instruments. |
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Allan Eyles £3.50 978 0 7478 0488 8, 32 pp, (Album 357), b/w ills. No building type arouses more nostalgic affection than the traditional high street cinema. This book examines the rise and fall of the picture house in Britain. Hooked on films from the age of eleven, Allen Eyles decided to make a living from his passion for cinema. After he observed the destruction of several notable cinemas, he began documenting their history and has written books about the Gaumont, ABC and Granada circuits as well as editing the historical magazine Picture House. He is currently at work on a two-volume history of Odeon cinemas. |
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David Baker £8.99 978 0 7478 0560 1 96 pp, 49 colour and 50 b/w ills. This extensively illustrated book is an introduction to the organ, its history, design and repertoire, and will be especially useful to the general enthusiast and the novice organist. It begins with a description of the different types of organ pipe and is followed by a brief history of the organ from ancient times to the present day and a short study of the various types of organ. There is also a bibliography, discography and a useful gazetteer. David Baker has published widely in the fields of librarianship and music and performs regularly as organist and accompanist. CLICK HERE FOR OTHER TITLES ON CHURCH HISTORY
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Polynesian Sound-producing Instruments Richard Moyle £4.99 978 0 7478 0095 8 (Shire Ethnography 20) 64 pp, 40 ills. Despite its vastness, Polynesia, the last major region of the Pacific Ocean to be colonised, contains cultures and languages which are relatively homogenous. Two subgroups, Eastern and Western Polynesia, share not only social structure and beliefs about the supernatural world, but also, in some instances, types of instruments used for musical and signalling purposes. This book introduces the variety of Polynesian instruments, from the familiar slit drums and skin drums to the less common nose-flutes, uniquely constructed mouth flutes and disposable jew's harps. The range of instruments now obsolete is also examined. Whether they are used to accompany dancing, for signalling, to represent divine voices, for private communication or for entertainment, sound-producing instruments are an integral and dynamic part of Polynesian culture. Richard Moyle has spent a total of four years engaged in ethnomusicological fieldwork in Polynesia and a further four years living with Aboriginal groups in central Australia studying music and ritual; this resulted in two books. He has taught ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaii and is currently lecturer in ethnomusicology at the University of Auckland.
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