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The Traditional Folk Music and Dances of Spain: A Bibliographical Guide to Research, Vol. 1 byIsrael J. KatzReview by: Jordi ReigFontes Artis Musicae, Vol. 58, No. 2 (April-June 2011), pp. 192-194Published by: International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres(IAML)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23512919 .
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192 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 58/2
Treitler's Adorno to Scott Burnham's analysis of Rosen's seminal 1971 title The classical style, all drawing on the honoree's writings for their foundations.
For those who may have missed it, Rosen's
own educational background includes early pi ano study and a Ph.D. in French literature (not music) from Princeton; thus his own contribu tion about Montaigne solidifies his qualifica tions as a latter-day Renaissance man.
It is perhaps churlish to expect the editors to have made connections between the various es
says when the authors themselves often cite
each others' work, but that would have unified
the title further, binding together the concepts addressed.
The bountiful musical examples, color fac
simile plates, copious bibliographical citations, and a list of recordings as well as print works by Rosen are invaluable. The index appears com
prehensive, highlighting music where it oc
curs, and even including names referenced in
the notes ending each essay.
Few errors could be detected and these
were rather minimal, e.g.: a misspelling of Vincenzo Righini as Vicenzo (p. 100) and an odd grammatical construction "even though it
he" (p. 292). The white paper contrasts nicely with the darkly-printed music and clear text
font and the binding is sturdy.
In summation, these essays show once
again the importance of Charles Rosen's contri
butions to music scholarship and are an excep
tionally apt "birthday present."
Barry J. Zaslow
Miami University Oxford, Ohio
The Traditional Folk Music and Dances of Spain: A Bibliographical Guide to Research, Vol. 1. By Israel J. Katz. New York: The Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 2009. [xliv, 337 p. ISBN 9781569541326. $45]
In this work, Katz presents an exhaustive list of
written publications that present a wide scope
of Spanish traditional and folkloric music from all possible points of view. In total, more than
7.000 references are included.
The author Israel J. Katz, a reputed
Hispanist with a thorough knowledge of tradi tional music and a regular visitor of the Iberian
Peninsula, is one of the world's major authori ties in Judeo-Spanish music. He has compiled this guide in over forty years spanning a long
and prolific professional career. Doctor Katz is also a key figure in the ethnomusicological world. Since 1961 he was member of the American Society for Ethnomusicology when it
adopted the term etnomusicologia (in 1957), definitely replacing the term of musicologia comparada.
This era coincided with the redefinition of the discipline's field of study and the adoption of new methodological proposals that, after the
Second World War, prompted a drastic change
in paradigms (documented by Rolf Bäcker in AEDOM's bulletin, year 10, 2003-2006, p. 23
24). This caused the polarization of two tenden cies or schools of thought, reflecting both an
anthropological and a musicological approach
that, to this day, dominate the 21st century eth
nomusicological discourse.
Israel Katz experienced this foundational catharsis first hand. The way in which he pre sents the materials in the Guide seems to indi cate that he followed the anthropological ap proach. This statement is valid as long as we
agree with the incisive aphorism of Steven
Feld: "if musicologists ignore people, anthro
pologists ignore sound".
Although, effectively, this is a work of biblio
graphic indexing, in my opinion, the unique objection that could be made to this magnifi cent work (thorough and broad ranging as it is) is the low number of references to recorded
collections within the section on phonotecs and
sound archives (6. Phonograph and Sound
Archives, p. 10). While Joaquin Diaz, in his ele
gant prologue, insists on the evolution of tech nical recording resources, he only includes
written publications on phonotecs and there are
no references from these sound resources
themselves.
Neither this detail, nor the transcription
mistakes he made when he transcribed texts
for the English edition, overshadow the magni tude of this not only rigorous but also exuber
ant work as far as the presentation of materials
and the large amount of references are con
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REVIEWS 193
cerned. Some books are no more than score The third section, regional and provincial
collections, others, simple abstracts; others are studies on folkloric music, is the largest of the
frivolous ethnomusicological studies (they ig- guide. Publications are grouped by au nore the change of paradigms or the paradigms tonomous communities and studies from Al
preceding these); others have a wider scope. Andalus, Pirineos, and Cerdena are included.
Kate doesn't judge the publications he men- The next two sections are dedicated to
tions. This is not the Guide's objective. But he dance. The first of them, numbered fourth in does make an effort to include as many re- the general index, is entitled Regional and
sources as possible. And so many of them. provincial dances. This section includes studies
However, sometimes the amount of resources of a general nature treated from an historical
speaks by itself, allowing us to make qualitative point of view. The fifth section, Dances from judgements. For example, it is interesting to specific regions, includes publications that deal see that works on Basque zortziko (p. 211), with the topic with two perspectives: dances of
within the section of national and regional historical importance and various regional dances (V. Revered National and Regional dances. Dances), deal extensively with the rhythm with Organology occupies the sixth section. The which music needs to be measured and obviate author confesses that this is the most problem
questions such as the use, function, social rele- atic of all. For this reason, the material included
vance and role of the actors in the communica- in it needs be organised according to system
tive act of dancing. atic organologie international classification, In his introduction, Kate describes his initial by historic and literature resources, by au
attempts to study East Mediterranean music, tonomous communities and by the different
specially the Sephardic Romancero. He made instruments used (aerophones, cordophones,
field recordings in the Jerusalem area and also instruments of the lute's family, and percus
recorded, transcribed, and analysed material sion). The Spanish iconographie wealth, em in Morocco. He also talks about his experience bodied in archaeological objects, miniatures, in Spain and how he re-examined Kurt paintings and sculptures from all periods of his Schindler's musicological missions in the tory, makes the inclusion of section seven, ded
province of Soria. icated to iconography / iconology, essential.
His episode on the metric difficulties he en- Finally, section eight on traditional genres of countered when analysing sections of the song, presents a study about songs from the
Romancero is endearing. Second-hand books Iberian peninsula according to their popularity about flamenco and Spanish folkloric music and in relation to their use cycles in profane life
that he found in old libraries, together with his or on the religious calendar. This magnificent
bibliographic research at the Menendez Pidal compilation, the first volume of The Traditional Archive and the National Library, became the Folk Music and Dances of Spain: A Biblio foundations of this Guide. He completed it with graphical Guide to Research, concludes with an visits to other libraries and institutions from addendum containing conference proceedings,
Barcelona, Madrid, Renteria, San Sebastian, collective works, and two indexes arranged by
Sevilla, Urena, and Valencia, as well as with sev- author and subject respectively. This Guide is
eral subsequent stays in Madrid. an extremely useful tool for researchers, teach
The contents of the book are clearly and ac- ers, students, journalists, musicologists, ethno
curately presented, with plenty of cross refer- musicologists, teachers and technicians of mu
ences. The book is divided in nine sections. The sical education, archivists, and librarians first is a compendium of institutional resources, specialized in music.
bibliographic aids and reference materials. The second volume, which is announced This section contains two subsections: a) Re- in the first one only in passing and without a search institutions, and b) Research materials. definite release date, will cover topics as di The second section offers a wide catalogue of verse as the historical sources that have some
surveys, studies and song anthologies, and it is kind of relationship with traditional music, fes
organized in thirteen sections. tivals, flamenco, regionalism and nationalism,
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194 FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 58/2
the work of Eximeno and Pedrell, the Civil War, the work of composers inspired by folk music or the stories of foreign travellers.
Jordi Reig Institut Valencià de la Müsica
Johannes Brahms und der Leipziger Musikverlag Breitkopf & Härtel. By Peter Schmitz. (Abhandlungen zur Musik
geschichte, Band 20.) Göttingen: V&R
unipress, 2009. [393 p. ill. ISBN 978-3-89971 728-0 61.90 €]
Biographies of Brahms describe two important moments in the young composer's career: the
first publication of his compositions and the in
tensely negative reception of his long-awaited
first major orchestral work, the Piano Concerto
No. 1, Op. 15. Both of these events involved the
publisher Breitkopf & Härtel. In his new book
(which is based on his dissertation), Peter Schmitz views these pivotal events in the con text of Brahms's life-long relationship with this venerable firm. He draws on a vast array of
sources, including the published correspon
dence of Brahms, his publishers, and his circle of friends and colleagues; secondary sources
spanning the entire twentieth century; and —
most significantly—unpublished letters, many of which are now housed in the Sächsisches
Staatsarchiv, Staatsarchiv Leipzig, Bestand
Breitkopf & Härtel. Indeed this is the first com
prehensive study of this institution's docu ments concerning Brahms.
Schmitz begins with informative overviews
of the music publishing business in Leipzig; he establishes the importance of Breitkopf & Härtel in the publishing industry and the com
pany's relationship to the other musical activi ties in Leipzig. This survey encompasses a brief
history of the firm and its interest in publishing works of historical significance, such as the col lected works of major composers. The firm's
own documents attest to the tensions between
these types of artistic projects and more com
mercial ventures, such as publishing popular works for amateur performers. As Schmitz ac
knowledges, this background information
draws on Oskar von Hase's pioneering study
Breitkopf & Härtel: Gedenkschrift und Arbeits bericht (Bd. 2), 5. Auflage (Wiesbaden 1968).
In 1853, Robert Schumann's article in the Neue Zeitschrift ßr Musik introduced Brahms to the world and proclaimed him as the leader of the next generation of composers. Subse
quently he persuaded Breitkopf & Härtel, the
publisher of many of his own compositions, to
publish a number of Brahms's early works and
to pay the young man a handsome honorarium.
During 1853-54 the company released Brahms's first two piano sonatas (Opp. 1 and 2), a collection of she lieder (Op. 3) and a Scherzo for solo piano (Op. 4). Following Schumann's
death, his widow Clara became one of Brahms's
strongest advisors and advocates, and on a
number of occasions she wrote to Hermann
Härtel in support of specific compositions. In
part due to her efforts, Breitkopf & Härtel pub lished Brahms's Op. 8 Piano Trio and the Variations on a Theme by Schumann (Op. 9).
Nevertheless, after these initial releases,
Brahms's negotiations with the publisher were not always easy, and he had to accept market
rate honorariums, rather than the high fee
Robert Schumann had helped him acquire for his first works. Already in February 1855 the
publisher rejected his four-hand arrangement of Schumann's Op. 44 Piano Quintet on the
grounds that it was far too difficult. This cri tique, which was based on comments made by
Albert Dietrich and another unnamed musi
cian, established the pattern for subsequent de
bacles. Despite the sting of this rebuff and that he had already forged relationships with other
publishers, Brahms continued to submit new
works to the prestigious Leipzig firm, and in the ensuing years Breitkopf & Härtel published the Op. 10 Ballades. However, they rejected all but one (the Op. 11 Serenade) of the seven
opuses the composer submitted in 1860. The most significant aspect of this episode was that the firm rejected Brahms's monumental First Piano Concerto, even though they had initially expressed interest in it. In his essay, Schumann
had predicted that Brahms would master large scale orchestral genres, but in the immediately
following years none appeared. The Concerto
was only completed after undergoing numer
ous revisions, including being caste as a four
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