Timpani and Percussion
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This fascinating book presents the history of percussion instruments from the Old Stone Age to the present day. Jeremy Montagu, a performer, historian, and curator of musical instruments, discusses common and uncommon percussion instruments from all parts of the world, tracing their development and use through the ages and across cultures. After exploring the origins and antiquity of percussion instruments, Montagu investigates their appearance in the Middle Ages, in particular the nakers, tabors, cymbals, and triangles that are immediately ancestral to those we use today. He then describes instruments of the Renaissance and Early Baroque, High Baroque (from which we can trace surviving instruments and specific music), Classical, Romantic, and Modern Periods. Montagu follows the development of orchestral and band percussion from the late eighteenth century, moving from the introduction of the "Turkish music" to the modern pop bands, military, marching, and concert bands, and concert and studio orchestras. The book concludes with a wide-ranging survey of world percussion, covering instruments commonly played in schools, colleges, and orchestras. It incorporates appendices on playing techniques, technical matters, and the sociology of drummers, and is abundantly illustrated with rare images.Author Biography: Jeremy Montagu has been a professional timpanist and percussion player for more than fifty years, performing with many orchestras and specializing as a player and conductor in the Early Music Revival. He was curator of the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments and lecturer in the Faculty of Music at the University of Oxford, and he has written numerous books, guide books, and articles on instruments from all over the world. Library Journal With these two volumes, the publisher launches its promising "Musical Instrument" series, in which noted scholars/ performers discuss instruments in light of the newest research. Forthcoming titles will cover the piano, the clarinet, the cello, the violin, and the trumpet. Montagu has played timpani and percussion professionally for more than 50 years and oversaw the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments at Oxford, and Powell is a noted solo flautist and president of Folkers & Powell, Makers of Historical Flutes, in Hudson, NY. Each has written an informative and authoritative guide for those with previous background in these instruments and a serious desire to understand their place in history. Taking a chronological approach, the authors trace the instruments from earliest known records and discuss the changes in construction, social context, and repertory, as well as notable performers and makers. Montagu's appendixes include information about playing techniques and the construction of percussion instruments, and Powell's reference section contains extremely valuable coverage of past and current scholarship on flutes. In addition to being well written, the books are sturdy and beautifully illustrated. Highly recommended for academic libraries, public libraries where an interest in music is strong, and upper-level music students generally. Timothy J. McGee, Univ. of Toronto Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
List of illustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction: The anatomy of the drum and glossary11Speculation and Antiquity82The Middle Ages153The Renaissance324The Early Baroque535The High Baroque716The Classical period967The Romantic period1128The twentieth century1389World percussion165App. 1: Playing techniques198App. 2Lapping drumheads202App. 3The need to be inventive206App. 4: Drummers209Notes212Bibliography246Index259
