About the Display
Spring
The George F. DeVine Music Library is featuring "Spring" for the month of April. In this LibGuide, we have selected three composers and a work of theirs that is associated with spring. The three composers are Antonio Vivaldi (Spring from The Four Seasons), Betty Jackson King (In The Springtime), and Igor Stravinsky (The Rite of Spring). We have selected scores, CDs, books, and online resources for each composer. Along with the three composers, we have selected a variety of jazz tunes from our Aebersold collection, songs from the UT Song Index, and contemporary works from BabelScore.
Spring from "The Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi
Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons) by Call Number: M1112 .V59 C5 2002Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons between 1716 and 1725. A typical Vivaldi concerto includes three movements, but there is only one sonnet to accompany each of the seasons. As a result, the sonnet breaks into three sections to follow the individual movements. As you listen to these concerti, let your imagination wander and fill with images. The first movement of La primavera (“Spring”), RV 269, arguably the most famous of Vivaldi’s works, reads: “Springtime is upon us. The birds celebrate her return with festive song, and murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes. Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven. Then they die away to silence, and the birds take up their charming songs once more.” Many cues in this sonnet appear in the music, such as the celebrating bird in the solo violin and the murmuring streams in the string accompaniment. The second movement continues: “On the flower-strewn meadow, with leafy branches rustling overhead, the goat-herd sleeps, his faithful dog beside him.” In this Largo, pay attention to the branches rustling overhead in the ensemble and the slow breathing of the faithful dog. The final movement brings the frivolity and joy of spring: “Led by the festive sound of rustic bagpipes, nymphs and shepherds lightly dance beneath the brilliant canopy of spring.”
Francisco, Megan. Program Notes. "Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons)." Music by Antonio Vivaldi. Perf. Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Rachell Ellen Wong. 2020.
Online Resources for Antonio Vivaldi
Naxos Music Library
To listen to these CDs, click on one of them and it will
take you directly to Naxos Music Library!
Alexander Street Press
Feel free to scroll through the score of
Spring from The Four Seasons!
- Music & Performing Arts
An audio and video collection for classical, opera, jazz, world, popular music, and American music. Also includes theatre, dance, and film resources.
- Naxos Music Library
A streaming audio database featuring a comprehensive collection of classical music. Search by composer, artist, label, and more. Includes guides on musical eras and other topical resources.
Betty Jackson King
Betty Jackson King (1928 - 1994)
Books and CDs on Betty Jackson King
A New Anthology of Art Songs by African American Composers by
The art song―a delicate and inspiring blend of music and poetry―has been performed by singers and pianists and appreciated by audiences around the world for more than two hundred years. While collections of art songs abound, this welcome volume and its accompanying compact discs make readily available the contributions of contemporary African American composers to the popular genre. Including thirty-nine pieces for voice and piano created since 1968 by eighteen artists, ANew Anthology of Art Songs by African American Composers navigates a varied musical terrain from classical European traditions to jazz and spirituals. With nearly half of the featured songs composed by women and with others by lesser-known and emerging composers, this important collection offers a diverse, representative sampling of African American art songs and works to secure the places of these songs and artists in the canon of contemporary American music.
Call Number: CD12736
The Oxford Book of Spirituals by
"I Want God's Heaven To Be Mine" by Betty Jackson King is on page 136.
African American spirituals comprise one of the world's greatest and best-loved bodies of music. The Oxford Book of Spirituals is the first anthology to present a comprehensive survey of the genre's repertoire -- its principal composers, themes, and forms -- in a way that is at once stylistically authentic, historically meaningful, and intended for practical use both in worship and in concert. This collection features a rich array of songs, both familiar and less familiar, arranged for SATB choir by twenty-eight of the most significant American composers and presented in chronological order from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.
Call Number: M1670 .O9 2002
Piano Music by Black Women Composers by
Betty Jackson King is on page 48.
In recent years, considerable scholarly attention has been paid to women in music, and information on the music of a handful of black women composers, such as Florence Price and Mary Lou Williams, has been published. Determined search, however, is needed to locate what little data is available on most such composers. Proceeding from a desire to use music of black women composers in her piano performance and teaching, Helen Walker-Hill has dedicated herself to uncovering this material, utilizing secondary sources and numerous archives, conducting interviews with composers, and engaging in voluminous correspondence with individuals and institutions. The result is the most comprehensive catalog of music composed by African American women to date. The depth of detail required limiting the scope to solo and ensemble piano music. However, an introductory overview on the contributions of black women in music and biographical sketches on the fifty-four composers profiled in the catalog contain broader information. Over 300 piano works are listed, with detailed descriptive information on close to 200 works the author was able to obtain and study, including sources and levels of difficulty. Appendixes list available published music, ensemble instrumentation, music for teaching, and music published before 1920. A selected bibliography and a selected discography are also provided. This biographical dictionary and descriptive catalog will be most directly useful to performers and teachers, but the breadth of information makes it valuable for research in music history, African American studies, and women's studies.
Call Number: ML128 .P3 W3 1992 (Reference)
The World of Women in Classical Music by
Betty Jackson is on page 210.
This exciting compilation of the history of women in classical music covers female composers, conductors, performers, musiccologists, women in the business of music and fabulous philanthropists-from past to present. Each entry is a miniature masterpiece biography, revealing the talented women who pushed aside barriers and leapt over hurdles of social limitations to forge a path for themselves and future generations. Dr. Gray has fulfilled a destiny, drawing back the veil enshrouding centuries of women in music, bequeathing to us a detailed and colorful tapestry to feast our imagination, and forever enrich our minds, hearts and spirits.
Call Number: ML82 .G73 2007
You Can Tell The World: Songs by African-American Women Composers by
Dr. Mildred Denby Green in her book, "Black Women Composer: A Genesis," made the observation that little is know about black women composers of the twentieth century who blend jazz, blues, and spiritual elements and the traditions of Western European Music. Upon meeting Dr. Green, I was inspired, thus compelled to create a lecture/recital that would showcase the lives, art songs and spirituals of these historical and contemporary composers. Since the 1990 inaugural performance of "Solo Songs by Six African-American Women Composers," your overwhelming reception and requests, silence and a dream, have evolved into an astounding realty. It is with great honor that I offer the songs of these nine composers many of whose songs featured here have not been previously recorded.
Call Number: CD 11118
COMING SOON for Betty Jackson King
Black women composers: a century of piano music by Call Number: M21 .B55 1992- Four Seasonal Sketches for Piano by Call Number: M25.K53 S54 2021
"The Rite of Spring" by Igor Stravinsky
The Rite of Spring by Call Number: Mini Score M1520 .S9 V5 2000With this brilliant and uncompromising work — perhaps the most famous musical work of the twentieth century — Stravinsky changed the course of modern music forever. Discarding conventional harmonies for bizarrely dissonant chords, and uniform metrics for harshly jarring beat patterns, he created a sensational theater piece that, at the work's 1931 premier, caused the music world's most talked-about riot. "Every law of musical syntax, every canon of harmony seems to have been violated, every limit of rhythmic perversity and eccentricity of orchestration exceeded in this tumultuous cataclysm of sound," says Grove's; "yet with all its deliberate crudity and violence the 'Rite' is a clearly planned and perfectly controlled and coordinated piece of music [that] has long been accepted universally as a masterpiece and is in the repertory of every large symphony orchestra." Reproduced here from an authoritative edition, the score is ideal for study in the classroom, at home, or in the concert hall. This affordable, durable, and portable volume will be the edition of choice for music students and music lovers alike.
Online Resources for Igor Stravinsky
Naxos Music Library
To listen to these CDs, click on one of them and it will
take you directly to Naxos Music Library!
Alexander Street Press
Feel free to scroll through the score of
The Rite of Spring!
UT Song Index
Songs about Spring from UT Song Index
This database provides access to about 50,000 songs in more than 1,500 published song anthologies owned by the George F. DeVine Music Library at the University of Tennessee, located in Knoxville. Use this citation index to determine which anthologies contain the song(s) you need. You will not find the music or the words here, just the call number and book title. If you are not in Knoxville, ask your librarian about interlibrary loan options to obtain the songs you need be.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Start your search as simply as possible. For example, enter the last name of the composer and one key word from the song title. However, more than one keyword and any number of fields can be used.
- DO NOT use initial articles such as: the/of/a/an (use 'Sound of Music' rather than 'The Sound of Music').
- DO NOT use dashes or punctuation, besides apostrophes.
- Truncation is automatic ('Tchai' will yield 'Tchaikovsky').
- RESULTS: Click on the links to find all songs in an anthology, other songs by the same composer or author, or other songs/arrangements with the same words in their title. Change and redo your search if necessary.
Aebersold Volumes with Spring-related tunes
- One Dozen Standards by
In this volume, you can find "Here's That Rainy Day" by Jimmy Van Heusen (words by Johhny Burke) on page 1.
Call Number: MT68 .A4 V.23
- 17 All-Time Standards by
In this volume, you can find "It Might As Well Be Spring" by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers on page 7 and "Come Rain or Shine" by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen on page 11.
Call Number: MT68 .A4 V.25
- Wayne Shorter Jazz Classics by
In this volume, you can find "Wild Flower" by Wayne Shorter on page 13.
Call Number: MT68 .A4 V.33
- Jam Session by
In this volume, you can find "Spring is Here" by Richard Rodgers (words by Lorenz Hart) on page 14.
Call Number: MT68 .A4 V.34
- Groovin' High by
In this volume, you can find "I'll Remember April" by Don Raye, Gene de Paul, and Pat Johnston on page 10.
Call Number: MT68 .A4 V.43
- Tom Harrell by
In this volume, you can find "April Mist" by Tom Harrell on page 3.
Call Number: MT68 .A4 V.63
- Billy Strayhorn Lush Life by
In this volume, you can find "Rain Check" by Billy Strayhorn on page 11 and "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing" by Billy Strayhorn on page 13.
Call Number: MT68 .A4 V.66
- Lennie Niehaus by
In this volume, you can find "Waltz For Spring" by Lennie Niehaus on page 7 and "Metamorphosis" by Lennie Niehaus on page 18.
Call Number: MT68 .A4 V.92
- St. Louis Blues by
In this volume, you can find "Royal Garden Blues" by Clarence Williams and Spencer Williams on page 3.
Call Number: MT68 .A4 V.100
- Pennies from Heaven by
In this volume, you can find "April Showers" by Louis Silvers (words by B.G. DeSylva) on page 16 and "Honeysuckle Rose" by Andy Razaf (words by Thomas "Fats" Waller) on page 17.
Call Number: MT68 .A4 V.130
Display Case
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Books on Antonio Vivaldi
Vivaldi by
The Four Seasons and the rest of the concertos in Op. 8 represent Vivaldi's remarkable innovation in the field of the Baroque concerto. This detailed guide examines the work's origin and construction in a way that enables the reader to distinguish what is extraordinary about the Seasons and what constitutes the composer's customary method of 'characterising' the solo concerto. Drawing on recent research and his own expertise in the appraisal of Vivaldi's manuscripts, the author draws interesting and sometimes startling conclusions about the conception of the Seasons, the origin of their programme, the dating of the concertos and the rationale behind the collection's ritornello-form structures and aria-like slow movements. The significance of Vivaldi's idiosyncratic art is thus revealed in some of the most popular concert music of all time.
Call Number: ML410 .V82 E84 1996
Vivaldi by
Celebrating its 100th anniversary, this extraordinary series continues to amaze and captivate its readers with detailed insight into the lives and work of music's geniuses. Unlike other composer biographies that focus narrowly on the music, this series explores the personal history of each composer and the social context surrounding the music. In a precise, engaging, and authoritative manner, each volume combines a vivid portrait of the master musicians' inspirations, influences, life experiences, even their weaknesses, with an accessible discussion of their work-all in roughly 300 pages. Further, each volume offers superb reference material, including a detailed life and times chronology, a complete list of works, a personalia glossary highlighting the important people in the composer's life, and a select bibliography. Under the supervision of music expert and series general editor Stanley Sadie, Master Musicians will certainly proceed to delight music scholars, serious musicians, and all music lovers for another hundred years.
Call Number: ML410 .V82 T34 1993
Vivaldi by
Vivaldi boasted that he could compose a concerto faster than a scribe could copy one. Despite his prolificacy, The Four Seasons, and the majority of his already published work had fallen into obscurity by the time of his death in poverty in 1741. Most of his music-concertos, sonatas, operas, and sacral music-has been published only recently. Very little has been written on Vivaldi for the nonspecialist, especially in English. Landon rediscovers the composer in this accessible and musically informed biography while presenting documentation of the musician's life discovered after the Baroque revival in the 1930s. This book includes illustrations of eighteenth-century Venice and several newly translated letters, thoroughly evoking the style of the time and revealing some of the more personal aspects of Vivaldi's life. "Belongs on the shelf of every serious music student."--Kirkus "Gives a good feel for Vivaldi's life and times . . . and describes particularly well how Vivaldi has been revived."--Booklist "Robbins Landon is marvelously entertaining, extravagantly learned."--The Independent
Call Number: ML410 .V82 L36 1993Antonio Vivaldi by
Call Number: ML410 .V82 K553
Reinterpretations of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons"
Vivaldi's Influence on Modern Works
Max Richter's The Four Seasons Recomposed and Astor Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires show how influential Vivaldi's four concerti were for future composers. For Max Richter, he took the original work by Vivaldi and decided to reinvent the music in a modern, minimalist way. To listen to this, click the CD art next to the Richter's picture. For Astor Piazzolla, he took the idea of writing four concerti based on the four seasons and added some of his own roots into the music. Additionally, there are a lot of tango elements and extended techniques for the string orchestra. To listen to this, click the CD art next to the Piazzolla's picture.
To read their biographies, click on the composer's picture.
Max Richter (1966 - )
Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992)
"In The Springtime" by Betty Jackson King
Art songs and spirituals by African-American women composers by Call Number: M1619 .A784 T38 1995"In The Springtime" by Betty Jackson King.
From her website: "This piece, which was dedicated to Barbara Wright-Pryor, is a diatonic setting of Shakespeare's text. The moderate ranged vocal line modulates for the second verse. This is best suited for medium-high to high voice."
Online Resources for Betty Jackson King
Naxos Music Library
To listen to these CDs, click on one of them and it will
take you directly to Naxos Music Library!
Articles from JSTOR
To view these articles, click on one of them and it will
take you directly to the JSTOR article page.
Cultural Influences of Organ Music Composed by African American Women
Black Women Composers in Chicago: Then and Now
Citations:
Ritter, Carol. “Cultural Influences of Organ Music Composed by African American Women.” College Music Symposium, vol. 55, 2015. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26574395. Accessed 16 Mar. 2021.
Walker-Hill, Helen. “Black Women Composers in Chicago: Then and Now.” Black Music Research Journal, vol. 12, no. 1, 1992, pp. 1–23. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/779279. Accessed 16 Mar. 2021.
Journal Article Databases
- JSTOR
This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary collection of selected scholarly journals, books, images, and primary sources in humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
- Music Periodicals Database
Supports music scholarship, theory, and practice with indexing and abstracts for several hundred international music periodicals. Coverage from 1874 to current.
- RILM Abstracts of Music Literature with Full Text
Bibliography on writings about music with some full-text articles. Covers traditional music, popular music, classical music, and more. Coverage from the early 19th century to present.
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Books on Igor Stravinsky
Experiencing Stravinsky by
Hear the name "Igor Stravinsky" and the first thing that comes to mind is a composer of ponderous, "serious" music. But did you know that Stravinsky lived much of his life in Hollywood? That he collaborated on musical projects with Pablo Picasso and George Balanchine? That his work subtly espoused deeply held political views and reflected key literary influences? That he was not only interested in the modern communication technologies of his time--sound recording, radio, television, even early computers--but wrote music that echoed their impact? In Experiencing Stravinsky, music historian Robin Maconie takes a fresh approach to understanding this great composer's works, explaining what makes Stravinsky's sound unique and what we, as listeners, need to know in order to appreciate the variety and brilliance of his compositions. Experiencing Stravinsky is more than just another work of music appreciation. In the author's deft hands, Stravinsky's long musical career is a guided tour through 20th-century history, from Czarist Russia and two world wars to the height of the Hollywood era and the birth of the information age. Maconie has provided nothing less than an operating manual to getting the most out of Stravinsky's music.
Call Number: ML410 .S932 M26 2013
The Rite of Spring Sketches 1911-1913 by Call Number: Oversize ML96.5 .S865 V4 2013
Stravinsky and the "Rite of Spring" by Call Number: ML410 .S932 V38 1987
Stravinsky in the Theatre by Call Number: ML410 .S932 L4
The Stravinsky Legacy by
It has become increasingly apparent in recent decades that Stravinsky's music has had far-reaching influence on the development of music in our century. Stravinsky's modernist innovations - evident in such features as his music's discontinuity, its stasis, its ritualized anti-narrative, its novel rhythmic and formal structures, its articulation of new kinds of musical time, and its reinterpretation of music and materials from the past - have helped shape much of the music of our time. This book represents a first substantial attempt to evaluate Stravinsky's technical and aesthetic legacy. In Part I ('The Stravinsky Legacy'), Jonathan Cross explores the breadth of Stravinsky's impact on the music of composers as diverse as Adams, Andriessen, Birtwistle, Boulez, Carter, Messiaen, Reich, Stockhausen, Tippett, Varèse and Xenakis. In Part II ('Stravinsky Reheard') he returns to Stravinsky's neoclassical music to examine how recent developments in composition and musicology affect our understanding of and analytical approaches to Stravinsky.
Call Number: ML410 .S932 C87 1998
Naxos Video Library for The Rite of Spring
- Keeping Score - Igor Stravinsky "Le sacre du printemps"
Keeping Score: MTT on Music is a major initiative of the San Francisco Symphony aimed at offering audiences of today a connection to classical music and the powerful emotions it conveys.
Savage, hypnotic, and hell-bent, Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring set off a shock wave that turned Paris's Theatre des Champs-Elysees into the scene of one of the most astounding opening nights in history. The raucous rebellion Stravinsky's score started burst first onto the stage. As the dancers and the music pushed past civilized limits, the audience, astounded, pushed back. "Keep going no matter what!" the conductor was told, but they didn’t expect a riot! In this episode of Keeping Score, the tendrils of Stravinsky's music pull us back through France and Russia to pagan times. Join Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony as they celebrate the wild abandon unleashed by The Rite of Spring. - Mariinsky Ballet performing The Firebird and The Rite of Spring
The Rite of Spring takes place around 49 minutes into the video.
BabelScore
Contemporary Works about Spring from BabelScore
BabelScores, the most important contemporary music online library, specializes in providing access to the most important compositions from the last 40 years. Complete full scores of pieces are available in a very comfortable virtual booklet format that allows user to read music while listening.
Below, we have selected works from BabelScore that relate to the theme of this display, and the works themselves showcase what BabelScore has to offer!
Gordon Dic-lun Fung
Biography from BabelScore
Piece
Everlasting Blossoms
in the Spring Breeze
Gilles Schuehmacher
Biography from BabelScore
Piece
Flower Garden
Denis Schuler
Biography from BabelScore
Piece
The Lines - Spring
Aebersold Jazz Collection
Aebersold Collection
In our music library, you can find the 100+ volumes from the Jamey Aebersold Collection. In each volume, you can find a variety of jazz tunes and standards that provide chords, melody, and more! We have selected a variety of tunes for this LibGuide because they relate to spring. If you are interested in finding these specific spring-related tunes, hover your mouse over to the ⓘ icon and it will tell you the tune and page. If you are interested in finding other tunes that are not related to spring, ask the SLA or supervisor on duty to grab the catalog for the Aebersold collection.
Aebersold Jazz Catalog Example
This can be found in the George F. DeVine Music Library. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, please ask the SLA or supervisor on duty to grab it for you if you are interested in looking at it.
Example page from the Aebersold Jazz Collection.