“With spirited charm; Mead weaves history; music; science; and medicine into the story...Fascinating; insightful; and; best of all; great fun.†—The Washington Post A jewel of musical history—the story of Ben Franklin’s favorite invention; the glass armonica—including the composers who wrote for it (Mozart; Beethoven; Handel; among others); Dr. Mesmer who used it to hypnotize; Marie Antoinette and the women who popularized it; its decline and recent comeback.Benjamin Franklin is renowned for his landmark inventions; including bifocals; the Franklin stove; and the lightning rod. Yet his own favorite invention—the one he said gave him the “greatest personal satisfactionâ€â€”is unknown to the general public. The glass armonica; the first musical instrument invented by an American; was constructed of stacked glass bowls and played by rubbing one’s fingers on the rims. It was so popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries that Mozart; Beethoven; Handel; and Strauss composed for it; Marie Antoinette and numerous monarchs played it; Goethe and Thomas Jefferson praised it; Dr. Franz Mesmer used it for his hypnotizing Mesmerism sessions. Franklin himself played it for George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. In Angelic Music; Corey Mead describes how Franklin’s instrument fell out of popular favor; partly due to claims that its haunting sounds could drive musicians out of their minds. Some players fell ill; complaining of nervousness; muscle spasms; and cramps. Audiences were susceptible; a child died during a performance in Germany. Some thought its ethereal tones summoned spirits or had magical powers. It was banned in some places. Yet in recent years; the armonica has enjoyed a revival. Composers are writing pieces for it in genres ranging from chamber music and opera to electronic and pop music. Now Mead brings this instrument back to the public eye; telling the compelling; fascinating story of its origins.
#3218376 in Books Allan G Grapard 2016-02-25 2016-02-25Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 233.93 x .75 x 6.14l; .0 #File Name: 1474249000320 pagesMountain Mandalas Shugendo in Kyushu Bloomsbury Shinto Studies
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A brilliant study of the revival of the yamabushi in English with a inventive narrative style.By P. NagyA socio-political view of an ancient Janpanese sacred circumnavigating mountain practice restored in the last few decades. Beside the book the publisher offers a free pdf that includes further documentation of Shugendo practices and rituals. You may access is at media.bloomsbury.com on the book's page or google 'mountain-mandalas-web-final.pdf'Even without this supplement this is one of the best socio-political accounts of the demise and revival of the yamabushi in English. A brilliant study with a inventive narrative style.
