BookfellersBeta
Finding Democracy in Music

Finding Democracy in Music

Robert AdlingtonEsteban Buch

2020

Genres: Music

For a century and more, the idea of democracy has fuelled musicians’ imaginations. Seeking to go beyond music’s proven capacity to contribute to specific political causes, musicians have explored how aspects of their practice embody democratic principles. This may involve adopting particular approaches to compositional material, performance practice, relationships to audiences, or modes of dissemination and distribution. Finding Democracy in Music is the first study to offer a wide-ranging investigation of ways in which democracy may thus be found in music. A guiding theme of the volume is that this takes place in a plurality of ways, depending upon the perspective taken to music’s manifold relationships, and the idea of democracy being entertained. Contributing authors explore various genres including orchestral composition, jazz, the post-war avant-garde, online performance, and contemporary popular music, as well as employing a wide array of theoretical, archival, and ethnographic methodologies. Particular attention is given to the contested nature of democracy as a category, and the gaps that frequently arise between utopian aspiration and reality. In so doing, the volume interrogates a key way in which music helps to articulate and shape our social lives and our politics.

Write a comment/review

Help readers support local bookshops in their community.

Reader's Voices
Reader's Voices

Honest reviews and recommendations from fellow readers.

Join a club
Join a club

Connect with readers who share your interests.

Reading and clubs made for younger bookworms.

Real stories, ideas and expert insight.

Lose yourself in stories worth sharing.

eBooks
eBooks

Read anywhere, on any device.

Bookfellers rewards
Bookfellers rewards

Exclusive offers and perks for members.

Exclusive savings