The Sounds of Place: Music and the American Cultural Landscape

by Denise Von Glahn

Focusing on instrumental works of high-art music, Von Glahn analyzes thoroughly the soundscapes of fourteen diverse composers who have commemorated American places. Organized chronologically, the volume looks at such distinctive American musical voices and works as Anthony Philip Heinrich, The War of the Elements and the Thundering of Niagara; Charles Ives, The Housatonic at Stockbridge and From Hanover Square North, at the End of a Tragic Day, the Voice of the People Again Arose; Aaron Copland, Quiet City and Music for a Great City; Duke Ellington, Harlem; Roy Harris, Cimarron; Ferde Grofe, Grand Canyon Suite; Robert Starer, Hudson Valley Suite; and Steve Reich, Vermont Counterpoint and New York Counterpoint.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music

376 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2003

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This deeply interesting book examines the ways that American classical music has responded to American places, and the idea of these American places. Von Glahn looks at pieces and composers both well known (Aaron Copland, Duke Ellington, Steve Reich) and more obscure (George Bristow, Ferde Grofe, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich). I really like the way von Glahn discusses each piece - her descriptions are vivid with the right balance of technical information. And she deploys the musical examples very well. Especially impressive is the way the delves into the relationships between the music and the places to which each piece refers. She looks at how each piece evokes a place, and at how the pieces show the changes in the way American culture relates to its natural world.

[Cana McGhee · Rating 3 out of 5]

discusses how the music of 12-15 composers evokes ideas of americana nature from 1800s onward. really love the description of musical examples here (easy to follow, v immersive). main issue has to do with sometimes cringey, unproblemarized discussions of appropriation/stereotyping that just wouldn’t fly if the book were written today. also would’ve liked a more explicit thesis, maybe about how music can further diff environmental agendas (both good and bad) or about music’s usefulness for tracing those histories. but a rich read nonetheless.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A smart, well-written book about how American identity, music by composers like Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, and Duke Ellington, and specific locations have informed each other for generations. Even though I am not a musicologist or musician, I found this book accessible and fascinating.