Books with author R. Murray Schafer

The soundscape--a term coined by the author--is our sonic environment, the ever-present array of noises with which we all live. Beginning with the primordial sounds of nature, we have experienced an ever-increasing complexity of our sonic surroundings. As civilization develops, new noises rise up around us: from the creaking wheel, the clang of the blacksmith’s hammer, and the distant chugging of steam trains to the “sound imperialism” of airports, city streets, and factories. The author contends that we now suffer from an overabundance of acoustic information and a proportionate diminishing of our ability to hear the nuances and subtleties of sound. Our task, he maintains, is to listen, analyze, and make distinctions. As a society we have become more aware of the toxic wastes that can enter our bodies through the air we breathe and the water we drink. In fact, the pollution of our sonic environment is no less real. Schafer emphasizes the importance of discerning the sounds that enrich and feed us and using them to create healthier environments. To this end, he explains how to classify sounds, appreciating their beauty or ugliness, and provides exercises and “soundwalks” to help us become more discriminating and sensitive to the sounds around us. This book is a pioneering exploration of our acoustic environment, past and present, and an attempt to imagine what it might become in the future.

The soundscape--a term coined by the author--is our sonic environment, the ever-present array of noises with which we all live. Beginning with the primordial sounds of nature, we have experienced an ever-increasing complexity of our sonic surroundings. As civilization develops, new noises rise up around us: from the creaking wheel, the clang of the blacksmith’s hammer, and the distant chugging of steam trains to the “sound imperialism” of airports, city streets, and factories. The author contends that we now suffer from an overabundance of acoustic information and a proportionate diminishing of our ability to hear the nuances and subtleties of sound. Our task, he maintains, is to listen, analyze, and make distinctions. As a society we have become more aware of the toxic wastes that can enter our bodies through the air we breathe and the water we drink. In fact, the pollution of our sonic environment is no less real. Schafer emphasizes the importance of discerning the sounds that enrich and feed us and using them to create healthier environments. To this end, he explains how to classify sounds, appreciating their beauty or ugliness, and provides exercises and “soundwalks” to help us become more discriminating and sensitive to the sounds around us. This book is a pioneering exploration of our acoustic environment, past and present, and an attempt to imagine what it might become in the future.

[Pound, Ezra] Schafer, R. Murray. Ezra Pound and Music The Complete Criticism. London, Faber & Faber, 1978. 16 cm x 23.5 cm. XIII, 530 pages with illustrations. Original hardcover with dustjacket in protective mylar. Excellent condition with only very minor signs of external wear. Includes the following contents:- England: The Early Reviews 1908-1917 / England: The New Age Music Critic, William Atheling, 1917-1921 / France and Italy 1921-1927 / The Rapallo Years 1928-1941 / Postscript 1942 1972 etc The poetry of Ezra Pound, from the earliest poems in Personae and throughout The Cantor, reveals an abiding concern with musical matters. Himself the composer of two operas (Le Testament, 1924; Cavalcanti, 1931) and several pieces for solo violin, he was also a prolific music critic of pronounced views. In the 1930, he organized the unique Rapallo concerts, in order, as he put it to provide a laboratory for the objective... examination of music, while at the same time playing a crucial part in the then nascent Vivaldi revival. In editing Ezra pound and Music, R. Murray Schafer of Simon Fraser University has collected all Pound's concert reviews and statements: the biweekly columns written for The New Age in London from 1917 to 1921; articles from other periodicals; the complete text of the 1924 volume Antheil and the Treatise on Harmony; extracts from books and letters; and some additional writings on music. The book is arranged chronologically, with commentary, footnotes and index. Three appendixes are added: and analysis of Pound's theories of absolute rhythm and Great Bass; a glossary of the text; and the composer George Antheil's appreciation, Why a Poet Quit the Muses. (Publisher).

Included here are all of Pound’s concert reviews and statements; the biweekly columns written under the pen name William Atheling for The New Age in London; articles from other periodicals; the complete text of the 1924 landmark volume Antheil and the Treatise on Harmony; extracts from books and letters, and the poet’s additional writings on the subject of music. The pieces are organized chronologically, with illuminating commentary, thorough footnotes, and an index. Three appendixes complete this comprehensive volume; an analysis of Pound’s theories of “absolute rhythm” and “Great Bass;” a glossary of important musical personalities mentioned in the text and the composer George Antheil’s 1924 appreciation, “Why a Poet Quit the Muses.”