Shakespeare's songbook
By: Ross W. Duffin ; with a foreword by Stephen Orgel.
Contributors: Orgel, Stephen.
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Published: 2004
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 528
Subjects: Shakespeare, William, -- 1564-1616 -- Knowledge -- Music.; Shakespeare, William, -- 1564-1616 -- Et la musique.; Songs, English -- England -- 16th century -- Texts -- History and criticism.; Songs, English -- England -- 17th century -- Texts -- History and criticism.; Music and literature.; Chansons anglaises -- Angleterre -- 16e siècle -- Textes -- Histoire et critique.; Chansons anglaises -- Angleterre -- 17e siècle -- Textes -- Histoire et critique.; Musique et littérature.
Description: Publisher's description: A remarkable work that recovers the songs Shakespeare's audiences actually heard and brings them to life through performance. Shakespeare lovers have long lamented that so few songs in his plays survive with original music; of about sixty song lyrics, only a handful have come down to us with musical settings. For over 150 years, scholars have aspired₇without success₇to fill that gap. In Shakespeare's Songbook, Ross W. Duffin does just that. Eight years in the making, Shakespeare's Songbook is a meticulously researched collection of 160 songs₇ballads and narratives, drinking songs, love songs, and rounds₇that appear in, are quoted in, or alluded to in Shakespeare's plays. Drawing substantially on the unmatched resources of the Folger Shakespeare Library, Duffin brings complete lyrics (many newly recovered) and music notation together for the first time, and in the process sheds new light on Shakespeare's dramatic art. With performances by leading early-music singers and instrumentalists, the accompanying audio CD brings the songbook to life. Shakespeare's Songbook is the perfect gift for lovers of Shakespeare and an invaluable reference for singers, actors, directors, and scholars. 49 illustrations, 500 music examples.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 488-508) and indexes.
Table of contents: value: The songs; value: Appendix I: Ground bass melodies; value: Appendix 2: Shakespearean pronunciation; value: Source list; value: Index of titles, first lines, and refrains; value: Index of names and places; value: Index of citations; value: CD contents.