Shakespeare, Music and Performance

Description

Music has been an essential constituent of Shakespeare's plays from the sixteenth century to the present day, yet its significance has often been overlooked or underplayed in the history of Shakespearean performance. Providing a long chronological sweep, this collection of essays traces the different uses of music in the theatre and in film from the days of the first Globe and Blackfriars to contemporary, global productions. With a unique concentration on the performance aspects of the subject, the volume offers a wide range of voices, from scholars to contemporary practitioners (including an interview with the critically acclaimed composer Stephen Warbeck), and thus provides a rich exploration of this fascinating history from diverse perspectives.

Bill Barclay is the Director of Music at Shakespeare's Globe. His original scores for the Globe include Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet Globe-to-Globe, which toured 197 countries from 2014-16. He has directed or adapted concerts for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the British Film Institute, and the Tanglewood Music Center, and has lectured on Shakespeare and the Music of the Spheres on three continents. He is editor of The Plays of Jon Lipsky (with Jonah Lipsky, 2015). David Lindley is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Leeds, where he taught in the School of English. He has published books and articles on court masques, on the scandalous history of Frances Howard, and on Thomas Campion. He edited eleven Jonson masques for the Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson (2012). His study Shakespeare and Music appeared in 2006, and his substantially revised second edition of The Tempest for The New Cambridge Shakespeare was published in 2013.

'The book is well edited and presented; it will be a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in Shakespeare, music and performance.' The Consort Early Music Journal 'The volume is a notable achievement in opening up new ways of appreciating the 'pleasure and creative advantage' offered by music in Shakespeare's plays throughout the centuries.' Russell Jackson, Shakespeare Survey