Henry F. Gilbert: A Bio-Bibliography

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

During his lifetime, Henry F. Gilbert was regarded as one of the foremost composers of the day and a trailblazer in America's rich musical heritage. Often called the Mark Twain of American Music, Gilbert was one of American music's nonconformists. He was a maverick who became a true prophet of American music as a composer, writer, editor, and lecturer. This volume contains a short biography of Gilbert, a listing of his compositions, including the different versions of the works and the holding libraries. A discography is included, which puts emphasis on the inclusion of excerpts from contemporary performances. This book captures much of the new material on Gilbert that has surfaced since the Henry F. Gilbert Papers were presented to Yale. The volume is divided into six sections. The first is the biography, which includes a sketch of Gilbert's life, and his importance in establishing an American school of composition. The Works and Performances section provides the name of the work, publisher, and date and revisions of the work. Scoring for the compositions is also given along with cross-references to Gilbert's program notes and reviews. An annotated Bibliography of writings by Gilbert summarizes his philosophy of American music, and illuminates his own compositional style. A discography, general bibliography, and a bibliography of works and performances are also concluded. This bio-bibliography will appeal to musicians and American enthusiasts alike.

Reviews

"[S]herrill Martin has done a great service to anyone interested in the development of "serious" music in America with this bio-bibliography....[t]his work fills a major lacuna in American music bibliography and deserves a place in large academic and public libraries with substantial music collections."-Music Reference Services Quarterly
"This fine addition to American music scholarship shows clarity, organization, accuracy, and thoroughness, the result of more than a decade of research....[t]hanks to the tireless scholarship of Sherill Martin, Gilbert's place in the history of American music and culture can receive serious if belated attention. Looking over this catalogue, one can see the image of an important composer whose life and works deserve more exposure....The chronicle of American music is still in the telling, and Martin's book adds a welcome voice to the story."-Fontes Artis Musicae
[S]herrill Martin has done a great service to anyone interested in the development of "serious" music in America with this bio-bibliography....[t]his work fills a major lacuna in American music bibliography and deserves a place in large academic and public libraries with substantial music collections.-Music Reference Services Quarterly
Among the first composers to refute German dominance of American music and propose a new path for a national idiom, Gilbert was a creative talent who saw indigenous music as a source for serious composition. Martin's biobibliography provides a guide to material about Gilbert, including the important collection of his papers at Yale....Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and higher.-Choice
This fine addition to American music scholarship shows clarity, organization, accuracy, and thoroughness, the result of more than a decade of research....[t]hanks to the tireless scholarship of Sherill Martin, Gilbert's place in the history of American music and culture can receive serious if belated attention. Looking over this catalogue, one can see the image of an important composer whose life and works deserve more exposure....The chronicle of American music is still in the telling, and Martin's book adds a welcome voice to the story.-Fontes Artis Musicae
"Among the first composers to refute German dominance of American music and propose a new path for a national idiom, Gilbert was a creative talent who saw indigenous music as a source for serious composition. Martin's biobibliography provides a guide to material about Gilbert, including the important collection of his papers at Yale....Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and higher."-Choice

Author Bio

SHERRILL V. MARTIN is Professor in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. She has presented lectures throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Selected by the American Association of University Women as one of the most notable women at UNCW over the past fifty years, she has published extensively, and in 2001, received both the Chancellor's Teaching Excellence Award and the Distinguished Teaching Professorship Award at UNCW.