More on borrowings in the Nutcracker
I think most people know that there are quite a few musical borrowings in the Nutcracker, and that Tchaikovsky got the theme for the Arabian from somewhere – a Georgian…
New choreomusicology article
Music, dance and the total art work: choreomusicology in theory and practice is an article just out by Paul Mason in Research in Dance Education that pretty much sums up…
The Scotch Snap: everything you needed to know, and a hundred more questions
Scotch Snaps: The Big Picture from Philip Tagg on Vimeo. This is probably the most interesting video I’ve ever seen on a musical question. If you want to know why,…
Dance rhythms fight back: the 9/8 hornpipe
A while back I started collecting examples of ‘dance rhythms to annoy your music teacher with’. Nothing makes me more frustrated than the term ‘dance rhythms’. There are several generations…
Musicology, music & terror
Really wonderful article on musicology and music-as-torture, by Suzanne Cusick. Musicology, Torture, Repair in Radical Musicology.
Musical surprises #12: The ‘tango’ is a maxixe is a polka with a habañera rhythm
The maxixe was a lower-class dance that caused outrage in upper and middle class society in late 19th century Brazil. Not only did partners hold each other by the buttocks,…