America's Musical Life: A History

America'sMusicalLife:AHistorytellsthefascinatingstoryofmusicintheUnitedStates,fromthesacredmusicofitsearliestdaystothejazzandrockthatenliventheturnofthemillennium.BeginningwiththemusicofNativeAmericansandcontinuingwithtraditionsintroducedbyEuropeancolonizersandAfricansbroughthereasslaves,thebookrevealshowthisbountifulheritagewasdevelopedandenhancedinthenineteenthandtwentiethcenturiestoproducethemusicweheartoday.AsauthorRichardCrawfordpointsout,Americanmusicalactivityhastakenplaceinthreespheres:thetraditional(folkmusic),whichemphasizescontinuityandthepreservationofcommunitycustom;thepopular,whichseeksmostofalltofindpayingaudiences;andtheclassical(Westernartmusic),whichplacespriorityonthemusicalworksthemselves.WeobserveAmericanmusicmakingineachofthesespheresandsee,forthefirsttime,howtheyhavecontinuallycrossedover,interacted,andcombinedtoshapetherichtapestryofsoundsofthetwenty-firstcentury.Mostimportant,thenarrativeisalwayssetinitsproperhistoricalcontext-wecannot,forinstance,trulyunderstandCivilWarmusicwithoutknowingthesocialandpoliticalfactorsthatprecipitatedtheconflict.Injugglingpolitical,social,andmusicalhistory,theauthorstrikesahappybalancebetweengeneralbackgroundandspecificaccountsofindividualcomposers,performersandpiecesofmusic.