Over Here, Over There: Transatlantic Conversations on the Music of World War I

During the Great War, composers and performers created music that expressed common sentiments like patriotism, grief, and anxiety. Yet music also revealed the complexities of the partnership between France, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. At times, music reaffirmed a commitment to the shared wartime mission. At other times, it reflected conflicting views about the war from one nation to another or within a single nation. Over Here, Over There examines how composition, performance, publication, recording, censorship, and policy shaped the Atlantic allies' musical response to the war. The first section of the collection offers studies of individuals. The second concentrates on communities, whether local, transnational, or on the spectrum in-between. Essay topics range from the sinking of the Lusitania through transformations of the entertainment industry to the influenza pandemic. Contributors: Christina Bashford, William Brooks, Deniz Ertan, Barbara L. Kelly, Kendra Preston Leonard, Gayle Magee, Jeffrey Magee, Michelle Meinhart, Brian C. Thompson, and Patrick Warfield

Table of Contents:
CoverTitleContentsPrelude: Beginnings William Brooks, Christina Bashford, and Gayle MageePart 1: Individuals1. Medium and Message: Frank Bridge's Lament for String Orchestra and the Sinking of the Lusitania (1915)2. "Every Man in New York" : Charles Ives and the First World War3. Reflecting the Public Appetite in Text and Music: Debussy's Act of Wartime Propaganda4. Profitable Patriotism: John Philip Sousa and the Great War Patrick Warfield5. From the Great War to White Christmas: The Long Reach of Irving Berlin's Yip Yip YaphankInterlude: The MiddlePart 2: Communities6. Tommy Critics, an Unlikely Musical Community, and the Longleat Lyre during World War I7. Women at the Pedals: Female Cinema Musicians during the Great War8. Empire, Nation, and Music: Canada's Dominion Songbook9. Of Stars, Soldiers, Mothers, and Mourning10. The Beginning of the End of SomethingPostlude: Not an EndContributorsIndexBack cover

About the Author :
William Brooks is a professor of music at the University of York and an associate professor emeritus of composition at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Christina Bashford is an associate professor of musicology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the author of The Pursuit of High Culture: John Ella and Chamber Music in Victorian London. Gayle Sherwood Magee is a professor of musicology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the author of Charles Ives Reconsidered.

Review :
"With its stimulating blend of revealing music interpretation and compelling historical context, this volume brings the music of World War I to life in fascinating detail."--Christina Baade, author of Victory through Harmony: The BBC and Popular Music in World War II "These ten essays, most drawn from these conferences, present a range of interesting and creative discussions of classical and popular music at the time." --Choice "There is a dearth of detailed work on classical music's response to the First World War, so often seen as "the most literary war in history." There is even less written about the parallel and intricately linked responses of American, Canadian and British composers. This is a timely, fascinating and accessible study, crossing continents to ask questions of music's role in times of international crisis."--Kate Kennedy, coeditor of The Silent Morning: Culture and Memory after the Armistice