User:RannochbyGlencoe/Amy Beach/Bibliography

Block, Adrienne F. Amy Beach, passionate Victorian: the life and work of an American composer, 1867-1944. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Written by one of the most well-renowned and respected Beach scholars, this book is regularly cited by almost anyone discussing Beach because of its reliability and informational breadth. It is written like a biography, situating musical excerpts in their chronological placement within the story of Beach’s life, and thus is quite wide in scope. Although it doesn’t focus specifically on her chamber music, it can be valuable for understanding where significant chamber works lie in a narrative of musical development —  not only in their individual contexts, as with Walter and Kelton, but also in their relationship to her other works across vocal, chamber, and symphonic genres. In discussing these works, Block also regularly cites reviewers, conductors, and similar sources to inform the reader on public response and reception at the time.

Block, Adrienne F. (1990). “Amy Beach's Music on Native American Themes.” American Music, 8:2, pp. 141-166.
This article discusses the aspect of Beach which is decidedly American, with tune-borrowing and interest in American sounds. Her incorporation of folk tunes in her works, especially Native American melodies, is representative of her role in the American attempt at nationalistic composition, which found its most committed proponent in Dvorak. Block juxtaposes this with the interest in exoticism existent at the time and the implications of this in terms of appropriation. Block then explores specific pieces in which this method of composition was used by Beach, and her experimental efforts to borrow non-European sounds in order to produce an aesthetic diverging from typical Western harmonies.

Brown, Jeanell W. Amy Beach and her chamber music: biography, documents, style. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1994.
Compared to the other sources in this bibliography, this one is especially relevant for two reasons. The entire text is specifically focused on Beach’s chamber works, which are presented in a clear, linear fashion, with printed musical excerpts; and it also goes into more depth in describing style, theory, and specific musical features than any other work listed. Although it contains a biographical portion, the most valuable section is the one which systematically analyzes each of Beach’s chamber works. It also contains a thorough catalogue of all of Beach’s works as they are found in the Library of Congress. The author, Brown, holds academic focuses in keyboard instruments, opera, and chamber music; these makes her especially suited for a study of Beach’s music, since vocal music and piano music are some of the most frequent features of Beach’s catalogue.

==== Jenkins, Walter S. The Remarkable Mrs. Beach, American Composer: A Biographical Account Based on Her Diaries, Letters, Newspaper Clippings, and Personal Reminiscences. Michigan: Harmonie Park Press, 1994. ==== This historical collection is valuable in that provides a close-up view of the internal and external dialogue and emotion surrounding Beach’s works. It is written and compiled by Jenkins, who was a lifelong Beach scholar and historian. While Block writes a biographical account which is largely narrative, Jenkins chronologically frames direct quotes from reviewers, Beach’s personal accounts, and her dialogical interactions with both acquaintances and colleagues. As such, it provides an intimate look at what was going on behind the scenes, the social dynamics that brought her chamber music forth, and an honest view of outside perception (as it pertained to  performances, the quality of the works themselves, and even Beach’s position as a female composer in a male-dominated field.) Furthermore, it allows a deeper understanding of Beach’s perspectives on own compositions and performances, in her own words.

Kelton, Mary K. The songs of Mrs. H.H.A. Beach. Austin: University of Texas at Austin, 1992.
The largest proportion of Beach’s chamber works are vocal chamber works, especially art songs reminiscent of Schubert’s songwriting passion, although these are less performed today than some of her instrumental music. This source, although academic, is one of the only available comprehensive studies of Beach’s songs, and discusses their evolution chronologically, commenting on interpersonal contexts which shaped the music, and some of the theoretical characteristics of songs as it pertains to expression of the text. Kelton remarks that for Beach, the art song was a familiar genre which she used intentionally as a medium for experimentation within an accessible context; every song had a specific musical objective and audience in mind. The anthologizing which is done in this two-volume dissertation goes into detail on many of these songs, especially as it pertains to Beach’s thoughts concerning the songs and social contexts which contribute to their making. Overall, her songs are multilingual, stylistically diverse, textually informed, and more than anything else, focused on beauty in both religious and secular senses.

Radice, Mark A. Chamber Music: An Essential History. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2012. pp. 242-244.
This musicological text is drawn from a larger work which surveys Western chamber music across several centuries. Ideas are condensed and written so as to be accessible to anyone interested in music, whether professional, academic, or amateur. The section on Beach is relatively brief, but it highlights those chamber works which Radice deems especially noteworthy or characteristic of Beach. It describes her music in broad terms as being simultaneously traditional (some called it unoriginal) yet highly skillful in its composition. It highlights Beach’s prolificacy and popularity, as her music was widely and regularly performed even internationally, despite being a very American composer.