Book Review
Dec. 15th, 2011 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariJosquin
by David Fallows
Before I get to the meat of this review, I do have to say something about the book itself, as a physical object. Clearly, the publisher went out of its way to make this book a Serious Tome (tm). It was approximately A4 sized, and, while not the thickest book in terms of number of pages and measurable width, it is one of the heaviest Ive ever had to deal with. The covers were thick board covered with stiff fabric and the pages were of a heavy glossy paper like that found in fine art books (and there were only four pages of color illustrations, so there was no real need to use such paper throughout the entire book). As one review I read stated, "I could hardly put the book down. I could also barely raise it up". Despite the cumbersome format, I really did enjoy the book as much as that reviewer did.
This lengthy and very scholarly biography of Renaissance composer Josquin Des Prez was surprisingly fun to read. Fallows writes in a learned yet conversational tone that very much drew me into the story he was telling and the picture he was painting. I also enjoyed his discussions of Josquin's music, which were always paired with useful musical examples. It was obvious how much Fallows loves this music, and his enthusiasm for it made me love it even more myself.
Josquin is a little different from traditional composer biographers, in ways which really appealed to my nerdier side. Because Josquin Des Pres lived from about 1455 to 1521, the documentary evidence regarding his life is really thin and spotty. Thus, Fallows included discussions of this documentation as he discussed the events and outlines of Josquin's life, explaining not just the content of the extant records, but also the context and various issues involved as well. I ended up not only with a better sense of Josquin's life and music but also a really good perspective on the business of musicology.
by David Fallows
Before I get to the meat of this review, I do have to say something about the book itself, as a physical object. Clearly, the publisher went out of its way to make this book a Serious Tome (tm). It was approximately A4 sized, and, while not the thickest book in terms of number of pages and measurable width, it is one of the heaviest Ive ever had to deal with. The covers were thick board covered with stiff fabric and the pages were of a heavy glossy paper like that found in fine art books (and there were only four pages of color illustrations, so there was no real need to use such paper throughout the entire book). As one review I read stated, "I could hardly put the book down. I could also barely raise it up". Despite the cumbersome format, I really did enjoy the book as much as that reviewer did.
This lengthy and very scholarly biography of Renaissance composer Josquin Des Prez was surprisingly fun to read. Fallows writes in a learned yet conversational tone that very much drew me into the story he was telling and the picture he was painting. I also enjoyed his discussions of Josquin's music, which were always paired with useful musical examples. It was obvious how much Fallows loves this music, and his enthusiasm for it made me love it even more myself.
Josquin is a little different from traditional composer biographers, in ways which really appealed to my nerdier side. Because Josquin Des Pres lived from about 1455 to 1521, the documentary evidence regarding his life is really thin and spotty. Thus, Fallows included discussions of this documentation as he discussed the events and outlines of Josquin's life, explaining not just the content of the extant records, but also the context and various issues involved as well. I ended up not only with a better sense of Josquin's life and music but also a really good perspective on the business of musicology.
