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Music History

These videotapes and videodiscs on music history are available in the University of Oregon Knight Library's Video Collection.


Index for Music History:
Musical Eras, Composers, Performers, Women in Music



Music History: Musical Eras


The Age of Reason.

Princeton,NJ: Films for the Humanities,1988.
53 min., color
CONTENTS: Musical spectacle and the development of oratorio. Selections from Frescobaldi, Luigi Rossi and others.
VIDEOTAPE 01493

Harlow, Julia Tikker.
A musician's introduction to baroque dance .
130 leaves : ill., music ; 29 cm. + 1 videocassette.
Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Oregon, 1993.
CONTENTS: Accompanying videocassette includes costumed performance of 18th century choreographies to dance movements from harpsichord suites by Francois and Louis Couperin, Jacques Champion de Chambonnieres and J.S. Bach.
VIDEOTAPE 02193 + book=MUSIC ML3400 .H37 1993

Music at the Court of Louis XIV.
Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities, 1988.
1 videocassette (53 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.VHS format.
CONTENTS: "Filmed largely at Versailles, the program includes performances by Les Arts Florissants, the London Baroque Dance Theatre, the Raglan Baroque Players and Singers, and Ann MacKay as Armide in the Lully opera."
SUMMARY: Discusses the music of Jean Baptiste Lully, Michel-Richard de Lalande and Francois Couperin, principal composers at Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV.
VIDEOTAPE 02319

Music in the Age of Alfonso el Sabio.
Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities, 1990.
20 min.
CONTENTS: Describes the development and uses of music during the time of Alfonso X of Spain.
VIDEOTAPE 01250

Music of an Empire.
Princeton: Films for the Humanities, 1988.
53 min., col.
CONTENTS: Shows the historical circumstances that made Vienna the musical capital of Europe and explains the musical leadership of Emperor Leopold.
VIDEOTAPE 00984

Music of Williamsburg.
Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1961?
40 min., color.
CONTENTS: Describes the music of the Virginia Colony and its capital, Williamsburg, in 1768, with examples to show the scope and variety of the music. Filmed against the restoration of 18th century Williamsburg, showing a day in the life of its inhabitants.
VIDEOTAPE 01813

"Once, at a border..." : aspects of Stravinsky .
W. Long Branch, NJ : [distributed by] Kultur International Films, Ltd., [198-]
2 videocassettes (166 min.) : sd., col. and b&w ; 1/2 in VHS hi-fi
NOTES: Includes interviews with the composer, friends, family and musical contemporaries, and footage of Stravinsky and others performing his music
VIDEOTAPE 03124

The Voice of Britannia.
Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities, 1988.
1 videocassette (VHS)(53 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2in.
NOTES: "The program contains sections of Handel: Samson "Thus when the sun from wat'ry bed"; Organ concerto Op. 4 #2 and Jephthe, "Waft her Angels"; Arne : "Blow, blow thou winter wind"; Boyce: Symphony #4 in F and The Chaplet.
SUMMARY: Discusses the historical stage of Handel's Messiah, explains who enjoyed Handel and how his talents as composer and virtuoso organist were utilized, and discusses the work and importance of Arne and Boyce.
VIDEOTAPE 02318


Music History: Composers


Aaron Copland : a self-portrait.

Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities, c1987.
1 videocassette (58 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. VHS.
SUMMARY: Features a wealth of Copland's music, including ballet sequences with Agnes de Mille dancing in Rodeo and Martha Graham in Apalachian Spring, scenes of Copland conducting, and interviews with Leonard Bernstein and Ned Rorem.
VIDEOTAPE 02720

Alvin Lucier .
New York, NY : Lovely Music, c1987
1 videocassette (115 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in VHS format
NOTES: First segment is interview with avant garde composer Alvin Lucier, conducted by Robert Ashley. Second segment is musical performance by Alvin Lucier. Music for solo performer (1965) consists of Lucier's brain waves amplified by electronic means and attached to various drums. Bird and person dyning (1975) consists of Lucier manipulating microphones to produce electronic feedback
VIDEOTAPE 03628

Berlioz.
[United States] : Home Vision, c1984.
1 videocassette (VHS) (90 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
NOTES: Additional title on recording: Andre Previn presents Sounds Magnificent, The Story of the Symphony.
CAST: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Andre Previn, conductor; narrated by Andre Previn.
CONTENTS: Andre Previn conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Previn discusses the life of Berlioz and the influence he had on the development of the symphony.
VIDEOTAPE 00576

Boretz, Benjamin
/music/consciousness/gender .
[Red Hook, NY : Open Space, 1996]
1 videocassette (89 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in
NOTES: "Texts, musics, textsoundmusics, images for live speaker andprerecorded speakers, musics and images on audio and videotape."
NOTES: Video realized by Benjamin Boretz and Noel Bush; produced by Mary Lee Roberts
NOTES:"This event desires to create a space inviting shared contemplation of such person-centered matters as the ontologies of expressive experiences, of episodes of consciousness transformation, and of the evolving introconstruction of gender identity..."
VIDEOTAPE 03539

Cage/Cunningham: a film.
West Long Branch, N. J. : b Kultur, c1991.
1 videocassette (95 min.) :sd., col. with b&w sequences :1/2 in.
CAST: Choreography, Merce Cunningham ; music, John Cage ; writer, David Vaughan.
Merce Cunningham and John Cage, with Nam June Paik, Robert Rauschenberg, Carolyn Brown, Viola Farber, Alvin Lucier, LaMonte Young, Rudolf Nureyev, David Tudor, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Virgil Thomson.
SUMMARY: Presents material on Cunningham and his dances, especially his association with John Cage.
VIDEOTAPE 02810

Celebrating Haydn: with Sir Peter Ustinov.
Hamburg [Germany] : brilliant media GmbH/Videal, 1994.
1 videocassette (120 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. VHS format.
SUMMARY: A video biography of Joseph Haydn, with many performances of his musical works.
VIDEOTAPE 02613

George Frideric Handel. Honour, profit and pleasure.
Princeton, N. J. : Films for the Humanities, c1987.
1 videocassette (70 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
SUMMARY: A portrait of Handel in the cultural and social context of the England which he created--and which his creations mirror.
VIDEOTAPE 01934

Gordon Mumma.
New York, NY : Lovely Music, c1987
1 videocassette (115 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. VHS format
CONTENTS: Landscape with Gordon Mumma -- The music of Gordon Mumma
NOTES:American composer Gordon Mumma is interviewed by Robert Ashley in the first segment. Second segment consists of performance of Mumma's 1974 work Some voltage drop. Various parts of musical piece are played on musical saw in an empty amusement park; other part is electronic squeals emitted from accelerometers
VIDEOTAPE 03629

Gustav Holst, 1874-1934.
Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, c1993.
1 videocassette (ca. 27 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 1/ 2 in. VHS.
CAST: Holst's vocal music performed by Ex Cathedra.
SUMMARY: Imogen Holst, the daughter of the composer, conductor, and music teacher, Gustav Holst, discusses her father's life and work.
VIDEOTAPE 02716

Johann Sebastian Bach:a documentary portrait.
Princeton, N.J.: Films for the Humanities, 1987.
1 videocassette (16 min.) sd., col., 1/2 in.
VIDEOTAPE 01935

John Adams, minimalism and beyond.
Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, c1992.
1 videocassette : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. VHS format.
SUMMARY: Discusses the minimalist composer, John Adams, and his music.
VIDEOTAPE 02715

Joseph Haydn & his symphonies.
London : London, p1991.
1 videodisc (108 min) : sd., col. ; 12 in + program notes.
CAST: Academy of Ancient music ; conductor, Christopher Hogwood.
SUMMARY: "Haydn's music is discussed by H. C. Robbins Landon, Christopher Hogwood and Melvin Bragg, Symphonies 23, 28, and 29 are performed on authentic instruments. Recorded at Eszterhaza Palace, Hungary.
VIDEO LASERDISC 00030

Lou Harrison : "cherish, conserve, consider, create."
Burbank, CA : Producers Post ; Los Angeles : distributed by FVM Media, [1996]
1 videocassette (28 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. VHS
NOTES: Presents a portrait of composer, performer, instrument maker Lou Harrison. An eclectic artist whose music reflects a profound appreciation of world cultures, Harrison has, since the 1930s, ardently combined Western and Eastern musical styles and philosophy which he speaks of at length, with statements from some of his friends, such as John Cage, Virgil Thomson, and Bill Colvig
VIDEOTAPE 04525

Meredith Monk.
New York : Mystic Fire Video ,c1991.
1 videocassette (60 mins.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
SUMMARY: Incorporates performance and conversations with Meredith Monk, an artist of many media, who has transcended the accepted boundaries of vocal song. She is her own composer, choreographer, and filmmaker who blends all of these into a unique style and content of performance. Here she performs with her vocal group.
VIDEOTAPE 02180

Monteverdi at Mantua.
Princeton,NJ: Films for the Humanities, 1988.
53 mins., color.
CONTENTS: The program includes sections of Salomoni Rossi's Sinfonia undecima; Monteverdi's Arianna's lament, the chorus and concerto VII from Vesperae Mariae Virginis, and a number of sections from Orfeo.
VIDEOTAPE 00983

Mozart on tour.
Hamburg : Philips, c1991.
1 videodisc : sd., col. ; 12 in.
CAST: Andre Previn. commentator : various pianists and performing ensembles listed on containers.
CONTENTS: v. 5: Vienna & Prague: The other side of the coin / Prague: Success with Da Ponte. Piano concerto no. 24 in C minor, K. 491 ; Piano concerto no. 23 in A, K. 488 .
VIDEO LASERDISC 00049 v.5

Pauline Oliveros.
New York, NY : Lovely Music, c1987
1 videocassette (115 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. VHS format
CONTENTS: Landscape with Pauline Oliveros -- The music of Pauline Oliveros
NOTES: Composer Pauline Oliveros is interviewed by Robert Ashley in the first segment. She discusses evolution of her style and performs Unnatural acts between consenting adults. Second segment is a performance of her composition Rose Mountain slow runner, a piece for voice and accordian with electronic alterations
VIDEOTAPE 03630

Performance: the Living Art.
Pittsburgh, PA: Zootuch Productions, 1988.
58 min.
CONTENTS: Documentary on the performance art movement through interviews with artists such as Meredith Monk, Joan Jonas, Spaulding Grey, Robert Wilson, Linda Montano, Michael Smith, Ping Chong, and others.
VIDEOTAPE 01202

Theremin : an electronic odyssey.
[United States] : Orion Home Video , 1995
1 videocassette (VHS) (84 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 1/2 in
NOTES:Featuring interviews with Clara Rockmore, Brian Wilson and Todd Rundgren.
NOTES:An entertaining film about Leon Theremin, a Russian emigre, who pioneered the field of electronic music four decades before the rise of electronic rock music, and helped usher in technological warfare between Cold War Super Powers years before Ian Fleming created the fictional super spy James Bond. Includes rare film clips from classic Hollywood films and soundtracks
VIDEOTAPE 03627


Music History: Performers


Frank Yankovic, America's polka king.

West Long Branch, NJ : White Star, c1995
1 videocassette (58 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 1/2 in
NOTES: Writer, Kay Clifford. Host, Myron Floren
NOTES:Documentary on the life and career of accordionist and singer, Frank Yankovic
VIDEOTAPE 03623

In the steps of Chopin : a portrait.
Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 1987
1 videocassette (58 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in
PERFORMER: Byron Janis
VIDEOTAPE 03192

Itzhak Perlman : virtuoso violinist : (I know I played every note)
Hamburg : Teldec Video, c1992
1 videocassette (80 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. + 1 guide (7 p.)
NOTES: Itzhak Perlman, violin, with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Pinchas Zukerman, Bruno Canino, Lynn Harrell, Lawrence Foster, Toby Perlman, Chou Lian Lin, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Philharmonia Orchestra, Aspen Chamber Symphony and the Aspen Music School
NOTES:A film about the virtuoso violinist Itzhak Perlman, who first resolved to play the violin at the age of three and a half and went on, despite setbacks, to become an international star of the highest rank. The film was shot during three crucial years in the development of his career (1975-1977)
VIDEOTAPE 03299


Music History: Women In Music


Hildegard of Bingen.

Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 1989.
60 min., color. Study guide.
CONTENTS: Discusses the life of Hildegard of Bingen and her contribution to her time. She was an abbess, spiritual counselor, physician, theologian, writer, reformer, preacher and composer who lived in twelfth century Germany and through her writing, preaching and actions, confronted the major religious and political issues of her day.
VIDEOTAPE 01117

West Coast Women Conductors and Composers in Performance.
Eugene,OR: University of Oregon, 1985. 38 min.
CONTENTS: Conductor Marsha Mabrey holds interviews with participants in the West Coast Women Composers/ Conductors Symposium of 1985. Noted women musicians discuss their careers in terms of role models they had and the influence of the women's movement on the music world.
VIDEOTAPE 00888



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Last Modified: 05/20/2009