Throughout history and across the globe, governments have taken a strong hand in censoring music. Whether in the interests of "safeguarding" the moral and religious values of their citizens or of promoting their own political goals, the character and severity of actions taken to suppress and control music that has been categorized as unacceptable, immoral, or as the Nazi's termed the music of Jewish and modernist composers, "degenerate," ranges from economic
sanctions to forced immigration, imprisonment, and death. Yet in almost all cases composers found methods to counter this suppression and to let their voices be heard, even through the very music they were often forced to compose for the oppressing parties.
In this first major collection of its kind, thirty contributors tackle centuries of music censorship across the globe from the medieval era to the modern day. Case studies address a number of instances both well- and lesser-known, including the tumultuous history of Wagner and Israel, rap music in the United States, silencing of women composers, and music in post-revolutionary Iran. Sections are organized by nature of censorship - religious, racial, and sexual - and type of government
enforcement - democratic, totalitarian, and transitional. Focusing on individual composers and artists as well as eras within single countries, this Handbook champions the efficacy of music as an agent of collective power and resilience.
- ISBN10 0199733163
- ISBN13 9780199733163
- Publish Date 9 November 2017
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 17 May 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 728
- Language English