Historical Perspectives

Performing Pain: Music and Trauma in Eastern Europe. By Maria Cizmic. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. [xii, 233 p. ISBN 9780199734603. $65.] Music examples, illustrations, bibliography, index, companion web site.

How are the inception dates of oral music traditions derived? The question seems simple, but a survey of contemporary and past publications suggests that an answer might be difficult to come by. I recently endeavored to undertake this survey, primarily on the European music scholarship of oral music traditions, to learn what methods have been employed to determine their beginning dates.

Welcome to the newest sounding board “Historical Perspectives”: a space dedicated exclusively to the study of historical music topics. “Historical Perspectives” is intended as a space for works in progress, newly hatched ideas, and more colloquial conversations about ongoing research than afforded in formal publications.

The scandal is explicit on the flyleaf: The Castrato and His Wife, and historian Helen Berry weaves an account that fulfills her intriguing choice of title.