Pieces of the Musical World

In Pieces of the Musical World: Sounds and Cultures, each "piece" is a musical sound or object that provides a springboard from which to tell a story about a particular geographic region. A collaborative venture by staff and research associated with the Department of Music at SOAS, University of London, the text provides an in-depth yet personal treatment of these key musical "pieces," which, when combined with an interactive companion website, mirroring the book's thematic framework, that features audio and video recordings, listening guides, a glossary of musical terms, interviews, and 3D models of instruments and maps, creates for students a complete and enhanced experience of the musical world.

Rachel Harris is Reader in the Music of China and Central Asia at SOAS, University of London. She is the author of two books on musical life in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and leader of the research project "Sounding Islam in China". Rowan Pease is editorial manager of The China Quarterly and also serves as a senior teaching fellow for the department of music, SOAS, University of London. She has published several chapters on music of the Chinese Koreans and also on the Korean Wave in China.

Part I: Place: Introduction 1. Soundscapes of the Old City: Listening to Jersualem's Old City (Israel/Palestine) Abigail Wood 2. "Soliyo" (Calling the horses): Song and memory in Mande music (Mali) Lucy Duran 3. "Aqqu" (White Swan): Sound Mimesis and Spirit Evocation in Kazakh Qobyz Performance (Kazakhstan) Saida Daukeyeva 4. "Grande Mestre": Longing and celebration in Capoeira Angola (Brazil) Zoe Marriage 5. "As-rang": Buzz, modernity and tradition in China (China) Rowan Pease Part II: Spirituality: Introduction 6. "Sogasug-": a song of songs (India) Richard Widdess 7. "Subhanallah": listening and weeping in a dhikr ceremony (East Turkestan) Rachel Harris 8. "Tamuke": A Shakuhachi Requiem (Japan) Kiku Day 9. "Sudamala" (Freed from evil): Exploring a ritual piece for Balinese gendér wayang (Indonesia) Nick Gray 10. "Ibeji": Sounding the Sacred Twins of the Yorùbá (Nigeria) Amanda Villepastour Part III: Movement: Introduction 11. "Song of Akuak": Audio-letters from South Sudan: Tracing Dinka networks, connections and intimacies beyond the war zone (Sudan) Angela Impey 12. "Dancing Girl": Flows, Formats and Fortune in Music (USA) Caspar Melville 13. "Tezeta" (Nostalgia): Memory and Loss in Ethiopia and the Diaspora (Ethiopia) Ilana Webster-Kogen 14. "El Alto de La Paz" - Digital cumbia, circulation of music, and music of circulation (Argentina) Geoffrey Baker