Arlen and Harburg's Over the Rainbow
Arlen and Harburg's Over the Rainbow
composer Harold Arlen and lyricist E. Y. Yip Harburg poignantly captured the hope and anxiety harbored by Dorothy's character. In Arlen and Harburg's Over the Rainbow, author Walter Frisch traces the history of this song from its inception during the development of The Wizard of Oz's screenplay, to its various reinterpretations over the course of the twentieth century. Through analysis of the song's music and lyrics, this
Oxford Keynotes volume provides a close reading of the piece while examining the evolution of its meaning as it traversed widely varying cultural contexts. From its adoption as a jazz standard by generations of pianists, to its contribution to Judy Garland's role as a gay icon, to its reemergence as
a chart-topping recording by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Over the Rainbow continues to engage audiences and performers alike in surprising ways. Featuring a companion website with audio and video supplements, this book leaves no path unexplored as it succeeds in capturing the extent of
this song's impact on the world.
Author: Walter Frisch
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 10/27/2017
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780190467340
About the Author
Walter Frisch is H. Harold Gumm/Harry and Albert von Tilzer Professor of Music at Columbia University. He has written widely about music from the Austro-German sphere in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Frisch served as general editor of the series Western Music in Context from W. W. Norton, and as author of the series volume Music in the Nineteenth Century. His current research involves the music and career of American songwriter Harold Arlen.