Déodat de Séverac: Musical Identity in Fin de Siècle France

Best known for his piano music, Déodat de Séverac (1872-1921) also composed orchestral and vocal works, including opera, cantata and incidental music. In this book, Robert Waters provides a much-needed study of the life and works of Séverac, focusing on the composer's regionalist philosophy. Séverac's engagement with folk music was not a patriotic gesture in the vein of nationalistic composers, but a way of expressing regional identity within France to counter the restrictive styles sanctioned by the Paris Conservatory. The book will appeal to those specializing in French music, European ethnic musics, piano music and French music history.

Author: Robertf Waters
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 11/28/2008
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.28lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.69d
ISBN: 9780754641056

Review Citation(s):
Chronicle of Higher Education 02/06/2009 pg. 15

About the Author
Robert F. Waters is Assistant Professor of Music History at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, just outside of New York City. As a musicologist, he did editorial work on the French text of music criticism written by Hector Berlioz, a project undertaken by the Center for Studies in Nineteenth-Century Music in collaboration with the Paris Conservatoire. Published articles include "Emulation and Influence: Japonisme and Western Music in fin de siècle Paris" for the British journal The Music Review. He has lectured and presented papers in Australia, Greece, England, and throughout the United States. As a journalist, Waters was a contributing music writer for the Washington Post for ten years, and as a former pianist, Waters studied with Santiago Rodriguez, Thomas Schumacher, and Daniel Ericourt.