Burma, Kipling and Western Music

The Riff from Mandalay
1. Auflage 2019
ISBN: 978-0-367-22960-3
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 336 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 460 g

Reihe: Routledge Research in Music

For decades, scholars have been trying to answer the question: how was colonial Burma perceived in and by the Western world, and how did people in countries like the United Kingdom and United States form their views? This book explores how Western perceptions of Burma were influenced by the popular music of the day. From the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824-6 until Burma regained its independence in 1948, more than 180 musical works with Burma-related themes were written in English-speaking countries, in addition to the many hymns composed in and about Burma by Christian missionaries. Servicemen posted to Burma added to the lexicon with marches and ditties, and after 1913 most movies about Burma had their own distinctive scores. Taking Rudyard Kipling’s 1890 ballad ‘Mandalay’ as a critical turning point, this book surveys all these works with emphasis on popular songs and show tunes, also looking at classical works, ballet scores, hymns, soldiers’ songs, sea shanties, and film soundtracks. It examines how they influenced Western perceptions of Burma, and in turn reflected those views back to Western audiences. The book sheds new light not only on the West’s historical relationship with Burma, and the colonial music scene, but also Burma’s place in the development of popular music and the rise of the global music industry. In doing so, it makes an original contribution to the fields of musicology and Asian Studies.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Selth, Andrew

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikgattungen Rock & Pop, Blues, Soul
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikwissenschaft Allgemein Musikethnologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Glossary

Abbreviations

Foreword

Introduction

Scope of the Study

Burma and Names

Definitions and Conventions

1. Setting the Scene

The West and the ‘Orient’

Burma and the Popular Imagination

The West and ‘Burma Girls’

2. Burma and Western Music Before ‘Mandalay’

Religious Music

Secular Music

Stage Shows

3. Rudyard Kipling and ‘Mandalay’

On The Road

The Musical Settings

4. Burma and Western Music After ‘Mandalay’

Imitations and Inspirations

Other Burma-Related Works

5. Patterns and Particulars

Subjects and Themes

Styles, Types and Rhymes

Race and Religion

Burma and the Burmese

Women and Sexism

6. Burma’s Changing Soundscape

Early Colonial Entertainments

Burma’s Developing Music Scene

Music and the War Years

7. And The Band Played On

Burma, Hollywood and Film Music

Western Music in Burma After 1948

Aung San Suu Kyi, Kipling and Music

8. Afterword

Appendix: Musical Works with Burmese Themes

The Early Period (1824-1889)

Kipling’s ‘Mandalay’ and After (1890-1939)

The War Years and After (1940-1948)

References

Newspaper Stories

Articles and Chapters

Monographs and Books

On-line Sources

Other Sources

Über Autor(innen)

Andrew Selth is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Griffith University and the Australian National University. He has been studying international security issues and Asian affairs for over 40 years, as a diplomat, strategic intelligence analyst and research scholar. He has published six books, including Burma’s Armed Forces: Power Without Glory.