The critical importance of past for the present--of music histories in local and global forms--asserts itself. The history of world music, as each chapter makes clear, is one of critical moments and paradigm shifts.

The Encyclopedia's coverage ranges from the Bahamas to Tierra del Fuego and from Baja California to Uruguay as it describes the extraordinarily rich and varied music of people from all the countries south of the Rio Grande river.

The Garland Encyclopedia of World Musicis the first encyclopedia to tell the complete story of music, culture by culture. Each volume includes an overview of the region, a survey of its musical heritage, traditions and themes; and a description of specific musical genres, practices, and performances. Music as an expression of art, life, and culture Recognizing music as a vital social and cultural force, each volume ofThe Garland Encyclopedia of World Musicfocuses on a single region and examines the role of music in the lives, arts, and culture of its people. Generously illustrated-and organized for easy access Articles are illustrated with photographs that show musicians, musical instrument, and the cultural context of dances, rituals, and ceremonies. Drawings, maps, and musical examples in notation also illuminate the coverage. For easy reference, each volume provides an extensive glossary, with special emphasis on non-English terms. Listen tothe music-an audio CD accompanies each volume Each regional volume ofThe Garland Encyclopedia of World Musicincludes an audio CD that provides over one hours of musical examples keyed to the text. Special features *Exceptionally strong emphasis on music in a cultural context *A comprehensive treatment of music cultures that usually are split among multiple national entries *International musical authorities, including African, Asian, Pacific, South American, Caribbean, European, and North American scholars *Multidisciplinary scholarship, utilizing the latest research and methodologies *Timely coverage takes you through the 1990s *Coverage of popular music, which is often absent from other encyclopedias *Examination of art music composition throughout the world *User friendly *A thorough index gives quick access *A glossary defines unfamiliar terms, particularly non-English ones *A discography identifies commercial recordings availableto the reader *Musical examples supplement and enrich the musical descriptions *Illustrations complement the text Available as a set or as single volumes: *The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 1: Africa 872 pp*[0-8240-6035-0] *The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 2: South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean 1104 pp*[0-8240-4947-0] *The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 3: The United States and Canada 1390 pp*[0-8240-4944-6] *The Garland Encyclopedia of WorldMusic, Volume 4: Southeast Asia 1050 pp*[0-8240-6040-7] *The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 5: South Asia: The Indian Subcontinent 1104 pp*[0-8240-4946-2] *The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 6: The Middle East 1200 pp*[0-8240-6042-3] *TheGarland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 7: East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea 1192 pp*[0-8240-6041-5] *TheGarland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 8: Europe 1176 pp*[0-8240-6034-2] *The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 9: Australia and the PacificIslands 1116 pp*[0-8240-6038-5] *The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 10: The World's Music: General Perspectives and Reference Tools 800 pp*[0-8153-1084-6]

The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music comprises two volumes, and can only be purchased as the two-volume set. To purchase the set please go to: http://www.routledge.com/9780415972932

The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music comprises two volumes, and can only be purchased as the two-volume set.To purchase the set please go to: http://www.routledge.com/9780415972932.

As fur traders were driven across northern North America by economic motivations, the landscape over which they plied their trade was punctuated by sound: shouting, singing, dancing, gunpowder, rattles, jingles, drums, fiddles, and – very occasionally – bagpipes. Fur trade interactions were, in a word, noisy. Daniel Laxer unearths traces of music, performance, and other intangible cultural phenomena long since silenced, allowing us to hear the fur trade for the first time. Listening to the Fur Trade uses the written record, oral history, and material culture to reveal histories of sound and music in an era before sound recording. The trading post was a noisy nexus, populated by a polyglot crowd of highly mobile people from different national, linguistic, religious, cultural, and class backgrounds. They found ways to interact every time they met, and facilitating material interests and survival went beyond the simple exchange of goods. Trust and good relations often entailed gift-giving: reciprocity was performed with dances, songs, and firearm salutes. Indigenous protocols of ceremony and treaty-making were widely adopted by fur traders, who supplied materials and technologies that sometimes changed how these ceremonies sounded. Within trading companies, masters and servants were on opposite ends of the social ladder but shared songs in the canoes and lively dances during the long winters at the trading posts. While the fur trade was propelled by economic and political interests, Listening to the Fur Trade uncovers the songs and ceremonies of First Nations people, the paddling songs of the voyageurs, and the fiddle music and step-dancing at the trading posts that provided its pulse.

These volumes offer a one-stop resource for researching the lives, customs, and cultures of Africa's nations and peoples. Unparalleled in its coverage of contemporary customs in all of Africa, this multivolume set is perfect for both high school and public library shelves. The three-volume encyclopedia will provide readers with an overview of contemporary customs and life in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa through discussions of key concepts and topics that touch everyday life among the nations' peoples. While this encyclopedia places emphasis on the customs and cultural practices of each state, history, politics, and economics are also addressed. Because entries average 14,000 to 15,000 words each, contributors are able to expound more extensively on each country than in similar encyclopedic works with shorter entries. As a result, readers will gain a more complete understanding of what life is like in Africa's 54 nations and territories, and will be better able to draw cross-cultural comparisons based on their reading.