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I had noticed that in the music profession there are many emperors without clothes, a vast array of well-polished myths, and a lurid collection of deliberately perpetuated mysteries. I was always tempted to point out the ‘naked emperors’, explode the myths and explain the mysteries in a humorous and light-hearted way, and that is what has prompted the writing of this book.
Previously I enjoyed a 30-year academic career as Senior Lecturer and an Associate Dean in Performing Arts at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Before that I was a professional musician for 15 years, and
since 2001 I have been an education consultant for various organizations in Australia and Korea. In 2015 I accepted appointment as a senior advisor to Cross Cultural Networks, an organization assisting international student exchanges between China and the United States.
Reviewed by Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite
Heresies of Music: An A-Z Diagnostic Guide by Patrick Brislan is a book that will appeal to music aficionados. It’s a hilarious book that dissects facts about the traditions of music, great musical figures, singers and composers, concepts, and a lot of what people have come to believe in the music culture. From ideas on the treatment of Lisztomania to Drog’s prophecy about Electronic Music, the author lifts the veil to reveal his own truths about the institutions and traditions of music. This is the kind of book that will be disturbing to some, entertaining to others, and revealing to the many with very little knowledge about what goes on behind the music scenes.
Patrick Brislan is a master entertainer who seems to have invested a lot of time in researching this book, but what makes it hilarious is the wit and the humor that are blended together to create an interesting read. I found Heresies of Music: An A-Z Diagnostic Guide to be more than a work of entertainment because it informs the reader on a variety of topics in the music industry. Organized in an alphabetical order, the book contains powerful commentaries, anecdotes, and a critique of the many traditions in the music world. In the introduction, the author writes: “Despite the pejorative connotations of its name — and hence its reputation — heresy in fact serves some worthwhile purposes. Heresy challenges, and thereby threatens, orthodoxy. It hastens the decay of myths, lifts veils from mysteries, and provides some alternate clothing for naked emperors.” And this is what this book is all about: heresies of music. Readers will enjoy the terse tone, the excellent writing, and the unbridled humor.
