LEADER 03954cam a2200469 i 4500001 99129230336506421 005 20240229031855.0 008 230802s2023 msuag b 001 0 eng c 010 2023035018 019 1378359028 020 9781496845740 |q(hardback) 020 1496845749 020 9781496845757 |q(trade paperback) 020 1496845757 020 |z9781496848918 |q(epub) 020 |z9781496848925 |q(epub) 020 |z9781496848932 |q(pdf) 020 |z9781496848949 |q(pdf) 035 (OCoLC)on1378387810 040 MsSM/DLC |beng |erda |cDLC 042 pcc 043 n-us--- 050 00 ML410.B26619 |bK37 2023 082 00 782.1/17 |223/eng/20230804 100 1 Karpf, Juanita, |d1951- |eauthor. 245 10 From biblical book to musical megahit : |bWilliam B. Bradbury's Esther, the beautiful queen / |cJuanita Karpf. 264 1 Jackson : |bUniversity Press of Mississippi, |c2023. 300 xiii, 280 pages : |billustrations, music ; |c24 cm 336 text |btxt |2rdacontent 337 unmediated |bn |2rdamedia 338 volume |bnc |2rdacarrier 504 Includes bibliographical references and index. 505 00 Prelude : Bradbury, musician and entrepreneur -- Esther : the early years -- Esther, revised -- Genre intrigue -- Religious controversy -- Interlude : Esther images -- Esther and minorities -- An international megahit -- Epilogue. 520 "Many church-goers will recognize the name William Bradbury, a nineteenth-century American composer of popular hymns still sung at Sunday services. Bradbury's name may also bring to mind Esther, the Beautiful Queen, his choral setting of a text based on the biblical Book of Esther. Written for amateur singers, the uncomplicated score became enormously popular almost immediately after its initial publication in 1856. In From Biblical Book to Musical Megahit: William B. Bradbury's "Esther, the Beautiful Queen," Juanita Karpf traces the work's rich performance and reception history. Bradbury emphatically stated that he intended Esther to be sung as an unadorned religious and educational piece. Yet many music directors exploited the potential for his score, producing elaborately staged events with costumes, scenery, and acting. Although directors retained Bradbury's original music, they nonetheless facilitated Esther's rapid entrée into the realm of music theater. This stylistic transformation ignited a firestorm of controversy. Some clergy and religiously pious citizens condemned theatrical representations of biblical texts as the epitome of debauchery, sacrilege, and sin. In contrast, more tolerant and open-minded theater enthusiasts welcomed the dramatic staging of Esther as wholesome entertainment and as evidence of a refreshingly enlightened approach to biblical interpretation. However heated this debate seemed at times, it did little to quell the continued rise in popularity of Esther. In fact, by the late 1860s, Bradbury's score had worked its way across the continent, north to Canada and, eventually, to Great Britain, Australia, Asia, and Africa. With performances recorded over a century after Bradbury published his score, Esther became, by any measure, an international megahit"-- |cProvided by publisher. 600 10 Bradbury, William B. |q(William Batchelder), |d1816-1868. |tEsther, the beautiful queen. 600 10 Bradbury, William B. |q(William Batchelder), |d1816-1868 |xPerformances. 600 00 Esther, |cQueen of Persia |xSongs and music |xHistory and criticism. 776 08 |iOnline version:Karpf, Juanita. |tFrom biblical book to musical megahit |dJackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2023 |z9781496848918 |w(DLC) 2023035019 910 |cG0601mon |d3110-07 |gYBP |h958462 914 (OCoLC)on1378387810 |bOCoLC |cmatch |d20240228 |eprocessed |f1378387810 980 20196099 |f958462 |i110.00 |j90.20 |n40032135214 982 |cmus |q32101119540795