JONATHAN KEATES

In the chaos of the English Civil War and Puritan Commonwealth, churches were defaced and organs broken, but the tradition of fine music survived. When Charles II returned from exile in 1660, one of the first things he demanded was music, sacred and profane, anthems and motets, pavannes and gavottes. In 1659 Henry Purcell was born, and his genius would give the period and nation an unforgettable voice.Jonathan Keates traces Purcells development against the turbulent movements of his time - political, religious, theatrical and social. He shows him growing up in the shadow of Westminster Abbey and follows him as a chorister in the Chapel Royal, copying the innovative and colourful style of Matthew Locke; beginning to composer for the theatre, and for State occasions; writing his great settings of sacred music, his chamber sonatas, and his triumphant Dido and Aeneas, the first British opera.In the background are the heady politics of Restoration England, which expelled the Stuart James II and brought William and Mary to the throne. But almost more important is the rich musical history, the influence of French and Italian composers, blending with and modifying the native tradition. We know and love Purcell through his work; his songs were sung in taverns, his psalms in churches; he was urbane and witty, impassioned and profound.This engrossing biography is as remarkable for its sensitive critical appreciation of Purcells music, in all its forms, as it is for its vivid portrait of the man, and the boisterous age in which he lived.

Erróneamente calificado por algunos como arquitecto minimalista, David Chipperfield se ha consolidado a lo largo de la última década como uno de los arquitectos conceptualmente más complejos, a juzgar por la diversidad y profundidad de las propuestas realizadas en estos años, de las que son magnificos ejemplos el River & Rowing Museum, la Knight House o los proyectos en curso para Ansaldo, Venecia, Madrid y Berlin. Este magnifico libro, diseñado por Quentin Newark (Atelier Works), recoge la totalidad de su obra arquitectonica (mas de 60 proyectos), centrando su atencion en el proceso de trabajo de Chipperfield, quien realiza una extensa reflexion sobre la evolucion de la arquitectura en las ultimas decadas. Ademas de este ensayo, las claves de su arquitectura son analizadas por Jonathan Keates y Kenneth Fr a m p t o n

From Handels renowned biographer, the story of one of the most celebrated compositions of Western classical music, Handels famous oratorio, Messiah In the late summer of 1741, George Friderick Handel, composed an oratorio set to words from the King James Bible, rich in tuneful arias and magnificent choruses. Jonathan Keates recounts the history and afterlife of Messiah, one of the best-loved works in the classical repertoire. He relates the compositions first performances and its relationship with spirituality in the age of the Enlightenment, and examines how Messiah, after Handels death, became an essential component of our musical canon. An authoritative and affectionate celebration of the high-point of the Georgian golden age of music, Messiah is essential reading for lovers of classical music.

The siege of Venice in 1848 is one of historys most thrilling and tragic episodes. After half a century of Habsburg imperial rule, the Venetians drove out the occupying army and established their own republic. Led by the Jewish lawyer Daniele Manin, a man of immense courage and personal integrity, they embraced the lofty values of the Risorgimento, Italys struggle for national unity, freedom and justice. When the Austrians returned with a massive army, intent on recapturing Venice, Manin rejected their surrender demands. The city braced itself for a siege lasting more than a year, ending only when bombardment, cholera and starvation made further resistance impossible.This epic story, in Jonathan Keatess gripping and meticulously-researched account, embraces the wider world of the revolutionary Italy of Garibaldi, Mazzini and Pope Pius IX, warrior priests, militant actresses, death-or-glory poets, a Mata Hari-type siren spy and a rebel princess. At the centre of the whole crowded canvas, however, stand the truest heroes of all - the people of Venice. Their grit, humour and endurance, under a hail of bombs and a tide of blood sweeping across their once peaceful lagoon, make The Siege of Venice a profoundly touching and unforgettable book.

William III (1689-1702) & Mary II (1689-94) (Britains only ever joint monarchs) changed the course of the entire countrys history, coming to power through a coup (which involved Mary betraying her own father), reestablishing parliament on a new footing and, through commiting Britain to fighting France, initiating an immensely long period of warfare and colonial expansion. Jonathan Keates wonderful book makes both monarchs vivid, the cold, shrewd Dutch William and the shortlived Mary, whose life and death inspired Purcell to write some of his greatest music.

Jonathan Keates original biography of Handel was hailed as a masterpiece on its publication in 1985. This fully revised and updated new edition - published to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the composers death - charts in detail Handels life, from his youth in Germany, through his brilliantly successful Italian sojourn, to the opulence and squalor of Georgian London where he made his permanent home. For over two decades Handel was absorbed in Londons heady but precarious operatic world. But even his phenomenal energy and determination could not overcome the publics growing indifference to Italian opera in the 1730s, and he turned finally to oratorio, a genre which he made peculiarly his own and in which he created some of his finest works, such as Saul, Messiah, Belshazzar and Jephtha.Over the last two decades a complete revolution in Handels status has taken place. He is now seen both as a titanic figure in music, whose compositions have found a permanent place in the international repertoire, and as one of the worlds favourite composers, with snatches of his work accompanying weddings, funerals and television commercials the world over.Skillfully interwoven with the account of Handels life are commentaries on all his major works, as well as many less familiar pieces by this most inventive, expressive and captivating of composers. Handel was an extraordinary genius whose career abounded in reversals that would have crushed anyone with less resilience and will power, and Jonathan Keates writes about his life and work with sympathy and scrutiny.