The Conductor Raises His Baton

William J. Finn (Founder of the Paulist Choristers); Foreword by Leopold Stokowski

Published by Harper & Brothers, New York and London, 1944

About this Item

Stated First Edition. Rare Harper & Brothers first edition in a very nice dust jacket. You can see the handsome textured covers of the book in the photos. They are exceptionally clean. The red lettering on the spine is nicely bright. The edges and corners are in very good shape. The spine ends have only a bit of crinkling. The page edges are mostly clean, there are a few speck-sized spots in the middle page edge, but they do not seem to have migrated to the actual pages. The book is square and very solidly bound from cover to cover with nicely tight pages throughout and nicely tight covers as well. The interior of the book is in excellent shape. The pages are exceptionally clean. I've scrolled through them several times and found only one speck in a white margin of one page. I'm also not finding any creasing. There are no markings. No attachments. And no one has written their name or anything else anywhere in the book. Unusual condition for a book published in 1944. The same can be said about the dust jacket. It has a little bit of wear, but less than would be expected. You can judge for yourself by looking at the first three photos. There is little scuffing and a teeny tiny loss at the top edge of the spine and just adjacent on the rear side of the spine, little scuffing at the bottom edge of the spine and at the corners, couple of which have teeny tiny losses. The jacket is quite clean. The flaps are in excellent shape. I don't see any wear. They are clean. The jacket is NOT price-clipped, not clipped at all. It will be fitted with a protective cover after the photos are scanned. From the front flap: 'From his long experience and observation as the founder and conductor of the Paulist Choristers, Father Finn has formed a number of firm convictions about choral direction. He answers here many of the questions of choirmasters, school musicians and conductors of choral groups. His is a book for both the choral conductor and the orchestral maestro, for he believes that choir and orchestra are twin instruments of expression. It is a book about the fundamentals of music and the controlling factors of musical performance, namely tempo and dynamics. Father Finn reaches down to the nature of music-- the poetic fluency, the stresses and slacks of rhythmical accent, the psychology of speed, the strategy and tactics of dynamics, and the influence of pitch upon the temper of a melody-- all the mystery of the upbeat. He explains methods for getting the best out of music whether it be hymn tune or part song. In his own words he shows "how to take Palestrina out from under the notes and make his music sound beautiful in an age of vertical clashing and horizontal 'swinging.'" Although dealing with the subject of a highly technical nature Father Finn has written in a style that makes his book both instructive and readable and he has frequently illustrated his point with musical excerpts. Leopold Stokowski has written the foreword.'. Seller Inventory # 003982

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Conductor Raises His Baton

Publisher: Harper & Brothers, New York and London

Publication Date: 1944

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Near Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition