LAUREL-CROWNED LETTERS
Best Letters of Lord Chesterfield. With an Introduction by Edward Gilpin Johnson.
Best Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. With an Introduction by Octave Thanet.
Best Letters of Horace Walpole. With an Introduction by Anna B. McMahan.
Best Letters of Madame de Sévigné. With an Introduction by Edward Playfair Anderson.
Best Letters of Charles Lamb. With an Introduction by Edward Gilpin Johnson.
Best Letters of Percy Bysshe Shelley. With an Introduction by Shirley C. Hughson.
Best Letters of William Cowper. With an Introduction by Anna B. McMahan.
Handsomely printed from new plates, on fine laid paper, 16mo, cloth, with gilt tops, price per volume, $1.00.
In half calf or half morocco, per volume, $2.50.
Amid the great flood of ephemeral literature that pours from the press, it is well to be recalled by such publications as the "Laurel-Crowned Letters" to books that have won an abiding place in the classical literature of the world.—The Independent, New York.
The "Laurel-Crowned Series" recommends itself to all lovers of good literature. The selection is beyond criticism, and puts before the reader the very best literature in most attractive and convenient form. The size of the volumes, the good paper, the clear type and the neat binding are certainly worthy of all praise.—Public Opinion, Washington.
These "Laurel-Crowned" volumes are little gems in their way, and just the books to pick up at odd times and at intervals of waiting.—Herald, Chicago.
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CHICAGO.
THE STANDARD OPERAS. Their Plots, their Music, and their Composers. By George P. Upton, author of "Woman in Music," etc., etc.
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"Mr. Upton has performed a service that can hardly be too highly appreciated, in collecting the plots, music, and the composers of the standard operas, to the number of sixty-four, and bringing them together in one perfectly arranged volume.... His work is one simply invaluable to the general reading public. Technicalities are avoided, the aim being to give to musically uneducated lovers of the opera a clear understanding of the works they hear. It is description, not criticism, and calculated to greatly increase the intelligent enjoyment of music."—Boston Traveller.
"Among the multitude of handbooks which are published every year, and are described by easy-going writers of book-notices as supplying a long-felt want, we know of none which so completely carries out the intention of the writer as 'The Standard Operas,' by Mr. George P. Upton, whose object is to present to his readers a comprehensive sketch of each of the operas contained in the modern repertory.... There are thousands of music-loving people who will be glad to have the kind of knowledge which Mr. Upton has collected for their benefit, and has cast in a clear and compact form."—R. H. Stoddard, in "Evening Mail and Express" (New York).
"The summaries of the plots are so clear, logical, and well written, that one can read them with real pleasure, which cannot be said of the ordinary operatic synopses. But the most important circumstance is that Mr. Upton's book is fully abreast of the times."—The Nation (New York).
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THE STANDARD ORATORIOS. Their Stories, their Music, and their Composers. A Handbook. By George P. Upton. 12mo, 335 pages, yellow edges, price, $1.50; extra gilt, gilt edges, $2.00.
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Music lovers are under a new obligation to Mr. Upton for this companion to his "Standard Operas,"—two books which deserve to be placed on the same shelf with Grove's and Riemann's musical dictionaries.—The Nation, New York.
Mr. George P. Upton has followed in the lines that he laid down in his "Standard Operas," and has produced an admirable handwork, which answers every purpose that such a volume is designed to answer, and which is certain to be popular now and for years to come.—The Mail and Express, New York.
Like the valuable art handbooks of Mrs. Jamison, these volumes contain a world of interesting information, indispensable to critics and art amateurs. The volume under review is elegantly and succinctly written, and the subjects are handled in a thoroughly comprehensive manner.—Public Opinion, Washington.
The book is a masterpiece of skillful handling, charming the reader with its pure English style, and keeping his attention always awake in an arrangement of matter which makes each succeeding page and chapter fresh in interest and always full of instruction, while always entertaining.—The Standard, Chicago.
The author of this book has done a real service to the vast number of people who, while they are lovers of music, have neither the leisure nor inclination to become deeply versed in its literature.... The information conveyed is of just the sort that the average of cultivated people will welcome as an aid to comprehending and talking about this species of musical composition.—Church Magazine, Philadelphia.
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THE STANDARD CANTATAS. Their Stories, their Music, and their Composers. A Handbook. By George P. Upton. 12mo, 367 pages, yellow edges, price, $1.50; extra gilt, gilt edges, $2.00.
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The "Standard Cantatas" forms the third volume in the uniform series which already includes the now well known "Standard Operas" and the "Standard Oratorios." This latest work deals with a class of musical compositions, midway between the opera and the oratorio, which is growing rapidly in favor both with composers and audiences.
As in the two former works, the subject is treated, so far as possible, in an untechnical manner, so that it may satisfy the needs of musically uneducated music lovers, and add to their enjoyment by a plain statement of the story of the cantata and a popular analysis of its music, with brief pertinent selections from its poetical text.
The book includes a comprehensive essay on the origin of the cantata, and its development from rude beginnings; biographical sketches of the composers; carefully prepared descriptions of the plots and the music; and an appendix containing the names and dates of composition of all the best known cantatas from the earliest times.
This series of works on popular music has steadily grown in favor since the appearance of the first volume on the Operas. When the series is completed, as it will be next year by a volume on the Standard Symphonies, it will be, as the New York "Nation" has said, indispensable to every musical library.
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THE STANDARD SYMPHONIES. Their History, their Music, and their Composers. A Handbook. By George P. Upton. 12mo, 321 pages, yellow edges, price $1.50; extra gilt, gilt edges, $2.00.
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The usefulness of this handbook cannot be doubted. Its pages are packed full of these fascinating renderings. The accounts of each composer are succinct and yet sufficient. The author has done a genuine service to the world of music lovers. The comprehension of orchestral work of the highest character is aided efficiently by this volume. The mechanical execution of the volume is in harmony with its subject. No worthier volume can be found to put into the hands of an amateur or a friend of music.—Public Opinion, Washington.
None who have seen the previous books of Mr. Upton will need assurance that this is as indispensable as the others to one who would listen intelligently to that better class of music which musicians congratulate themselves Americans are learning to appreciatively enjoy.—Home Journal, New York.
There has never been, in this country at least, so thorough an attempt to collate the facts of programme music.... As a definite helper in some cases and as a refresher in others we believe Mr. Upton's book to have a lasting value.... The book, in brief, shows enthusiastic and honorable educational purpose, good taste, and sound scholarship.—The American, Philadelphia.
Upton's books should be read and studied by all who desire to acquaint themselves with the facts and accomplishments in these interesting forms of musical composition.—The Voice, New York.
It is written in a style that cannot fail to stimulate the reader, if also a student of music, to strive to find for himself the underlying meanings of the compositions of the great composers. It contains, besides, a vast amount of information about the symphony, its evolution and structure, with sketches of the composers, and a detailed technical description of a few symphonic models. It meets a recognized want of all concert goers.—The Chautauquan.
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