Ombra is the musical language employed when a composer wishes to inspire awe and terror in an audience. Clive McClelland's Ombra: Supernatural Music in the Eighteenth Century explores the large repertoire of such music, focusing on the eighteenth century and Mozart in particular. He discusses a wide range of examples drawn from theatrical and sacred music, eventually drawing parallels between these features and Edmund Burke's 'sublime of terror,' thus placing ombra music in an important position in the context of eighteenth-century aesthetic theory.
Introduction Abbreviations Chapter One - Ombra Music in Context Chapter Two - Opera: Tonality and Key Characteristics Chapter Three - Opera: Harmony and Line Chapter Four - Opera: Tempo and Rhythm Chapter Five - Opera: Texture, Dynamics, and Instrumentation Chapter Six - Opera: Case Studies Chapter Seven - Sacred Music (including Case Studies) Chapter Eight - Instrumental Music (including Case Studies) Chapter Nine - Ombra after Mozart Appendix A Appendix B Bibliography Index About the Author