Creatures of the Air: Music, Atlantic Spirits, Breath, 1817-1913

Creatures of the Air explores the history of music's elemental medium, air, in nineteenth-century Atlantic worlds, arguing that air is a poetic domain and music is an art of that domain. It reveals how music expressed elemental truths about suffocation, breathing, architecture, environmental design, climate strife, and racial turmoil, contributing to elemental media studies, the energy humanities, and colonial histories.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 11 September 2023
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

In the captivating realm of nineteenth-century music, the Atlantic world serves as a vibrant stage, where the arts elemental medium, the air, weaves a rich tapestry of sound and emotion. Often perceived as a universal and incorporeal force, music appears as an innocent art form, transcending boundaries and captivating hearts. Yet, the very medium through which music emerges, the air, shares a mysterious invisibility with its melodic melodies. In his insightful book, Creatures of the Air, J. Q. Davies delves into these profound claims, embarking on a historical exploration of music's elemental media system within the nineteenth-century Atlantic worlds. He posits that air itself is a poetic domain, a realm where music finds its essence.

From the enchanting ngombi harps of West Central Africa to the resplendent revival of J. S. Bach in Europe, music in the nineteenth century expressed elemental truths that resonated across cultures. Creatures of the Air unfolds these truths through captivating stories that delve into the themes of suffocation and breathing, architecture and environmental design, climate strife, and racial turmoil. By contributing to the fields of elemental media studies, the energy humanities, and colonial histories, Davies unveils the intricate connections between music and the struggle for control over air, a precious natural resource. What emerges is a complex political ecology of the global nineteenth century and beyond, where music emerges as a powerful agent of change and transformation.

Through his meticulous research and evocative storytelling, Davies invites us to reimagine the role of music in shaping our world. He reminds us that music is not just a luxury, but a profound expression of our shared humanity. It connects us to our ancestors, to the natural world, and to each other. In the pages of Creatures of the Air, we embark on a journey that transcends time and space, exploring the profound ways in which music intertwines with our lives and the world around us.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226826134