Limelight — May 2017

the human species, tracing the

possible origins and evolutionary

significance of music in humans.

WhileOliverSacks’well-loved

Musicophilia,whichHarveyrefers

toonoccasion,presentsaseriesof

anecdotes to illustrate the quirks

ofmusicandthebrain,Harvey’s

bookhasamoreambitiousgoal–to

explain why humans have evolved

twodistinctcommunication

systems–musicandlanguage.

Harvey builds his arguments

clearly and incrementally, but this

bookisnotforthefainthearted.

Theearlierchaptersexplorethe

way the brain processes sound and

music – drawing on neuroimaging

research and studies of people

whosufferamusia(theinability

torecognisemusicaltones)–as

wellasthewaythebrainsofhomo

sapienshaveevolved,examining

theories of how and why language

andmusicemergedasparallel

communication systems.

Thelaterchapters,however,

provide insights into the way music

–andbyextensiondance–fosters

empathy and social cooperation,

as well as providing a neural

framework that facilitates learning,

development and education.

The upshot? Music was of vital

importance to early humans and

remains vitally important today.

Harvey concludes with a call to

action,highlightingtheneedfor

publicpolicytoreflectthatmusic

isessentialforourpsychological

health and the social well-being

of humanity.Angus McPherson

Music, Evolution and the
HarmonyofSouls
Alan Harvey
Oxford University Press, HB,
320pp, $113
ISBN 9780198786856

Afascinatingglimpseintothe
evolution of music in the brain

Whyismusiccommontoevery
cultureontheplanet?What
evolutionary purpose did it serve?
Diditevolvealongsidelanguage
orwasitaprecursor?Dolanguage
andmusicshareacommonorigin?
Thesearesomeofthequestions
that Alan Harvey, Professor
Emeritus at the University of
WesternAustralia,asksinhis
new bookMusic, Evolution, and
the Harmony of Souls.
A neuroscientist, Harvey is also
amusicianwhohassunginchoirs
and bands (and currently with the
Perth Symphonic Chorus). He takes
us right back to the beginning of

FOURNEWBOOKSWORTHREADINGTHISMONTH...

TheGoodGirlofChina

Town

Jenevieve Chang

Viking, PB,

272pp, $33

ISBN 9780670078516

The bold memoir

of a Chinatown

Doll. After

studying theatre in

Sydney and dance

at London’s Laban

Conservatoire, Jenevieve Chang

findsherhomeinChinatown:

Shanghai’s first Vaudeville,

Variety and Burlesque Club.

The Music of the Future

Robert Barry

Repeater, PB, 184pp, $15

ISBN 9781910924969

The Music of the

Future is not a

book of predictions

or speculations

about how to

save the music

business or the bleeding edge

of technologies. Rather, it’s a

historyoffailures,mapping200

yearsofattemptsbycomposers,

performers and critics to

imagine a future for music.

Gone:AGirl,aViolin, a

Life Unstrung

Min Kym

Viking , HB, 256pp, $33

ISBN 9780241263150

The extraordinary

memoir of

violinist, Min Kym,

whose prized

1696 Stradivarius

was stolen in a

trainstationcafe.Itisastory

of isolation and dependence,

love, loss and betrayal, and the

intense bond a musician has

with her instrument.

NON-FICTION NON-FICTION NON-FICTION

MUSIC

TheRomanticOverture

and Musical Form

Steven Vande Moortele

Cambridge University Press, HB,

294pp, $140

ISBN 9781107163195

In his new bookThe

Romantic Overture

and Musical Form

from Rossini to

Wagner, Steven

Vande Moortele

offers a comprehensive account

of operatic and concert

overtures in continental Europe

between 1815 and 1850.

NON-FICTION

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au MAY 2017LIMELIGHT 95

PANORAMAO