It is a travesty that this book is now out of print, as Pleasant's first great book, The Agony of Modern Music, has been for a long time. This book creates a window into the past, an idea of how the greatest singers before the advent of recording actually sounded. He brings them to life again, in short, vivid chapters. When you read this book, you get a clearer idea of how Bellini and Donizettis' operas sounded when Rubini and Grisi and Malibran were actually alive and singing them for the first time. Anyone who wants a better appreciation for opera should read this book. Any classical singer who doesn't is missing a critical part of their education. Pleasants covers performance practice from the Baroque through Strauss, from vocalism to ornamentation and the shifts in the balance of power between singer, composer, and conductor (and, now, director). It is an essential book.

Henry Pleasants died this month 1/5/2000. We have lost a great man. Maybe the publishers will notice this and reprint his books. Finally.