Theodore Baker (1851–1934)

I was reading the April 3, 2006 New Yorker, and ran into Sasha Frere-Jones' piece on "Mariah Carey's record-breaking career". For the "record", I have never consciously listened to Carey and would not recognize her or any of her albums. However, the byline beneath a photograph of a dashing lady on a Vespa--one of my favorite body extensions--caught more than my eye: "Carey established R&B as the sound of pop and made melisma a requirement on 'American Idol'." I do not know what "American Idol" is either, but my attention was on MELISMA. How often do we see actual music-speak. Out of curiosity -- I mean, we are describing "pop", "R.&B." and a current item -- I looked this word up in this dictionary from the 1800's. Sure enough, "that in which more than one tone is sung to a syllable", or fioritura, colorature. Frere-Jones characterizes Carey as a master practitioner, crediting Carey's "Vision of Love" as the "Magna Carta of melisma". But no, "R&B", "Blues", or even "spirituals", are not here. What is here is a trove of descriptions of sound and instruments which remain as current as the immortal Carey.… (más)