Imposing Harmony

“This is an excellent book that discusses critical issues central to our understanding of colonial music and society in an original manner and whose approach, spread over various disciplines, significantly widens the perspectives of the studies published to date. [Baker’s] reconsideration of traditional methods and sources and his open invitation to create a distinctively Latin American historical musicology less dependent on European models represent a considerable challenge for scholars of music in the New World.” - Javier Marín-López, Early Music History
“[T]his book is an invaluable addition to the study of Latin America and should be a fine companion for undergraduate and graduate music research.” - Matthew J. Forss, Canadian Journal of History
“Geoffrey Baker's Imposing Harmony: Music and Society in Colonial Cuzco is an outstanding contribution to both Andean studies and colonial musicology, and it should be read by anyone with an interest in either field.“ - Joshua Tucker, Latin American Music Review
“Geoffrey Baker presents a profound analysis of the fascinating way in which old polyphony made its entry into the New World. Written in a very lively and eloquent style, it is a great read, also for someone who is not a historian and was not even aware of urban musicology as subdiscipline. . . . There are few occasions in which I have read a scholarly book with so much joy.” - Barbara Hogenboom, European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies
“Thoroughly researched, theoretically informed, and clearly written, this book is a worthy addition to the historiography of Latin American music.” - John Charles Chasteen, American Historical Review
“What we learn in the end from Baker’s book is not only the richness of
colonial Cuzco’s musical scene but also how little we know about most other
cities in Latin America during their long, complex colonial eras and, more surprisingly, most cities in Spain. . . . His book demonstrates that research on colonial music benefits from many trends in research, just as we all benefit from going back to the archives—not just the local cathedral—with a long list of new questions. I hope Baker’s work will inspire many authors who will produce similar studies on other cities.” - Grayson Wagstaff, Journal of the American Musicological Society
“Decentering understanding of the history of music in colonial Cuzco, Geoffrey Baker demonstrates the importance of moving away from the cathedral-centered analyses of the period’s musical culture. Most memorably, he significantly deepens insight into the making of Andean social distinction by bringing to the fore the busy activity of Andean musicians not based in, trained by, or dependent on the Cuzco Cathedral at all.”—Kathryn Burns, author of Colonial Habits: Convents and the Spiritual Economy of Cuzco, Peru
“Geoffrey Baker examines the musical culture—the soundscape—of colonial Cuzco, in all its complexity. He questions traditional scholarship on the music of Cuzco (and elsewhere in Latin America, for that matter) in which the cathedral, with its strongly Hispanic traditions, is understood as the center and focus of viceregal musical culture. In a city that was inhabited by a strong majority of indigenous descent, focus on a cathedral-centered organization rehearses a colonialist perspective. Baker successfully challenges it.”—Carolyn Dean, author of Inka Bodies and the Body of Christ: Corpus Christi in Colonial Cuzco, Peru
“[T]his book is an invaluable addition to the study of Latin America and should be a fine companion for undergraduate and graduate music research.” -- Matthew J. Forss * Canadian Journal of History *
“Geoffrey Baker presents a profound analysis of the fascinating way in which old polyphony made its entry into the New World. Written in a very lively and eloquent style, it is a great read, also for someone who is not a historian and was not even aware of urban musicology as subdiscipline. . . . There are few occasions in which I have read a scholarly book with so much joy.” -- Barbara Hogenboom * European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies *
“Geoffrey Baker's Imposing Harmony: Music and Society in Colonial Cuzco is an outstanding contribution to both Andean studies and colonial musicology, and it should be read by anyone with an interest in either field.“ -- Joshua Tucker * Latin American Music Review *
“This is an excellent book that discusses critical issues central to our understanding of colonial music and society in an original manner and whose approach, spread over various disciplines, significantly widens the perspectives of the studies published to date. [Baker’s] reconsideration of traditional methods and sources and his open invitation to create a distinctively Latin American historical musicology less dependent on European models represent a considerable challenge for scholars of music in the New World.” -- Javier Marín-López * Early Music History *
“Thoroughly researched, theoretically informed, and clearly written, this book is a worthy addition to the historiography of Latin American music.” -- John Charles Chasteen * American Historical Review *
“What we learn in the end from Baker’s book is not only the richness of colonial Cuzco’s musical scene but also how little we know about most other cities in Latin America during their long, complex colonial eras and, more surprisingly, most cities in Spain. . . . His book demonstrates that research on colonial music benefits from many trends in research, just as we all benefit from going back to the archives—not just the local cathedral—with a long list of new questions. I hope Baker’s work will inspire many authors who will produce similar studies on other cities.” -- Grayson Wagstaff * Journal of the American Musicological Society *