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melody

(Encyclopedia)melody, succession of single tones of varying pitch. Melody is the linear aspect of music, in contrast to harmony, the chordal aspect, which results from the simultaneous sounding of tones. Melody mus...

Dunbar, Paul Laurence

(Encyclopedia)Dunbar, Paul Laurence dŭnˈbär [key], 1872–1906, American poet and novelist, b. Dayton, Ohio. The son of former slaves, he won recognition with his Lyrics of Lowly Life (1896)—a collection of po...

Tippett, Sir Michael

(Encyclopedia)Tippett, Sir Michael, 1905–98, English composer, b. London. Tippett studied at the Royal College of Music. During World War II he was briefly imprisoned as a conscientious objector. His strongly hel...

Wallace, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Wallace, Henry, 1836–1916, American agricultural leader, b. West Newton, Pa., grad. Jefferson (later Washington and Jefferson) College, 1859. He studied (1861–63) theology and went (1863) to Iowa ...

Skinner, Otis

(Encyclopedia)Skinner, Otis, 1858–1942, American actor, b. Cambridge, Mass. Skinner made his New York debut in 1879. After years as supporting player to Booth and Barrett, he toured with Augustin Daly and later w...

Degas, Edgar

(Encyclopedia)Degas, Edgar (Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas) ēlĕrˈ zhĕrmăNˈ ĕdgärˈ dəgäˈ [key], 1834–1917, French painter and sculptor, b. Paris; son of a banker. Although prepared for the law, he abandon...

Krasznahorkai, Lázló

(Encyclopedia)Krasznahorkai, Lázló, 1954–, Hungarian writer known for his strange, bleak, obsessive, and surreal novels, short stories, and film scripts. Usually marked by grim rural settings, and often featuri...

music video

(Encyclopedia)music video, videotaped performance of a recorded popular song, usually accompanied by dance or a fragmentary story and sometimes employing concert footage. Typically three to five minutes long, music...

Jamison, Judith

(Encyclopedia)Jamison, Judith jāˈməsən [key], 1944–, American dancer and choreographer, b. Philadelphia. She studied ballet, tap, jazz, and modern dance, and made her debut with the American Ballet Theatre in...

Crosby, Bing

(Encyclopedia)Crosby, Bing krôzˈbē [key], 1903–77, American singer and film actor, b. Tacoma, Wash., as Harry Lillis Crosby. He sang with dance bands from 1925 to 1930 and in 1931 began work in radio and films...