Last Landscapes is an exploration of the cult and celebration of death; loss and memory. It traces the history and design of burial places throughout Europe and the USA; ranging from the picturesque tradition of the village churchyard to tightly packed cities of the dead; such as the Jewish Cemetery in Prague and Pegrave;re Lachaise in Paris. Other landscapes that feature in this book include the war cemeteries of northern France; Viking burial islands in central Sweden; Etruscan tombs and early Christian catacombs in Italy; the 17th-century Portuguesendash;Jewish cemetery Beth Haim at Ouderkerk in the Netherlands; Forest Lawns in California; Derek Jarmanrsquo;s garden in Kent and the Stockholm Woodland Cemetery.It is a fact that architecture began with the tomb; yet; as Ken Worpole shows us in Last Landscapes; many historic cemeteries have been demolished or abandoned in recent times (notably the case with Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe); and there has been an increasing loss of inscription and memorialization in the modern urban cemetery. Too often cemeteries today are both poorly designed and physically and culturally marginalized. Worse; cremation denies a full architectural response to the mystery and solemnity of death.The author explores how modes of disposal ndash; burial; cremation; inhumation in mausoleums and wall tombs ndash; vary across Europe and North America; according to religious and other cultural influences. And Last Landscapes raises profound questions as to how; in an age of mass cremation; architects and landscape designers might create meaningful structures and settings in the absence of a body; since for most of history the human body itself has provided the fundamental structural scale. This evocative book also contemplates other forms of memorialization within modern societies; from sculptures to parks; most notably the extraordinary Duisberg Park; set in a former giant steelworks in Germanyrsquo;s Ruhr Valley.
#1831617 in eBooks 2013-02-26 2013-02-26File Name: B00BLP4DBK
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Nice Collection; Poor Print QualityBy Justus J.This is a very nice collection of pieces that sound wonderful and are playable for intermediate beginners. What I didnt like is the print quality. The book looks like a cheap reprint of the original (which I know). Some slurs; crescendo markings; measure numbers are printed very thinly which makes them hard to see. You can use the book but for the price I would expect something that looks better.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good piano piecesBy EHawkinsMy 10-year-old is doing well playing the pieces in this book. This book contains some "early music" arranged for beginning piano students; which is a benefit since my 10-year-old doesnt want to play anything written since about 1850.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy CustomerLovely pieces that sound much more complicated than they are.