The Last Thing They Expected Was First Contact It's long ago been settled that humanity is all alone in the universe. All the centuries of searches for extra-terrestrial intelligence have turned up exactly nothing at all. And when humanity's first and only colony in another star system was recently invaded it was by unwanted human interlopers from Earth -- interlopers calling themselves The Fruitful, who are sure that God himself is guiding them. The new arrivals caused trouble enough that many of the original settlers have packed up and moved elsewhere on the planet -- only to discover some very alarming signs that the first settlers aren't quite so alone as they thought. Phil Bertrand and Hazel Castagna had striven for years to reach and settle their new world, only to find themselves on different sides when the Fruitful arrived and forced hard choices on everyone. Now, without quite intending it, they have become allies again, as well as the half-unwilling leaders of a group that must find a way to protect humans from aliens -- and, perhaps, aliens from humans. But exactly who -- and what -- are the aliens?

This book, first published in 2001, presents a portrait of Jean Sibelius as composer and man, a figure of national and international significance, patriot, husband and father. Three introductory articles explore Sibelius's reception in Finland, performance practice and recording history, and Sibelius's aesthetic position with regard to modernity. The second group of essays examines issues of ideology, sexuality and mythology, and their relationship to musical structure and compositional genesis. Studies of the Second, Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Symphonies are presented in the concluding section. Collectively, these articles address historical, theoretical and analytical issues in Sibelius's most important works. The analyses are supported by investigations of Sibelius's compositional process as documented by the manuscripts and sketches primarily in the Sibelius Collection of the Helsinki University Library. Exploring Sibelius's innovative approach to tonality, form and texture, the book delineates his unique brand of modernism, which has proven highly influential in the late twentieth century.

Informed by a wealth of information that has come to light in recent years, this engaging biography tells the complete story of the life and musical work of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Drawing on Sibelius’s own correspondence and diaries, contemporary reviews, and the remarks of family and friends, the book presents a rich account of the events of the musician’s life. In addition, this volume is the first to set every work and performable fragment by Sibelius in its historical and musical context. Filling a significant gap, the biography also provides the first accurate information about much of the composer’s early music. Writing for the general music-lover, Andrew Barnett combines his own extensive knowledge of Sibelius’s music with the insights of other scholars and musicians. He lays to rest a number of myths and untruths—that Sibelius wrote no chamber music of value, for example, and that he stopped composing in 1926 and didn’t need to compose to earn a living. Barnett completes the volume with the most thorough worklist available and an authoritative chronology of Sibelius’s entire output.

Riding in a car with his mother all night, a young boy watches as the roadside landscape is transformed from twilight all the way through to dawn.