Temple of Night at Schonau : Architecture, Music, and Theater in a Late Eighteenth-Century Viennese Garden, Memoirs, American Philosophical Society (vol. 258) (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society)

In the late 1700s, Baron Peter von Braun built a grotto and underground temple in the gardens of his estate at Schn̲au, in honor of the Greco-Roman goddess Night. By examining the ruins of the temple, as well as its design (by Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg), Rice, an independent scholar with a Ph.D. in music history, explores how it is a symbol of Viennese culture during this period. He discusses the construction of the temple in the context of Braun's life, eyewitness accounts and related documents, the temple as a garden, the perception of night in eighteenth century culture, and the temple's relationship to music, freemasonry, theater and opera, and as a Kunstgalerie (a multimedia-like structure). B&W photos and other illustrations are incorporated. The book is aimed at those interested in the history of garden design, architecture, theater, and music. Annotation 2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)