Quote of the day

Although the scholarly camps in the Aufklärer-versus-Cantor debate never aligned themselves neatly according to political blocs (as Friedrich Blume’s stance perhaps illustrates), Marxist historiography undoubtedly acted as a polarising influence. Much twentieth-century Bach scholarship has been overshadowed by the need to negotiate Soviet policies and cultural ideology.

Burkhard Schwalbach, Eighteenth-century Coffee-House Culture: A New Context for Bach’s Music?

PS: Totul a plecat de la nevoia de a-mi limpezi perceptia despre Bach cum ca a compus "muzica matematica". Am descoperit ca este vorba de fapt despre conceptul bine-definit de muzica absoluta, in contrast cu muzica programatica, specifica perioadei romantice. Am ajuns astfel la articolul lui Schwalbach din care este citatul de mai sus. Si uite asha, de la Bach la Marx si pe urma la Stalin, am ajuns incet-incet sa citesc despre definitiile muzicii absolute, sa aflu despre Dahlhaus si despre Chua. Nu ca as fi intzeles eu mare lucru din ce zic pe acolo stralucitorii aia cu vorbe complicate, dar acum macar pot sa ma laud pe acest blog ca nu am intzeles nimic, dar ca am incercat sa citesc vorbe complicate.

:) :p

In continuare, mai multe definitii ale muzicii absolute, luate de aici.

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Absolute music is the opposite of program music. It is music from which all explicit context has been removed. It has nothing to do with the music itself but with the 'frame' in which the music is presented.

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Term first used by German Romantic writers for an ideal of ‘pure’ music independent of words, drama or representational meaning (see Programme music); it has been suggested that it must be understood as objective structure without expressive content.

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Absolute music, term used for music dependent on its structure alone for comprehension. It is the antithesis of program music. It is not associated with extramusical ideas or with a pictorial or narrative scheme of emotions, nor does it attempt to reproduce sounds in nature. Hence it is always instrumental, although not all instrumental music is absolute. Bach's Art of Fugue is an example of absolute music.

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Absolute music (sometimes abstract music) is a term used to describe music that is not explicitly "about" anything, non-representational or non-objective. In contrast with program music, absolute music has no words and no references to stories or images or any other kind of extramusical idea.

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‘Formalism’ is the concept of ‘music for music’s sake’ and refers only to instrumental music without words. In this respect, music has no meaning at all and is enjoyed by appreciation of its ‘formal’ structure and technical construction.

[...] Some scholars such as Berthold Hoeckner feel that the very idea of absolute music was culturally generated; it was fostered by some German composers in an attempt to make it universally accepted.

“The absoluteness of absolute music has never been an obstacle, but is the very condition of its meaning.” — Berthold Hoeckner

The cultural bases of musical understanding have been highlighted by in Philip Bohlman's work, who considers music as a form of cultural communication:

"There are those who believe that music represents nothing other than itself. I argue that we are constantly giving it new and different abilities to represent who we are.

[...]

Susan McClary has critiqued the notion of ‘absolute music’, arguing that all music, whether explicitly programmatic or not, contains implicit programs that reflect the tastes, politics, aesthetic philosophies and social attitudes of the composer and their historical situation. Such scholars would argue that classical music is rarely about ‘nothing’, but reflects aesthetic tastes that are themselves influenced by culture, politics and philosophy. Composers are often bound up in a web of tradition and influence, in which they strive to consciously situate themselves in relation to other composers and styles. Lawrence Kramer, on the other hand, believes music has no means to reserve a “specific layer or pocket for meaning. Once it has been brought into sustainable connection with a structure of prejudgment, music simply becomes meaningful.”

Music which appears to demand an interpretation, but is abstract enough to warrant objectivity (e.g. Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony), is what Lydia Goehr refers to as ‘double-sided autonomy.’ This happens when the formalist properties of music became attractive to composers because, having ‘no meaning to speak of’, music could be used to envision an alternative cultural and/or political order, while escaping the scrutiny of the censor (particularly common in Shostakovich, most notably the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies).

* * *

Damn it. Cum o dai, cum o suceshti, tot in semnificatie nimeresti. Meaning. Interpretare.

Aaaargh. Nu este nimic nemuritor si rece pe lumea asta? Toate sunt invelite in foile iluziei sociale, ale intzelesului? Luckmann si Berger, ce avetzi bre cu noi? Webere, de ce ne chinui peste tot, chiar si in muzica? Aaaargh! Vreau inapoi obiectivitatea specifica matematicii si datelor si cifrelor si muzicii sferelor. Dati-mi-l pe Bach si luati-l pe Weber de pe mine, ca ma sufoc de atatea intzelesuri neintzelese

:) :wink: