Music and the Myth of Wholeness

Music and the Myth of Wholeness
Author: Tim Hodgkinson
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2016-02-12
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0262034069

A new theory of aesthetics and music, grounded in the collision between language and the body. In this book, Tim Hodgkinson proposes a theory of aesthetics and music grounded in the boundary between nature and culture within the human being. His analysis discards the conventional idea of the human being as an integrated whole in favor of a rich and complex field in which incompatible kinds of information—biological and cultural—collide. It is only when we acknowledge the clash of body and language within human identity that we can understand how art brings forth the special form of subjectivity potentially present in aesthetic experiences. As a young musician, Hodgkinson realized that music was, in some mysterious way, “of itself”—not isolated from life, but not entirely continuous with it, either. Drawing on his experiences as a musician, composer, and anthropologist, Hodgkinson shows how when we listen to music a new subjectivity comes to life in ourselves. The normal mode of agency is suspended, and the subjectivity inscribed in the music comes toward us as a formative “other” to engage with. But this is not our reproduction of the composer's own subjectivation; when we perform our listening of the music, we are sharing the formative risks taken by its maker. To examine this in practice, Hodgkinson looks at the work of three composers who have each claimed to stimulate a new way of listening: Pierre Schaeffer, John Cage, and Helmut Lachenmann.

Music and the Myth of Wholeness

Music and the Myth of Wholeness
Author: Tim Hodgkinson
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2016-02-19
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0262334895

A new theory of aesthetics and music, grounded in the collision between language and the body. In this book, Tim Hodgkinson proposes a theory of aesthetics and music grounded in the boundary between nature and culture within the human being. His analysis discards the conventional idea of the human being as an integrated whole in favor of a rich and complex field in which incompatible kinds of information—biological and cultural—collide. It is only when we acknowledge the clash of body and language within human identity that we can understand how art brings forth the special form of subjectivity potentially present in aesthetic experiences. As a young musician, Hodgkinson realized that music was, in some mysterious way, “of itself”—not isolated from life, but not entirely continuous with it, either. Drawing on his experiences as a musician, composer, and anthropologist, Hodgkinson shows how when we listen to music a new subjectivity comes to life in ourselves. The normal mode of agency is suspended, and the subjectivity inscribed in the music comes toward us as a formative “other” to engage with. But this is not our reproduction of the composer's own subjectivation; when we perform our listening of the music, we are sharing the formative risks taken by its maker. To examine this in practice, Hodgkinson looks at the work of three composers who have each claimed to stimulate a new way of listening: Pierre Schaeffer, John Cage, and Helmut Lachenmann.

Textual Intersections

Textual Intersections
Author: Rachael Langford
Publisher: Rodopi
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2009
Genre: Arts, European
ISBN: 9042027312

This volume examines the multifaceted ways in which textual material in nineteenth-century European cultures intersected with non-literary cultural artefacts and concepts. The essays consider the presence of such diverse phenomena as the dandy, nationhood, diasporic identity, operatic and dramatic personae and effects, trapeze artists, paintings, and the grotesque and fantastic in the work of a variety of writers from France, Germany, Spain, Britain, Russia, Greece and Italy. The volume argues for a view of the long nineteenth century as a century of lively cultural dialogue and exchange between national and sub-national cultures, between 'high' and popular art forms, and between different genres and different media, and it will be of interest to general readers and scholars alike.

Music and Soulmaking

Music and Soulmaking
Author: Barbara J. Crowe
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 460
Release: 2004
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780810851436

Explores new avenues in music therapy. The author discusses connections between music therapy and theorizes that every little nuance found in nature is part of a dynamic system in motion.

Wagner in Russia, Poland and the Czech Lands

Wagner in Russia, Poland and the Czech Lands
Author: Stephen Muir
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2016-02-24
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1317000676

Richard Wagner has arguably the greatest and most long-term influence on wider European culture of all nineteenth-century composers. And yet, among the copious English-language literature examining Wagner's works, influence, and character, research into the composer’s impact and role in Russia and Eastern European countries, and perceptions of him from within those countries, is noticeably sparse. Wagner in Russia, Poland and the Czech Lands aims to redress imbalance and stimulate further research in this rich area. The eight essays are divided in three parts - one each on Russia, the Czech lands and Poland - and cover a wide historical span, from the composer’s first contacts with and appearances in these regions, through to his later reception in the Communist era. The contributing authors examine his influences in a wide range of areas such as music, literary and epistolary heritage, politics, and the cultural histories of Russia, the Czech lands, and Poland, in an attempt to establish Wagner’s place in a part of Europe not commonly addressed in studies of the composer.

Uses of Comparative Mythology (RLE Myth)

Uses of Comparative Mythology (RLE Myth)
Author: Kenneth L. Golden
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2015-03-05
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1317550854

This collection, first published in 1992, offers critical-interpretive essays on various aspects of the work of Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), one of a very few international experts on myth. Joseph Campbell examines myths and mythologies from a comparative point of view, and he stresses those similarities among myths the world over as they suggest an existing, transcendent unity of all humankind. His interpretations foster an openness, even a generous appreciation of, all myths; and he attempts to generate a broad, sympathetic understanding of the role of these ‘stories’ in human history, in our present-day lives, and in the possibilities of our future.

Neo-mythologism in Music

Neo-mythologism in Music
Author: Victoria Adamenko
Publisher: Pendragon Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2007
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781576471258

The Devil and the Perception of Schnittke's Early Style -- The Mythologems in Schnittke's First Symphony -- Postlude -- Appendix 1. An interview with George Crumb -- Appendix 2. The English translation of the texts by García Lorca from George Crumb's Ancient Voices of Children -- Appendix 3. Text excerpts from Stockhausen's Licht -- Selected bibliography -- List of Illustrations -- Index

Dancing in Spite of Myself

Dancing in Spite of Myself
Author: Lawrence Grossberg
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1997
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780822319177

In Dancing in Spite of Myself, Lawrence Grossberg--well known as a pioneering figure in cultural studies--has collected essays written over the past twenty years that have also established him as one of the leading theorists of popular culture and, specifically, of rock music. Grossberg offers an original and sophisticated view of the growing power of popular culture and its increasing inseparability from contemporary structures of economic and political power and from our everyday lives. In the course of conducting this exploration into the meaning of "popularity," he investigates the nature of fandom, the social effects of rock music and youth culture, and the possibilities for understanding the history of popular texts and practices. Describing what he calls "the postmodernity of everyday life," Grossberg offers important insights into the relation of pop music to issues of postmodernity and inton the growing power of the new cultural conservatism and its relationship to "the popular." Exploring the limits of existing theories of hegemony in cultural studies, Grossberg reveals the ways in which popular culture is being mobilized in the service of economic and political struggles. In articulating his own critical practice, Grossberg surveys and challenges some of the major assumptions of popular culture studies, including notions of domination and resistance, mainstream and marginality, and authenticity and incorporation. Dancing in Spite of Myself provides an introduction to contemporary theories of popular culture and a clear statement of relationships among theories of the nature of rock music, postmodernity, and conservative hegemony.

Managing Your Head and Body so You Can Become a Good Musician

Managing Your Head and Body so You Can Become a Good Musician
Author: Richard H. Cox
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2010-06-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1725228122

"As a husband, parent, teacher, and performer I found many expressions of all the aspects of our musical art, as well as so many connections to the entire world of our musical art, as well as so many connections to the entire world of our existence, in Dr. Cox's book. I found these expressions to be very consistent with the approach that I myself, as well as so many of my world-class colleagues, have found to be our life stories. Thank you." --Adolf S. Herseth Principal Trumpet Emeritus Chicago Symphony Orchestra "Managing Your Head and Body So You Can Become a Good Musician tackles one of the fundamental dimensions of successful musical performance. Aspiring musicians need to know that mastering their instrument is only one element of their preparation for musical success. This book will help them begin to address the physical and psychological issues of performance so they can get to the heart of the issue--how to truly communicate with an audience." --Jacqueline Helin Steinway and Sons Artist