A leading cultural theorist and musicologist opens up new
possibilities for understanding mainstream Western art music-the
"classical" music composed between the eighteenth and early
twentieth ...centuries that is, for many, losing both its prestige and
its appeal. When this music is regarded esoterically, removed from
real-world interests, it increasingly sounds more evasive than
transcendent. Now Lawrence Kramer shows how classical music can
take on new meaning and new life when approached from postmodernist
standpoints. Kramer draws out the musical implications of
contemporary efforts to understand reason, language, and
subjectivity in relation to concrete human activities rather than
to universal principles. Extending the rethinking of musical
expression begun in his earlier Music as Cultural
Practice , he regards music not only as an object that invites
aesthetic reception but also as an activity that vitally shapes the
personal, social, and cultural identities of its listeners. In
language accessible to nonspecialists but informative to
specialists, Kramer provides an original account of the
postmodernist ethos, explains its relationship to music, and
explores that relationship in a series of case studies ranging from
Haydn and Mendelssohn to Ives and Ravel.
Music, we are often told, is a language. But if music is a language, then who is speaking? The Composer's Voice tries to answer this obvious but infrequently raised question. In so doing, it puts ...forward a dramatistic theory of musical expression, based on the view that every composition is a symbolic utterance involving a fundamental act of impersonation. The voice we hear is not that of the composer himself, but of a persona--a musical projection of his consciousness that experiences and communicates the events of the composition. Developing his argument by reference to numerous examples ina wide variety of styles, Mr. Cone moves from song and opera through program music to absolute instrumental music. In particular, he discusses the implications of his theory for performance. According to the dramatistic view, not only every singer but every instrumentalist as well becomes a kind of actor, assuming a role that functions both autonomously and as a component of the total musical persona. In his analysis of the problems inherent in this dual nature of the performer's job, Mr. Cone offers guidance that will prove of practical value to every performing musician. He has much to say to the listener as well. He recommends an imaginative participation in the component roles of musical work, leading to a sense of identification with the persona itself, as the path to complete musical understanding. And this approach is shown to be relevant to a number of specialized kids of listening as well--those applicable to analysis, historical scholarship, and criticism. The dance, too, is shown to depend on similar concepts. Although The Composer's Voice involves an investigation of how music functions as a form of communication, it is not primarily concerned with determine, or interpreting, the "content" of the message. A final chapter, however, puts forward a tentative explanation of musical "meaning" based on an interpretation of the art as a coalescence of symbolic utterance and symbolic gesture. While not essential to the main lines of the argument, it suggests interesting possibilities for further development of the dramatistic theory. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.
Mit der Publikation sämtlicher sechs- und achtstimmigen Motetten sowie aller Kanons schließt der vierte Band der NSE die Neuausgabe der Motetten Ludwig Senfls ab. Darunter finden sich Senfls berühmte ...Überarbeitung des Ave, Maria … Virgo serena von Josquin Desprez und die drei für die Zeit außergewöhnlich groß besetzten und mutmaßlich für Staatsereignisse komponierten achtstimmigen Motetten. Der Band enthält darüber hinaus sämtliche als reine Kanons konzipierten Werke, etwa den dreiteiligen Doppelkrebskanon Crux fidelis – Ecce lignum crucis – O crux, ave, das mit 3–6 Stimmen zu singende Laudate Dominum oder den Rätselkanon Salve, sancta parens, der ein magisches Quadrat bildet.Neben den wissenschaftlichen Editionen bietet der Band zahlreiche Abbildungen sowie umfassende Kritische Berichte zu jedem Werk, die über die Texte, Choralvorlagen und den werkgeschichtlichen Kontext informieren.With the publication of all six- and eight-part motets as well as all canons, the fourth volume of the NSE completes the new edition of Ludwig Senfl’s motets. Among them are Senfl’s famous re-working of Josquin Desprez’ Ave, Maria … Virgo serena, the three eight-part motets with an unusually large scoring for the time (presumably composed for state occasions). The volume also contains all works conceived as pure canons, such as the three-part double canon Crux fidelis – Ecce lignum crucis – O crux, ave, the Laudate Dominum for 3–6 voices, and the riddle canon Salve, sancta parens, which forms a magic square.In addition to the scholarly editions, the volume offers numerous illustrations as well as comprehensive critical reports on each work, including information on the texts, plainchant models, and the historical context of the works.
Recent research into Caddo bottle and biface morphology yielded evidence for two distinct behavioral regions, across which material culture from Caddo burials expresses significant morphological ...differences. This study asks whether Perdiz arrow points differ across the same geography, which would extend the pattern of morphological differences to a third category of Caddo material culture. Perdiz arrow points were employed to test the hypothesis that morphological attributes differ, and are predictable, between the two communities. The analysis of linear metrics indicated a significant difference in morphology by behavioral region. Using linear metrics combined with the tools of machine learning, a predictive model - support vector machine - was used to assess the degree to which community differences could be predicted, achieving a receiver operator curve score of 97% and an accuracy score of 94%. The landmark geometric morphometric analysis identified significant differences in Perdiz arrow point shape and size between behavioral regions - one characterized by a comparatively smaller blade and larger stem (north), and the other by a comparatively larger blade and smaller stem (south) - coupled with significant results for modularity and morphological integration. These findings build upon recent investigations that posited two discrete Caddo behavioral regions defined on the basis of discernible morphological differences, expanded here to include a third category of Caddo material culture.
Visual receptions of the Eden serpent throughout the history of Western art have reflected various interpretive attempts to understand the nature of this creature. In the investigation of these ...receptions, five iconographic categories emerge: the female-headed serpent, the demonic serpent, the dragon-like serpent, the etiological serpent, and the zoological serpent. Of these categories, all but the female-headed serpent survives in modern children’s Bible illustration. Due to the cultural prevalence of children’s Bibles and the tendency of images to inform later readings of texts, these visual receptions of the Eden serpent hold significant interpretive power for the child. Survivals of demonic, dragon-like, and etiological iconographic categories in modern children’s Bibles limit the interpretive possibilities of the child’s subsequent reading of the biblical text. The child is predisposed to regard the serpent as a demonic figure or a fantastical creature, or to regard Genesis 3 as a purely etiological tale, proscribing other interpretive possibilities. In contrast, the survival of the zoological serpent in modern children’s Bibles highlights the interpretive tensions within the Hebrew text of Genesis 3. Rather than proscribing certain interpretations of the Eden serpent, the survival of the zoological serpent in modern children’s Bibles invites the child to interact with the interpretive gaps and ambiguities in both text and image.
Most modern definitions of art fail to successfully address the issue of the ever-changing nature of art, and rarely even attempt to provide an account that would be valid in more than just the ...modern Western context. This article develops a new theory that preserves the advantages of its predecessors, solves or avoids their problems, and has a scope wide enough to account for art of different times and cultures. It argues that an object is art in a given context iff some person(s) culturally competent in this context have afforded it the status of a candidate for appreciation for reasons considered good in this context. This weakly institutional view is supplemented by auxiliary definitions explaining the notions of cultural contexts, competence, and good reasons for affording the status. The relativisation to contexts brings increased explanatory power and scope, and the ability to account for the diversity of art.
The Power of Practice showcases the pioneering achievements of renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin (1916-99) and how both disciplines transformed his life and practice. Menuhin's contributions as a ...performer, teacher, and humanitarian are celebrated around the world. Less well known, however, is Menuhin's devotion to the practice of yoga and his close friendship with the renowned yogi B. K. S. Iyengar (1918–2014), whose guidance profoundly influenced Menuhin as both a musician and a philanthropist. Menuhin applied his understanding of Iyengar's teachings to his philosophy of musical practice, creating new ways to approach the teaching of violin technique. He also took broader lessons from yoga to inform his approach to interacting with the larger world as a cultural ambassador and influential artist. Through the lens of the life and work of the celebrated violinist and devoted yogi, this book uncovers deep connections between music and yoga. It shows how the practice of both disciplines can profoundly transform our world into a better place.
When the borderline cases of art occur in non-art categories, the debate of artistic status arises not only with regard to the individual cases but also with regard to the category to which they ...belong. The identity of the individual case tends to be defined in connection to the category it belongs to. It tends to formulate that, if the individual case is art, then the entire category is also art, and if the category is not art, then the individual case is also not art. Such a view inevitably hampers the artistic status of works arising from the non-art categories. This article argues that the individual cases and their belonging categories need not be strictly interlocking and that they could possess multiple identities depending on the context that they are present. Thus the point shifts from whether the case is or is not art in its absolute sense to ‘when’ is it art.
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