Isomorphic aspects of conceptual metaphor in music analysis

Abstract

Form is the vessel of the spirit. The greater its capacity, the greater the spirit needed to fill it. The word 'symphony' designates the largest proportions so far achieved in the realm of instrumental music. Robert Schumann, 'Review of Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony' The quote above from Schumann's famous review of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique represents the often poetic language music scholars employ to describe and analyze music. 1 We are able to recognize this poetic language by considering the literal implications of, for example, the opening statement. We might be familiar with versions of this statement if we think of "form" as bodily form. It is a fairly common metaphysical concept that the flesh-and-blood body houses the spirit, soul, mind, and consciousness. The concept, however, is based upon a metaphor, because neither bodily form nor musical form literally holds the spirit within themselves. The metaphor used in the opening statement, of course, is describing musical 5 We can see the multiple interpretations of metaphor by surveying a few recent sources such as