Music—Drastic or Gnostic?

Abbate, Carolyn

doi:10.1086/421160

Cited by 323 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…It is important to point out that – starting from early approaches ( Mattheson, 1722–1725 ; Scheibe, 1737 /1740) – music criticism was first and foremost developed into a critique of works and compositions ( Dahlhaus, 1971 ; Monelle, 2002 ), for which Schumann (1854/1985) ; see also Plantinga (1967 ) and Hanslick (1870) provide prime examples, rather than an explicit critique of musical performance ( Ertelt and von Loesch, 2021 ). Only “opera criticism offers a striking exception” in this context given its predominant focus on the quality of “opera singers’ voices” ( Abbate, 2004 , p. 508; see also Fenner, 1994 ; Baldassarre, 2009 ; Ellis, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The critic’s voice: On the role and function of criticism of classical music recordings

2022

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In the Western classical tradition music criticism represents one of the most complex and influential forms of performance assessment and evaluation. However, in the age of peer opinion sharing and quick communication channels it is not clear what place music critics’ judgments still hold in the classical music market. This article presents expert music critics’ view on their role, function, and influence. It is based on semi-structured interviews with 14 native English- and German-speaking critics who had an average of 32 years professional activity in classical music review. We present the first visual model to summarize music critics’ descriptions of their role and responsibilities, writing processes, and their influences (on the market and on artists). The model distinguishes six roles (hats): consumer adviser, teacher, judge, writer, stakeholder, and artist advocate. It identifies core principles governing critical writing for music as well as challenges that arise from balancing the above six responsibilities whilst remaining true to an implicit code of conduct. Finally, it highlights the factors that inform critics’ writing in terms of the topics they discuss and the discursive tools they employ. We show that music critics self-identify as highly skilled mediators between artists, producers and consumers, and justify their roles as judge and teacher based on a wealth of experience as against the influx of pervasive amateur reviews. Our research approach also offers occupation-based insights into professional music review standards, including the challenges of maintaining objectivity and resisting commercial pressures. This article offers a new viewpoint on music critics’ judgments and recommendations that helps to explain their expectations and reflections.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The critic’s voice: On the role and function of criticism of classical music recordings

2022

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“…He questions whether historical research is any less vulnerable than analysis to charges of solipsism and notes historical evidence pointing to the importance of analytical/theoretical concerns in different times and places. The performative critique, which received its most sustained exposition from Nicholas Cook (1999, in sharp distinction to Schmalfeldt 1985, Narmour 1988and Berry 1989) and ( 2013), as well as Carolyn Abbate (2004), presents an oppositional dichotomy between analysis and performance, especially when the former is alleged to exert a hegemonic influence over the latter. Small and Cook seek to decentre musical 'texts' and even the very idea of 'music' as an object rather than a series of actions.…”

Section: Esther Cavett King's College London; Somerville College Oxfordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Valuing the Surplus: Perspectives on Julian Horton's Article ‘On the Musicological Necessity of Music Analysis’, Musical Quarterly, 3/i–ii, pp. 62–104.Contributors: Kofi Agawu, Gurminder K. Bhogal, Esther Cavett, Jonathan Dunsby, Julian Horton, Alexandra Monchick, Ian Pace, Henry Stobart and Simon Zagorski‐Thomas, compiled and edited by Esther Cavett

Agawu,

Bhogal,

Cavett

et al. 2023

Music Analysis

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Julian Horton's 2020 article on the ‘necessity of analysis’ delineates previous critiques of music analysis into the performative and the historicist and counters their assumptions. He proposes that analysis remains viable in light of historical, ontological, systemic, discursive, phenomenological and political imperatives. Seven respondents critique his account from the perspectives of pedagogy, performance, traditional literacies, popular music, ethnomusicology, world music and the postcolonial. Horton responds to these responses, and Jonathan Dunsby concludes with a summary of key issues. This Critical Forum is proposed as a kaleidoscopic collection rather than a single review and raises fundamental questions about the nature of analysis within the academy, and the very purpose of musicological research.

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“…or to its physical constituents. What really matters, on the contrary, is the dynamic, multifaceted, and multisensorial phenomenon of the music (Eidsheim, 2015, p. 2) with effects that can be “devastating, physically brutal, mysterious, erotic, moving, boring, pleasing, enervating, or uncomfortable, generally embarrassing, subjective, and resistant to the gnostic” (Abbate, 2004, p. 514). This means that our actual involvement with music is mainly “experienced” rather than being solely “reasoned” and “interpreted” (Reybrouck, 2014, 2017; Reybrouck and Eerola, 2017): it is drastic rather than gnostic to use Jankélévitch’s terms (Jankélévitch, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Music and Noise: Same or Different? What Our Body Tells Us

2019

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In this article, we consider music and noise in terms of vibrational and transferable energy as well as from the evolutionary significance of the hearing system of Homo sapiens . Music and sound impinge upon our body and our mind and we can react to both either positively or negatively. Much depends, in this regard, on the frequency spectrum and the level of the sound stimuli, which may sometimes make it possible to set music apart from noise. There are, however, two levels of description: the physical-acoustic description of the sound and the subjective-psychological reactions by the listeners. Starting from a vibrational approach to sound and music, we first investigate how sound may activate the sense of touch and the vestibular system of the inner ear besides the sense of hearing. We then touch upon distinct issues such as the relation between low-frequency sounds and annoyance, the harmful effect of loud sound and noise, the direct effects of overstimulation with sound, the indirect effects of unwanted sounds as related to auditory neurology, and the widespread phenomenon of liking loud sound and music, both from the point of view of behavioral and psychological aspects.

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Music—Drastic or Gnostic?

Cited by 323 publications

References 8 publications

The critic’s voice: On the role and function of criticism of classical music recordings

The critic’s voice: On the role and function of criticism of classical music recordings

Music and Noise: Same or Different? What Our Body Tells Us

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