Historical Hermeneutics of Musical Styles

The relevance of the study of the historical hermeneutics of musical styles is determined by the need to find a philosophical basis for changing the cultural paradigm and the desire to return classical canons to musical art in particular. The aim of the work is to analyse the characteristic features of the interpretation of musical styles in accordance with the principles of historical hermeneutics on the example of jazz music. The research was conducted in two stages on the basis of interdisciplinary, systematic and hermeneutical approaches using general scientific methods of cognition: analysis, synthesis, systematization, comparison and ascent from the abstract to the concrete. In the process of scientific research, the views of researchers on the interpretation and understanding of hermeneutics in the context of musical art were considered; a general characteristic of the hermeneutics of musical styles in accordance with historical and philosophical prerequisites was given; the main elements of the theoretical model of musical philosophy of interpretation, which include critical interpretation, the purpose of interpretation, compatibility with description and limitation by requirements were described; the author’s concept of interpretation of musical styles, formed at three levels, were proposed; the characteristics of the hermeneutics of jazz style, in particular the presence of musical improvisational discourse, historical duality, transcendentality of content and form, advertising integration are determined; the article summarizes the specifics of jazz in accordance with two components: the European harmonic system and the fret principles of blues intonation, which made it possible to identify and generalize the theory of interpretation of jazz in the historical and philosophical paradigm. The practical value of scientific work consists in providing a comprehensive hermeneutical base of jazz style in order to further improve the practical application of musical style by teachers, students, musicians and specialists in the field of musical art.

Glenn Gould in six scenes

Glenn Gould’s legacy revolves around his retirement from the concert hall in 1964. Studies of his artistry often reflect on that by following a particular impulse: to seek out the rational underpinnings of this decision and to explain them in terms of a larger technological or aesthetic vision. Drawing in particular on the work of Virginia Held and Sara Ahmed, this article conceptualises Gould’s abandonment of the concert hall as an act of self-care, a mechanism for coping with the increasingly intrusive and exploitative celebrity musical culture into which he was catapulted as a young musician. Thus, this article frames Gould’s self-care in terms of six overlapping scenes, as he performed in the concert hall and recording studio, in interviews and essays, and in front of the camera as photographic subject and television actor, culminating with a case study based on an excerpt from Bruno Monsaingeon’s documentary Glenn Gould: The Alchemist. The study concludes by suggesting that Gould’s artistic choices (and achievements) had much more to do with cultivating caring relations that allowed him to thrive than they did with an individual pursuit of a grand musical philosophy.

The “Znamenny Life” as a Condtion For Learning the Orthodox Chant(to the 25th Anniversary of Publishing the Monograph by Archpriest B. Nikolaev)

Исследование протоиерея Бориса Николаева «Знаменный распев и крюковая нотация как основы русского православного церковного пения», изданная в России в 1995 году, представляет не только научный интерес, но и практический. Круг затронутых в монографии вопросов выходит за рамки заявленной темы, охватывая многие аспекты богослужебного пения, включая методологию его исследования. В постижении сути церковных песнопений прот. Б. Николаев предлагает обратиться к «музыкальной философии» всего корпуса древних распевов, а в качестве основного метода научного исследования исходить из арсенала не музыкально-теоретической или историко- археологической науки, а богословской, рассматривая богослужебное пение как неотъемлемую составляющую церковной службы. Проблема проникновения в глубинные смыслы богослужебного пения остро стоит перед современным обществом, которая снимается, по убеждению прот. Бориса, только через личное нравственное совершенствование каждого из его членов. Вместе с тем, и само обращение к древним распевам способствует очищению и преображению души. The study of Archpriest Boris Nikolaev “The Znamenny Chant and Hooked Notation as the Basis of Russian Orthodox Church Singing," published in Russia in 1995, presents not only scientific but also practical interest. The range of issues raised in the monograph goes beyond the stated topic, covering many aspects of liturgy, including the study methodology. In the attempt to comprehend the essence of the church chant, Archpriest B. Nikolaev suggests turning to the "musical philosophy" of the entire corps of ancient chants, and proposes, as the main method of scientific research, to proceed from the theological nature of church service, without confining the study to musical-theoretical or historical-archaeological disciplines. The problem of understanding the profound meaning of liturgical singing is an urgent one for the modern society, and according to according to Archpriest Boris Nikolaev it may find its resolution only through the personal moral development of each society member. Meanwhile the very appeal to the ancient chants contributes to the spiritual purification and transformation.

Sensing Sound: Aesthetic and Religious Experience According to al-Ghazālī

The Muslim theologian Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 1111) is one of the most often cited authors when it comes to "music and Islam." His “Book on the Etiquette of Listening and Ecstasy” (*Kitāb Ādāb as-samāʿ wa-l-wajd*), translated into English more than a hundred years ago, is widely circulated among Muslims in the East and West, in Arabic and English, in print and on the internet. This paper re-examines the text against the background of Arab musical theory of the time when it was written, and analyses selected technical terms that allude to concepts rooted in Late Antique musical philosophy and become also tangible in the Qurʾān. al-Ghazālī recognises both aesthetic pleasure and the transformative power of sounds and gives guidance how to channel the hearing perception into a salvific experience.

The Music Road

The book, derived from the Balzan musicology project ‘Towards a global history of music’, describes cultural traditions and communication patterns of music, dance and theatre in the world region between India and the Mediterranean in the last 2000 years. The new metaphor of the ‘Music Road’—the western half of the ‘Silk Road’—refers to the travels of musical songs, instruments and ideas across both space and time. The book has an introduction and 16 chapters, each by a different author. Highlighted are the following cultural traditions: ancient Gandhāra (first centuries ce); traditions of the Alexander legend; the musical philosophy and practice of Muslim societies; colonial India and the West; Greek music and nationalism (19th–20th centuries); travelling music-theatre companies in the Eastern Mediterranean; the ‘Gypsy rhapsody’ in European art music. The keynote chapter by Martin Stokes reviews the work of Villoteau and Lachmann, advocating a fusion of historical thought and ethnomusicology. The book offers case studies not only on music per se, but also on fine art, dance, musical theatre, on the theology, philosophy, historiography and literature of music, and on East–West relations in the musical practice of colonial and modern times. It is argued in the introduction and implied elsewhere that the musical culture of this world region, and its interactions with the West, have always been on the move, that its diversities and disruptions are counterbalanced by numerous internal and external linkages, and that the reifying term of ‘orientalism’ might be replaced by ‘the East–West imagination’.

Martem Accendere Cantu: The Meaning of Music on the Battlefield

This paper examines in detail an under-appreciated passage from Philodemus of Gadara’s On Music in order to elucidate several important controversies in Hellenistic musical philosophy. The Stoic Diogenes of Babylon claimed that the emotional impact of trumpet tunes can inspire soldiers to fight. But the Epicurean Philodemus believed that the meaningful words (λόγοι) which stimulate our actions are utterly distinct from meaningless musical sound (µουσική). Philodemus therefore framed an alternative theory in which trumpet calls on the battlefield function not as music but as a kind of makeshift language, using conventional signifiers to communicate instructions. I show how both philosophers’ views arise logically out of doctrines from their respective schools. I then argue that the trumpet’s dual status as both performance instrument and communications device makes it a natural philosophical flashpoint: it raises central questions about what music is, how it affects listeners, and whether it can convey meaning.

Schulz w operze

The article describes three operas inspired by the works of Bruno Schulz: 1976 Demiurgos by Juliusz Łuciuk, Mannequins by Zbigniew Rudziński, premiered in 1981, and Tree of Codes, written by the Australian composer Liza Lim, premiered in 2016 in Germany. The fate of two Polish operas inspired by Schulz varies considerably – there has been no stage premiere of Demiurgos yet, and Mannequins have won world fame. Demiurgos is a sonorous opera in which the composer, through the relationship of the father and his son, presents his own musical philosophy – the coexistence of tradition and modernity. Rudziński is fascinated with Schulz’s language, which he believes can be translated into a musical language and which has its musical potential. Lim’s opera, composed after reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s Tree of Codes, presents a mythical place beyond time, a fluid reality in which boundaries are unstable, and characters undefined and hybrid.