Chapter 19
The Growth of Pluralism
Thursday, February 7, 13
From Homogeneity to
Diversity
•
by the end of the 20th century, the US’s melting
pot metaphor had changed to that of a mosaic
•
mistrust of new music was still common in first
half and middle of century: Schoenberg,
Stravinsky, Ragtime, Jazz, Rock and Roll
•
in later decades of century, audiences became
more inclined to embrace music they liked and
simply ignore any they found objectionable
Thursday, February 7, 13
From Homogeneity to
Diversity
• by 1980s, Western society was embracing
greater diversity of musical idioms than at
any point in its past
• innovations in technology created new
opportunities for audiences to select content
• marketing dictates musical works -
specifically, recordings - be packaged in such a
way as to target specific audiences and tastes
Thursday, February 7, 13
The next concert by
Schoenberg in Vienna
Schoenberg continues to conduct even
though pandemonium has broken out.
The image caricatures an actual event in
which a performance of Berg’s Altenberg
Lieder, op. 4, led to open revolt of the
audience.
Thursday, February 7, 13
The Past Confronts the
Present
•
listening public’s interest in new idioms was in
new and early music
•
earlier repertories that had been previously
inaccessible to music public became readily
available through scores, performances, and
recordings
•
between 1950 and 1980, a number of
outstanding groups arose that specialized in
period instruments
Thursday, February 7, 13
The Past Confronts the
Present
• by late 1970s, Josquin, Du Fay and Machaut
joined Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms in the
record (and later CD) stores
• Gregorian chant hit the charts in the
mid-1990s
• a great deal of supposedly new music in the
20th century was extremely old but style of
it was new to listeners
Thursday, February 7, 13
Recorded vs. Live Music
•
with phonograph, for the first time in history, a
performance could be preserved and repeated
and a work of music could be heard outside
presence of performing musician
•
phonograph supplemented by radio, TV, video, and
audiotape, CD and other recording technologies
•
today greater selection of music is more readily
available to more people in more places that ever
before
Thursday, February 7, 13
Authenticity
•
idea of performing work of music in manner
that reflected composer’s original intentions
became more important
•
study of genuine techniques included different
kinds of vibrato, articulation, attack, approaches
to tempo, dynamics, phrasing
•
repertories shrank: instrumentalists dropped
most arrangements of works not originally
composed for their instruments
Thursday, February 7, 13
Authenticity
•
in other repertories, authenticity took a
different form
•
jazz and rock vocalists cultivated sound
considered emotionally authentic because it
ran counter to standards of cultivated voice
production
•
a “realistic” sound, unvarnished by training and
practice, was taken to be a reflection of the
performer’s emotional authenticity
Thursday, February 7, 13
The Uses of Music in 20th
Century Society
• Music and the State
Thursday, February 7, 13
-
music took on a even more significant role in political
life in the 20th century
-
instrumental music was particularly susceptible to
varied political interpretations including Beethoven’s
symphonies
The Uses of Music in 20th
Century Society
• Music and the State
-
Soviet Union struggled with nontraditional musical
styles
•
-
Thursday, February 7, 13
absolute music (particularly abstract, complex music) was censured as
“formalist” on grounds it was seemingly written without consideration of
its emotional effect on average citizens
US government never became embroiled in musical
politics to the same degree as western Europe
The Uses of Music in 20th
Century Society
• Music and Race
Thursday, February 7, 13
-
music played a vital role in ongoing struggle for racial
justice throughout the world, particularly in the US
-
African-American artists had to adapt their music and
stage presentation to be accepted by white audiences
-
ragtime, jazz, rock increasingly brought black and white
performers and audiences together when American
society and most institutions were racially segregated
The Uses of Music in 20th
Century Society
• Music and Protest
-
Thursday, February 7, 13
protest music of three movements in the 20th
Century
1.
labor movement, especially in the decades 1910-1950
2.
civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s
3.
opposition to the Vietnam War from the mid-1960s through the early
1970s
The Uses of Music in 20th
Century Society
•
Thursday, February 7, 13
Music Therapy
-
music has been used to cure illnesses since ancient times
-
in clinical settings, music therapy helped patients suffering from
neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s deseases
-
scientists believe music’s therapeutic effects relate to its ability
to enhance processes by which brain reorganizes cerebral
functions damaged by disease or injury
in 20th century, music therapy established as an acknowledged
protocol for treatment of psychological, physical, and cognitive
problems
The Uses of Music in 20th
Century Society
• Ambient Music
Thursday, February 7, 13
-
background music’s primary purpose is to shape actions
and attitudes rather than to be focus of attention
-
few listeners are aware of presence of ambient music
-
ambient music is characterized by widely spaced
texture, soft dynamics, subdued sense of rhythm or
pulse
by end of century, it had become most widely heard
source of music in world
Music in the 20th Century:
Stylistic Overview
• anyone who composes music today can
choose from an unprecedented array of
options in every element of the art
• styles vary so markedly from genre to
genre, with genres, and even within the
work of many individual composers that it
is no longer possible to identify a lowest
common denominator of style
Thursday, February 7, 13
Music in the 20th Century:
Stylistic Overview
•
•
•
textures ranged from extremely simple to complex
•
harmony was perceived in first two-thirds of 20th
century as defining element of style
•
•
form ranged from simple to complex
Thursday, February 7, 13
rhythm manifested itself in a variety of possibilities
melody varied greatly according to genre, intended
audience, function of work
instrumentation featured greater use and variety of
percussion and electronically generated sounds