The Principles of AestheticsParker, De Witt H. (De Witt Henry)
Philosophy
The Principles of Aesthetics
Parker, De Witt H. (De Witt Henry)
Aesthetics
The methods by which the larger musical wholes are built up illustrate
principles of aesthetic structure with which we are already familiar.
There is the harmonious unification of parts through the simple
repetition of motives, their inversion or imitation in higher or lower
keys, either successively or simultaneously; the execution of the same
theme in another time or tempo; and through the interweaving of themes.
There is the balance of contrasted or competing themes; the
subordination of the lesser to the more striking and insistent motives;
the preparation for, emergence and triumph of, a final passage that
resolves all dissonances and adjusts all conflicts. Because of music's
abstractness, the connection between the parts of a musical composition
may be loose or subtle, taxing the synthetic powers even of the educated
listener; yet some contrast or analogy of feeling must always unite
them. The structure of the whole may be either static or dramatic; in
the former case the dramatic element is confined to the themes, the
purpose of the whole being merely to work out all their significant
variations,--to embroider and repeat them in new keys and rhythms and
tempos, and to contrast them with other themes. Repetition is the great
creative principle of musical development, the composer seeking to say
over again in ever new forms what he has said before. And this, again
because of the abstractness of music, is a significant process; to
repeat the concrete is tiresome and trivial, but an abstract form is
always enriched by appearing in a new shape.
The explanation of musical expression thus far given, although it
suffices to account for the basis of all musical feeling, is, I think,
inadequate to its full volume and intensity. There is a concreteness
of emotional content in some musical compositions--an arousal of terror
and longing and despair and joy--infinitely richer than any abstract
forms of feeling.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account