Remixing the Music of the Spheres: Listening to the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrine for the Sociology of Music Author(s): Lee Blackstone Source: International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, Vol. 42, No. 1 (JUNE 2011), pp. 3-31 Published by: Croatian Musicological Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41228640 . Accessed: 02/10/2014 17:37 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
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L. Blackstone: Remixingthe Music ofthe Spheres: Listeningto the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrineforthe Sociology of Music
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IRASM 42 (2011) 1:3-31
Lee Blackstone
Remixing the Music of the Spheres: Listening to the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrine for the Sociology of Music
...no law can obligethesubjectto takehispleasurewhere I he doesnotwanttogo | no law (whateverthereasonsmightbeforhis resistance), is in a positiontoconstrain ourlistening: freedom oflisteningis as necessaryas freedom ofspeech.
RolandBarthes(1976)
»I heardYourvoicein thegarden,«replied[theman], »and I was afraidbecause I was naked,so I hid.«- Genesis 3:10 Cum On Feel TheNoize.
Slade (1973)
The GermandirectorWim Wenderscaptures momentsoflistening in his 1987film extraordinary WingsofDesire (Der HimmelüberBerlin).The angels
Damiel (playedby BrunoGanz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander)wanderthewall-dividedcityofBerlin, privy to ordinarymortals'cascadingthoughtsthatpermeatethecitymuchlikethefrequencies ofa shortwave radio. The angel Damiel has a longingto becomecorporeal, and he fallsinlovewitha trapeze
Departmentof Sociology SUNY College at Old Westbury P.O. Box 210 OLD WESTBURY, NY 11568-0210, U.S.A. E-mail:
[email protected] UDC: 78.01:78.067 OriginalScientificPaper Izvorniznanstvenirad Received: May 2, 2010 Primljeno:5. svibnja 2010. Accepted: November 1, 2010 Prihvačeno: 1. studenog 2010.
Abstract - Résumé
Pythagoras'ancient principleof the 'music ofthe spheres' established linkages between people, nature,and the heavens. The idea of a musical universeoperatingaccordingto principlesof beauty and truth became foundationalto the developmentofWesterncivilization. I argue thatthisdoctrine has also exerted influenceon sociological theoriesconcerning listeningto music. I assert that as the modernworldwas transformedby the divisionof labor and scientificrationality, people's relationshipwithmusic was likewisealtered. New sounds destabilized the older Listehierarchyof unification. ningto music emerges inthis as a social construction, study subject to power and control, whichdelineates social boundaries. However,I argue thatthe conceptionof music as a vehicle oftranscendence persists in musical theorizing fromPythagoras'timeto the contemporaryage.
Keywords: listening• Pythagoras • modernity • noise • utopía
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L- B'ackstone: Remixingthe Music ofthe Spheres: Listeningto the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrineforthe Sociology of Music
In a cardealership, unseenin a display Marion(SolveigDommartin). artist, sitting of modelon theshowroomfloor,Damieland Cassielcomparetheirobservations thehumanworld;afterwhich,Damielopinesthat totestify Iťsgreattolivebythespirit, daybyday...foreternity, onlywhat's I'mfedup withmyspiritual inpeople'sminds. Butsometimes, spiritual Instead offorever above...I'dliketofeela weight existence. hovering growin andtotiemetoearth. me...toendtheinfinity 13.36) (13.16 Filmedin black and white,the angels of WingsofDesireare doomed to of human observe;they are separatedfromthe densityand imperfection in »in human Damiel's of life, words, pretense.« vicariously partaking experience, and ideasneed ofoverheard is thateventhecataloguing Theimplication thoughts ofthehumanconditobe trulyfelt.Momentsofcomprehension thetugofgravity theblack tioncomecrashingintoWenders'filmin burstsofcolor,transgressing and whitebarrierofangelicperception. One of WingsofDesire'smostmemorablescenesoccursin Berlin'spublic Hereone findsnotonlyDamieland Cassielmeandering slowlyamongst library. ofthetransthepatrons;black-coated silentlypartaking angelsare everywhere, oftheold and theyoung.Theycranetheireyesovershouldersto mittedthoughts peep at the books being read and notesbeing written.Sound and sightare intowhatis a sensual totheangels.On thelibrary floor,Cassieldrifts voyeuristic actoflistening to thehumofhumanactivity: slowly,he closeshis eyes,cocking hishead to one side; and then,his head and neckarchslowlybackwards.(17.22 - 17.37)In thatbriefmoment, an immaterial angelicbodyapes thelongingofthe physicalbody.Does Cassiel yearn?CertainlyDamiel does, and when Damiel becomeshumanin his questto be withMarion,he experiencesat a concertthe musicofNickCave and theBad Seeds in all ofitsraging,weightyhumancolor. meandersthestageamongsttheband,locked Cassiel,on theotherhand,listlessly intoblack and white,eventuallyturninghis disconsolateface away fromthe musicand intothestagewall. tomusic I haveextrapolated on thisculturalexampletoask:whatis listening themselves and how have socialtheorists for?How is our listeningconstituted, natureof The abstract, ethereal,and fleeting analyzedand critiquedlistening? musichas oftenbeenconstruedas a bridge,a mediatorbetweentheearthlyand to our I wishto arguethatthereareundercurrents theheavenward.In thisspirit, I am of that have made our ears contested battlegrounds. talking histolistenings riesofsound thatcomedown to us as whispersofwhichwe are dimlyaware: traditions fromancient, whether (Duffin2007;Godwin1995;James1993; mystical Levenson1995); or, fromanalysesthatposit the act of listeningas socially constructed (Adorno1938;Blackstone2009;Douglas 1999;Johnson1995;Martin as 1995;Szendy2008);or,fromtheturninculturalstudiesthatredefined listening 4
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L. Blackstone: Remixingthe Music of the Spheres: Listeningto the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrineforthe Sociology of Music
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■ irasM 42 (2011) I / 1a• 3-31
an activeact,ratherthana passiveone (Acordand DeNora 2008;Becker1974; DeNora 2000;Frith1996;Martin1995;Small 1998);or,fromwritingthattreats as an actthattakesus beyondtheinteriority ofselfand intothecreative listening the social. Attali Barthes1991;Nancy2007; of 2002; 1985; (Adorno, composition Storr1992) and theequipment Modesoflistening becomeembeddedinourtechnologies thatwe utilizeto hearsoundseveryday (Sterne2003;Szendy2008).An explorationoflistening musthearkentoC. Wright Mills'wordsfromhis 1959essay»The CulturalApparatus«: thehumancondition is thatmenliveinsecondThefirst ruleforunderstanding handworlds. Theyareawareofmuchmorethantheyhavepersonally experienced; andtheir is alwaysindirect. Thequality oftheir livesis determined ownexperience from others... lifetheydo not [I]ntheir everyday bymeanings theyhavereceived a solid their itself is selected world of fact; experience experience bystereotyped andshapedbyready-made (Mills1963:405) meanings interpretations. Sociologistsmay seek to uncoverhidden realitiesveiled behind social of phenomena,the »stereotyped meanings«and »ready-madeinterpretations« Mills'socialactors;butI wouldalso arguethatsocialtheoriesthemselves areoften builton frameworks thatare likewiseheirsto past construction. Understanding a the'meanings'ofmusic,and ofourlistenings^ us to subjects sociologyofknowabout that and reified as music is concealed the aestheticbeauty. by ledge past we Whenwe tuneintothesociologyofmusic,as withanysociologicaldiscipline, mustcontendwithechoes. The musicologistNicholas Cook has argued a numberof suppositions undergirdhow we thinkaboutmusic;forexample,thenotionsthatcomposers are moreimportant thanmusicians,and thatlistenersare passiveconsumersof musicalproducts.Cook proposesthatideas suchas thesewieldhegemonicforce, and are acceptedas routinetruths. Yet»...none ofthesethingsare natural;they areall humanconstructions, and accordingly productsofculture, theyvaryfrom timetotimeand fromplacetoplace.«(1998:17)Cook'scontention is akintoanalyticalpositionstakenbysymbolicinteractionists and socialconstructionists within To that a of music or sociology. accept particular way performing hearingmusfëis 'natural'meansthatthatculturalformation musthavebeenestablishedby social actorsin a processof social interaction All meaningsin the and collaboration. socialworldaresubjecttothisongoing,creativeprocess,as humanagentsrespond and readjustthemselvesto one another'sactions,words,and expectations. For human intercourse occurs withinthebounds interactionists, symbolic meaningful ofa definition Shouldthesocialsituation be vagueandunstructured, ofa situation. individualswillmovetowardsestablishing a foundational definition foraction; of the situationmay be but, where a situationis lucid to all, the definition 5
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'abstract'workofpuremusicalsound;therewas no senseto harmoniclanguage nortolerance forcomplicated musical'statements/ Composers,whentheyaltered musicalconventions, ran the riskof losing theiraudience'sexpectationsand patience.Butcometheriseofthesuccessful bourgeoisieaftertheturnofthecenbehavior once was constructed anew.How one listenedtury,listening again and without reference to one's silently subjectively, peers- becamea badge of (Johnson 1995) bourgeoispropriety. oflistening was evidentinmusicvenues. Bythe1830s,thealteration practices Cook describesthe change as the dawn of »bourgeoissubjectivity«: »...they exploredand celebratedtheinnerworldoffeelingand emotion;music,in particular,turnedawayfromtheworldandbecamededicatedtopersonalexpression.« thenew privileging oftheinterior worldto a (1998:19)Johnson (1995)attributes could createindividualsas policingof one's socialbehaviors.The marketplace wealthyas manya noble;however,a newbourgeoiscouldbe undonebythesame economicforcesthathad bestowedwealth.The new capitalistclass had to assureitselfofitsprecariousposition,and thistranslated intobeing continually and politeinsidethe concerthall. Etiquetteproscribedsome silent,respectful, others.»In labelinga rangeofbehaviorsunacceptbehaviors,whilepermitting able, and definingwhen the acceptableones could be expressed,politeness directedmusicalresponsesinward,carvingoutforsocialreasonsa privatesphere offeelingthatin earliergenerations had beenpublic.«(1995:235-236) The GermanwriterE.T.A.Hoffman(1776-1822)situatedthenew aesthetic withinthe Romanticmovement.'Pure' instrumental musichad its value: the of individual to exploration feeling. According Hoffman, discloses tomananunknown a worldthathasnothing incommon with realm, [M]usic theexternal sensual worldthatsurrounds him heleavesbehind him,a worldinwhich alldefinite tosurrender himself toaninexpressible (inGriffiths feelings longing, 2006:160) The'longing'alludedtobyHoffman couldhavebeenthereclamation offeelthat had been denied due to older social and musical conventions. ings expression connections tonatureand Perhapsevena bourgeoismightpineforthetraditional God thathad been rentasunderby modernization and thedivisionoflabor.Of themoderncomposerswhowouldrevolutionize notonlymusiccomposition but theact oflisteningitself,forging a linkbetweenindividualemotionand divine it was Ludwig van Beethoven(1770-1827)who came to epitomize inspiration, Romanticism. Beethovenis regardedas thefirsttrulymoderncomposerformanyreasons thatare sociologically Unlikethelegionsofcomposerswho had gone important. beforehim,Beethovendid not settleintoa salariedposition.He did have his mainpursuitwas to writemusicin his way,according patrons;but,Beethoven's 17
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*-.Blackstone: Remixingthe Music of the Spheres: Listeningto the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrineforthe Sociology of Music
to his individualistic style.Beethovendid notpanderto audienceexpectations, whichis whatled manyaudiencesofhis timeto declarehimas a madman.He withhisdemonsand appearedas a composeruntoand truetohimself, grappling the outsideworldthroughhim.Beethoven's hard-wonautonomy interpolating markedhimas an individualinan erathatalsonowallowedmembers ofa listening audienceto discovertheirinnermostfeelingsthroughmusic.Beethovenalso to hima freedomthat struggledwithhis deafness,and his devoteesattributed itwas thought, was tobe pursuedthrough isolatedBeethoven music;hisdisability, world.Hoffman was complicit inheralding fromtoomuchofthesensuous,external Beethoven's musicas specialwas genius,declaringthatwhatmarkedBeethoven's thathe was »...addressingnot the multitudebut the individuallistener,led forward intothespiritworldoftheInfinite.'« (Griffiths 2006:161) 'imperiously Ifmusichad becomean alternative thenpartofBeethoven's religion, legacy was to establishtheauthoritative voiceofthecomposer.Concertaudiencesnow musicas a vehicleto eternaltruthand personalrevelation. utilizedinstrumental The resultofthisnew aesthetic, practicedin new,specializedlisteninghalls,in serviceto a new musicthatdemandedindividualistic was to further attention, solidifythedivisionofmusicallaborbetweenthecomposer,themusicians,and the audience.As people listenedto a musicalcomposition, audiencesfeltthat with were a a soul. Furthermore, communing composer's they composersuchas Beethovenmusthave been divinelyinspired:to listento Beethoven,then,was withthe akinto tuningintoa reaffirmation of thevibrating, cosmicharmony, Creatorworkingthroughan earthlyagent.(Cook 1998) Max Weberwroteof charismathat'natural'leadershave »...gifts... believedto be supernatural, not accessibleto everybody.« (Weber,ed. Gerthand Mills1948:245)Beethovenhad a but to attribute thisbrillianceto himwas a 'giftofgrace'that specialbrilliance, the ofhistime. cultural work emergedthrough Tia DeNora wroteof thesocial conditionsduringthetimethatBeethoven spent,beginningin 1791,in Vienna.DeNora foundthatan ideologicaland economicbattlewas wagedbetweenaristocrats and theuppermiddleclassesto and musicalvenues.Supporting music offer orchestras, patronageto composers, new was an indicatorofsocial status,and in thepursuitof social advancement wealththreatened thehegemony ofaristocratic favor.In thislight,Beethovenalso became an important, charismaticfigureas he was recognizedas a 'great' composer.To confer'greatness'on Beethovenwas also partof the aristocratic todefine'serious'music,a markerofgood tasteand gentility, versusless attempt and folkmusic.(DeNora 1991) challenging compositions Wearefacedwithparadoxesconcerning thebourgeoislistening audiencesof thenineteenth century. Capitalism,Marxand Engels(1848,1964ed.) espoused, and quickactionon thepartofthebourgeoisie.Suchcreative, requiredinventive economicactivityreinforced behavior.(Berman1988)However, individualistic over the courseof the nineteenth the century audiencesin the concerthalls 18
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L. Blackstone: Remixingthe Music of the Spheres: Listeningto the Relevance ofan Ancient Doctrineforthe Sociology of Music
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IDA6U 42 Л9 #9П44«1s ..ч«M1 IRASM (2011)
conformed totheconvention ofsilentlistening. (Johnson 1995)A person'sinterior to music be different from one's response might neighbor;each listenerwas on theirown thoughtful Emotional reflection came withits own costs.A journey. bourgeoismightenjoyhis profitfromthelaborofothers,but once in themusic venue,themusicconsumerwas thrownto thebottomofthemusicalhierarchy. Silence and compliancewere decreedby decorum,with boisterousnessand inattention sacrificedon the altarsof the composer'sego and the demandsof socialstatus.Seatedin concerthalls,audiencesdid notgivetheappearancethat theirreceptionof musicwas itselflaborious.Listenerswere constructed to be passive,and yetsimultaneously theyweredescribedas searchingforan experience throughthemusic.Sometimes, listenerswereinvolvedin establishing the serious music that defined the classical canon. 'legitimate/ And sometimes, listeners heardsoundsthattheydid notlikeat all. UnleashingThe Sounds Of Modernity therearosefromwithina tickinglikethelove-making Presently Themachinehad begun.. . ofthegrasshopper. Thomas Hardy,Tessofthed'Urbervilles (1891) As itgrowsevermorecomplicated today,musicalartseeksout combinations moredissonant,stranger, and harsher fortheear. Luigi Russolo, TheArtofNoises(1913) New music:newlistening.Not an attempttounderstand thatis beingsaid,for,ifsomething werebeing something said,thesoundswouldbegiventheshapeofwords. to theactivityofsounds. Justan attention
Music«(1955) JohnCage,»Experimental
Silenceis sexy So sexy As sexyas death
Einstürzende »Silence is sexy«(2000) Neubauten, A modernworld thatis organizedaround a divisionof labor produces noise. In thenineteenth individualsand familiesuprootedthemselves from century theirtownsand establishedlivelihoods,and theymovedto thecitiesin searchof work.Marx and Engelswroteof the proletarian's conditionthat»[h]e factory becomesan appendage of the machine,and it is only the most simple,most and mosteasilyacquiredknackthatis requiredofhim.«(1848,1964 monotonous, 19
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L. Blackstone: Remixingthe Music ofthe Spheres: Listeningto the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrineforthe Sociology of Music
mindlessdrudgery ed.:14)Not onlydid Marxand Engelsdepicttheimpersonal, thatas a consequenceofmandominatofalienatedlabor,buttheyalso portrayed hell lay ing nature,people also dominatedeach other.But behindthe factory ofindustrial noise.Thisclangorofmetal new,whichwas a soundtrack something onmetalwasnotheardas akintothevibrations ofPythagoras' harmonicosmically butas a sonicirruption thatwoundedthenaturallandscape. ous universe, Mel Gordonwrotethat»[t]heconceptofnoisewas a by-product oftheIndustrialRevolution,«as sounds of manufacturing, building,and transportation crowdedoutthe»normalsoundsofrurallife«: ...thecacophony ofsoundsinthenineteenth-century street, factory shop, - couldnotbeeasily andmine- seemingly random andmeaningless oridentified. isolated Theybecamenovelandpotentially dangerous humanmind.(Gordon intrusions ontheoverworked 1992:197-198) In the 1960s,R. MurraySchäfer(1994)conceivedtheterm'soundscape'to describethesurroundings ofour sonicenvironments. BothSchäferand Gordon would agreethattheIndustrialRevolutionresultedin competingsoundscapes and thenaturalworld.Schäferdescribedthe betweenman-madetechnologies era as a »Io-fi post-Industrial soundscape«;a conditionoftoo manysoundsthat, he believed,persistsin our contemporary world as noise pollution.Schafer's leads to the of acoustic study project design,throughwhichhe soughtto answer we want in orderto rid sounds do to »[w]hich preserve, encourage,multiply?,« theenvironment of unhealthysounds.As opposed to themechanicalworld,a »positivesilence«mustbe recovered;once more,thisdichotomysuggeststhat something(sacred) has been broken.In essence,Schäferseeks to 'tune' our to alignment withtheuniverseas a »macrocosmic musicalcomposurroundings a Pythagorean sition«(1994:4-5): solutiontomodernmalaise. the mechanizedsounds of industryare oftencategorizedas Ironically, but no onebuthumanity has createdsuchsounds.Peopleare,ofcourse, inhuman, of the 'natural world' (»The rightto make noise was a naturalright,an part affirmation ofeachindividual'sautonomy.« and yetthesound[Attali1985:123]), was of mechanization not as an extension of organic scape generally perceived existence.Nineteenth-century writerssuch as Thomas Hardy highlighted the in between the and the people Englishcountryside cacophonous antagonism muchlike the presenceof machines.Noise was thoughtto be dehumanizing, divisionoflaborreducedpeopleto theworthoftheirlaboralone.Yet,giventhe undercapitalism, noisewas also a signof potentialtomakeoneselfindependent productivity. JacquesAttalidescribestheparadoxthusly: Massproduction isprogramming, themonotonous andrepeated noiseof machines silence ontheworkers... Anextraordinary the imposing spectacle: 20
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L. Blackstone: Remixingthe Music of the Spheres: Listeningto the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrineforthe Sociology of Music
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iras M 42 (2011) 1: 3-31
inthefactory. Anintense ofmenandcommodities doublesilence spectacle, will the commodities the becauseafter speakmuchmorethanthe leaving factory ..is...making ..[T]hetriumph ofcapitalism. them. people peoplewhomanufactured and from as a collective inmassproduction refuge powerlessness acceptidentity isolation. (1985:121) Amazingly,althoughsuch industrialconditionsworked to obscure the possibilityof freedomthroughworkby sellingalienationback to people,the becameliberated:as sound. soundsthemselves of as As farback 1627,FrancisBaconwroteinhisUtopiannovelNewAtlantis where built which a futurescientific »...sound-houses, societycalled Bensalem all sounds, and theirgeneration.«The idea of we practiceand demonstrate harmonioussound,butevendesignedas creating anysound,notjustconsonant, devotion randomdissonance,was well ahead oftheWesternclassicaltradition's to symphonicdevelopment. (Young2002:53)In his TheArtofNoises(1913),the was no orchestra Italianfuturist LuigiRussolomade his case thatthetraditional music is that »This evolution with modern able to life; compaof keep pace longer take its . that music should and machines. rabletothemultiplication .«, inspiration of theage. fromthejarringnoisesthatcharacterized Russolobuiltinstruments, In fact,to pursuehisvisionofthe»noise-sound,« theaudience.»No more!« that noises assaulted to make theintonarumori, designed was shoutedduringone ofhis concertsat theLondonColiseum,as thesoundof theintonarumori clearlydid notmeet gratedon people'snerves.Theperformance ofthe thesoundsviolatedthemusicalconventions withaudienceexpectations; that the audience in sense and this oeuvre, theywere perceived compositional Blackstone deviance. musical to 2009) Russolo's (Becker1982,1974; subjected ofmodernwarhim to the sounds led machine also of the praise age glorification Warner 2004 in and Cox fareas a sourceofbeauty.(Russolo, :11;Toop 1995) ofsoundwould continueto makeofnoisea compositional Othertreatments wereoftenmisundercolor,ifnot thebasis of a work'stechnique.Such efforts stood by listeningaudiences,who were not used to the boundary-smashing noise withina 'work/'Noise' is something conventionof re-contextualized unwanted;itis soundout oforder.But,peoplemustactivelyjudge thattheydo in theirears.Up tothispoint,we haveseenthatPythagoras' notwanttheringing timeintomusicthatconnoted 'musicofthespheres'had beenchanneledthrough unityand harmony;and yet,the'naturalworld'is also fullofnoise,eruptions, We privilegethenotionof'birdsong'as ifit weremusical,but and destruction. muchas theroaringofan earthquakeis takenas even'birdsong'is a construction, Where chaos. John famouslydescribedmusicas ». ..a productof Blacking gaping thebehaviorofhumangroups...:itis humanlyorganizedsound« (1976,in Scott Theemphasison unityand wholenessas 2002:97),noisebetraysourexpectations. throwsintobold reliefitsevil doppelganger, cosmicdesignnecessarily tmorga21
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L. Blackstone: theMusicoftheSpheres: Remixing totheRelevanceofan Ancient Listening Doctrine fortheSociologyofMusic
to be controlled nizedsound.Noisebecomessomething by society;itbecomesa of politicalproject greatmagnitude.(Attali1985)Bergerand Luckmann(1966) wrote: orderis also facedwiththeongoingnecessity Thelegitimation oftheinstitutional All societiesare ofkeepingchaosatbay.All socialrealityis precarious. in thefaceofchaos.Theconstant constructions ofanomicterror possibility are is actualizedwheneverthelegitimations thatobscuretheprecariousness orcollapse.(103) threatened
in a new context To utilizethesoundofindustrial technologies intentionally, withgreatrisk.»Anomicterror«: confronts thelistener thegroundhas therefore, are unrecognizable. However,giventime,even noise shifted;the conventions be its own aesthetic. Blackstone 1985; 2009;Hegarty2008) (Attali may granted Várese wanted more hiscomposedmusic from (1883-1965) Edgard something thanRussolo'sgrowling,howlingintonarumori. Váresesoughtto capture»...a mood in musicand nota soundpicture«(in Toop 1995:83).Varèse'sinclusionof thesoundofsirensin a piecesuchas Ionisation forthirteen (1930/31), percussionists,made theirwhinesa partof theextensive, percussivepolyphony:another shadeofsound,anothertimbre: as Váresesaid himself, thiswas organizedsound. (Hamilton2007;Várese,conductedby Boulez:SonyClassicalSMK 45 844:1990) theworkof Pierre Or,to takeanotherexampleof nontraditional composition, and reSchaeffer involvedtheuse ofsoundthroughtheconstruction (1910-1995) construction ofrecordednoiseson tape.Schaeffer's projectwas knownas musique weremeantto dissociatewhatthelistenerheard and his manipulations concrète, sourceofsound.Sound-art suchas thiswas depenfromanyoriginalidentifiable dentupon moderntechnology to gathertheresidueof sounds,any sounds,to Schaeffer enable a listenerto appreciatesolelythe 'sonorousobject/Tellingly, as 'acousmatic.'Inhis1966writing, Schaeffer describedthisexperience quotesthe the: Larousse on this 'acousmatic' as term, dictionary defining »Namegivento thedisciplesofPythagoras who,forfiveyears,listenedtohis while he hidden behind a was curtain,withoutseeinghim,while teachings
Hiddenfromtheireyes,onlythevoiceoftheir a strict silence.« observing masterreachedthedisciples,(inCox and Warner2004:76-77; emphasisin original)
»His Master'sVoice,«then,on theold Gramophone label,theloyaldog hearing thedisembodiedvoice ofhis humanowner,is thesignof our havingconqueredand entrappedsound.
22
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L. Blackstone: Remixingthe Music ofthe Spheres: Listeningto the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrineforthe Sociology of Music
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ListeningAs A Trap;ListeningAs Freedom Peoplewhatyoudoing? Standingon thevergeofgettingiton...
OnTheVergeOfGetting ItOn«(1974) Funkadelic, »Standing Withscientific seemedtowaneinthe ascendant, rationality religious mysteries modernworld.TheaimoftheEnlightenment that art andsciencemightbe project - likewiseappearedtroubled. used tobetterthehumancondition In theirUtopian visionof a communist Marx and society, Engelshad imaginedthefreereignof humancreative couldbe engaged,»justas I have potential (any»sphereofactivity« a mind«),unfettered world bythedivisionoflabor.However,themoderncapitalist had becomea dystopia,and knowledgehad comeunderthepurviewof special of (Berman1988;Marxand Engels1845-46;1988ed.:53)The domination 'experts/ thathadextendeditsreachovertheEarth's nature, too,wastheresultofa rationality resourcesand man-madefactories alike.The accumulationof consumergoods concealedtheprocessesoftheproducts'production, promising happinessthrough themarketplace insteadofthrough thepeoplewhoenlivenedthem. Thetwentieth-century was takingpreconceived notionsofmusic avant-garde to task.Soundswerebeingliberatedby adventurousmusicmakers,and Arnold deviseda new methodofcomposingthatwas notreliant (1874-1951) Schoenberg the older or consonance.Suchinventiveness, ofcourse, upon systemsoftonality confoundedlisteningaudiences.However,forthe sociologist/philosopher and CriticalTheoristTheodorW. Adorno,the 'new music' of composerssuch as was a waytocutthrough theglossysheenofa modernexistencethat, Schoenberg Adornobelieved,enforced and passivity whichutilizedcultureas an indoctrinationtoboredomand dead dreams. Accordingto Adorno,themedia,and especiallytheentertainment industry withinwhichmusichad been corporatized, offeredlistenersan unchallenging musicwhichmerelyreiterated theirownpositionwithinthedivisionoflabor.The musicoftheentertainment and in particular industry, 'popular'music,followed standardizedconventions toenhanceitsacceptability and reception amongstthe masses.The musicappeared'predigested/ alreadyawareofitselfas a diversion. Determined forthelistenerby the»CultureIndustry,« itmimickedthelistener's of musicalroles,whichparalleledthe assigned,lowlypositionin thehierarchy worker'spositionin thedivisionoflabor. In his 1938essay »On theFetish-Character in Music and theRegressionof Adornonoteshow theexposureoflisteners to mass-marketed music Listening,« has leftthemseemingly helpless: Theconsciousness ofthemassoflisteners is adequatetofetishized music.It listens to and indeed debasement itself would not bepossible formula, according 23
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id ACM ло 42 ю€'лл' 3-31 IRASM (201 1)1.4.114
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L- Blackstone: Remixingthe Music ofthe Spheres: Listeningto the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrineforthe Sociology of Music
ifresistance ifthelisteners tomakedemands stillhadthecapacity ensued, beyond thelimits ofwhatwassupplied, 2002:302) (inAdorno Consciousnesshas been corroded;themusicthatentertains also enslaves. an music to offer abundance of free Predictable, ubiquitouspopular appears choicein a marketplace ofsong,butitsstandardizednatureconditions peopleto theroutinized circumstances oftheirownlabor.Listening has »regressed« so that are and listeners for »the new radical music« of contemporary unprepared and such as whose music »terror.« Webern, composers Schoenberg spreads (Adorno1938,in 2002:315) Butwhy»terror«? Adornosaysthatthisfearcomesnotfromthenewmusic's but understood.« »incomprehensibilityfromthefactthattheyareall toocorrectly in that Richard has Adorno's are (Adorno1938, 2002:315) Leppert argued writings in as unrepentantly when fact oftenmisinterpreted Adorno is pessimistic, »...at the of his and bitter heart sustained often very critique frequently hopeful: ofmodernity therelies fundamental conceivedwithinthecontext hopefulness... ofart'srole- musicespecially- in providingthewherewithal to imaginesocial utopia.« (Leppert2005:93)In his »Music,Language,and Composition«essay, tomusicas ». ..demythologized Adornorefers prayer«(Adorno1956,in2002:114), or as Leppertwrites,»...a yearningforhappiness,whichcannototherwisebe letalonerealized.«(Leppert,inAdorno2002:86)Music,for annunciated, directly ofa betterworld,beyondcurrent Adorno,alwayspointedtowardsthepossibility Even backgroundmusic»...illuminates, however conditionsand expectations. The what have been.« is to overthrow 2005:95) regresdimly, might (Leppert key sive listening; to challengepeople,usingmusic,intobecomingcriticalthinkers. Hence, the »terror«thatSchoenbergcreatedhighlightsthe gap betweenthe musicofthecultureindustry, and thebravenewworldsofsoundthat repetitious be. couldotherwise Fromanotherperspective, ErnstBloch(1885-1977) discussedinhisworkthat in as to strive for the meansthatitsproducfuture, utopia, something necessarily the search tionis containedin everydaymoments.Present-time is unfinished; the futureis on towards the absence of the future itself. Hence, goes dynamically in its continuan 'immanent and a music, too, 'not-yeť, utopia'; presents 'not-yeť ous unfolding beforeone's ears.In thisway,people are listeningto experience whichcan be something as ordinaryas listeningto a tunein better, something theflow ordertoescapetheweightofseculartime.Suchmomentsareimportant; wash overus againonce themusicceases. oftimeand ordinaryresponsibilities in an attentive, Whether concentrated fashion,or listening distractedly, listening thoseglimpsesofhopecansootheand inspirethenextpotentialmoment.(Anderson2002;Leppert2005)
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L. Blackstone: Remixingthe Music of the Spheres: Listeningto the Relevance of an Ancient Doctrineforthe Sociology of Music
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iraSM 42 (2011) 1- 3-31
All Tomorrow's Parties:A Conclusion Thetransporting intheexistingliterature, has powerofmusic,as manifested oftenbeen idealized as a worlduntoitselflyingin sonorousoppositionto the modernworld'sinsistenceon work. We have seen thatPythagoras'ancient doctrine betweenhumans,music,and thefabpositedvibratory correspondences ricofnature.Theentirecosmos,Pythagoras believed,had tobe bathedin sound; butpeople werefashionedtoo imperfectly to actuallyhearthecelestialringing. Cometheriseofrational, scientific and thought duringtheAge ofEnlightenment, thesupremacy ofcapitalism as world-economic order,thesoundscapeoftheworld had considerably holistictiesthathad beeninstrumental to changed.The ancient, thedevelopment ofwestern and experience thought begantofrayundertheconditions of modernity. Listeningto music acquired different qualities:listening withpowerand control; itamplified resonated thedifferences betweenmusicand ofsociallife. noise;and,listening possiblypointedtowardsa different variety oflistening inconstructing JoshKundescribestheimportance »audiotopias,« an embodied,activelisteningthatserves»...as a space thatwe can enterinto, movearoundin,inhabit,be safein,learnfrom...«MuchlikeAdorno encounter, or Blochargued,Kun also arguesthatmusicpresentsa betterworld,but »[w]e alwaysslidebackintothisworld,but,eachtime,we slidebackinforever changed.« servesan essentialfunctionin (Kun 2005:2-3)Music in Kun's book Audiotopia modernAmericanidentity whatsounds, politics:givenAmerica'sheterogeneity, whatcultures, and whatexperiences are legitimated social by powerstructures? An audiotopiais notjust an idealized sonicenvironment in one's mind;when actedupon,audiotopiascan have overtpoliticalconsequences.Musiccan aid in as an expressivetool,musicprovidesthemarginalizedin celebrating diversity; Americansocietywitha subversiveway to confirmtheirpresence.Forginga harmoniousnationmightmeanthatin theprocess,some people'sidentities are elided.TheNazis,too,had theirownaudiotopicvisionofsociety, and theybanned and renderedsilentthemusicofthosedeemedunfitforthenation. Ifitwerepossible,youcouldloseyourself inhearingthecelestialgraceofthe 'musicofthespheres.'Similarly, one coulddrowninnoise:»Thepleasureofnoise liesin thefactthattheobliteration ofmeaningand identity is ecstasy.«(Reynolds theboundaries 1990,in Cox and Warner2004:56)At bothends ofthespectrum, betweenhumanexperienceand thecosmosdissolve. Have we arrivedat a betterplace?Therearealwaysrisks.As musicbecomes moreglobalized,different soundsfromaroundtheworldare sampled,remixed, noises are mashed-up: juxtaposedin moderndance musicin a visionofperfect such transcendence However, harmony. momentary may not reflectexisting or racial nor solve them. realities, 2009; (Blackstone 2000) political Hesmondhalgh Partof utopia is preciselyits non-existence. The searchfora faultlessStateis, RichardTaruskin, accordingto musicologist »...dangerous,becauseifperfection 25
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iQAQM 42 /9п
