Musik & Ästhetik, 2005, Jg. 9, Ausgabe 36

Music and Ritual. Reflections on a Ritual-Theoretical Description of Musical Performances

Although there is a clear affinity between ritual actions and music there has so far been no substantial exchange of ideas between the disciplines of ritual research and musicology. For this reason the present article attempts to define the category of ritual in keeping with the latest discussions in the field of ritual research then using this definition to examine different forms of musical performance. Ritual is defined as a demonstrative act of repetition using signs agreed on in advance. This means that musical performances can fundamentally be described as rituals whereas music can no longer be termed a ritual once it is removed from its performative context. Examining highly divergent forms of musical performance one can determine three structural variants:(I) Musical performance is an element of a ritual within the context of other elements; (2) The constitution of a particular musical style also incurs the constitution of rituals that subsequently become typical of performances of such music; (3) Musical performance functions within a ritual as a medium of ritual transition. The final part of the essay examines the performance of Erik Satie's piano piece Vexations as an exceptional case. Here the suggested definition of ritual would seem to come up against its own boundaries as the work's performance duration of c. 28 hours breaks with all concert traditions. For this reason no signs have been agreed upon among recipients. Unlike the performative forms examined previously the performance of Vexations does not make any offer of identification to the community of listeners.

The Dead End as a Way Out. Critical Composition: a Historical Phenomenon?

The notion of »critical composition« is normally associated with a small number of West German composers from the second post-war generation. Due to the personal concept-historical and music-historical situation of its growth at the end of the 1960s from the spirit of the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School and the thinking of Luigi Nono who subjected both tonality and society to equal critique it is a historical phenomenon. At the same time the discussion of the fundamental possibilities and present difficulties to this approach with reference to its most prominent exponents Nikolaus A. Huber and Helmut Lachenmann shows that it is actually a fundamental compositional stance not bound to any particular materials styles or techniques but rather an aesthetic concept that is still necessary and possible despite the changes in the music-historical societal and aesthetic conditions at the start of the 21st century.

The Master of Ugly Art. On the instrumentation of Richard Wagner's »Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg«

In the works of Richard Wagner orchestration became an integral part of the compositional process in a way that exceeded all previous music. Timbre was viewed by Wagner - judging by his theoretical texts - as an expression of the »unspeakable« that is not accesible to the listener's intellect but is all the stronger in its intuitive effect. Beyond this he developed a sonic value-hierarchy from the dichotomy of »vocal sound« and »initial consonantal sound«. Wagner used his ability to vary his style of orchestration - seemingly at will - for dramatic purposes: by means of orchestration operating between the extremes of »sonorous« euphony on the one hand and the noise of sound-production on the other he realises opposing sound-aesthetic models in Die Meistersinger that distinguish as a »sounding scenery« between the antiquated art of the Meistersinger and Walther's genius at the same time commenting on and evaluating this distinction.

Theses on Second Modernity

The concept of a »Second Modernity« is intended to assist in pinpointing certain aesthetic and compositional characteristics of the period after post-modernity to which »Second Modernity« attempts to assume a counter-position. Taking up a theoretical model that divides modernity into »classical modernity« avant-garde and post-modernity in the context of work form and conception the essay attempts to show the respective conditions for these notions in the present. This examination reveals that »Second Modernity« productively incorporates classical modernity takes up avant-garde impulses and adresses unsolved problems of post-modernity.

No Educated Classes Anywhere. On the Phantom Pain of modern Opera Direction

The difficulties in reforming music theater in the Germanophone countries stem not only from structural-economic problems but also aesthetic ones. Many opera artists but also critics view protest against a conservative audience as the source of their theater-identity. Said audience grew up with old-fashioned performances of Mozart Verdi and Wagner and saw them as embodying a fixed cultural value. Against this background new productions of such works incorporating references to current political events or premieres of new works provoked outrage in the audience then lively debates in the newspapers and finally the recognition of those modern positions. Today such discussions no longer have any basis as no one other than the producers themselves still views opera as part of a canon of cultural values. The »breaches of tradition« on stage miss their mark.