Nikita Semjonova

Herman Sabbe, All that music

In the first half of the nineteenth century western music went from only being patronised by
and reserved for the church and aristocracy to a commercial and public status, which in
turn resulted in a more diverse, multi-genre environment, capable of catering to any
individual’s needs, (interestingly enough, industrially produced individualised clothing
started circulating halfway through the nineteenth century).
Now that it was not serving a clear function anymore (church service or entertainment for
the aristocracy, for example), music had to find a purpose that could only be served by it
alone.

After 1820 music life has adjusted to the open market situation in two ways: highlighting
either the exceptionality of it’s product (elitism) or the mass appeal thereof (populism).
The belief in the exceptionality of the offered musical product is strongly supported by a
web of ideological convictions that appear at the end of the eighteenth century and are
further justified by the development of philosophic aesthetics: the genius aesthetic, the
oeuvre aesthetic, the aesthetic of absolute music and the aesthetic of music as language
of the soul.
From these aesthetics some of the main characteristics of music as a high art form have
developed.
As a genius, the creator of music is original (according to the ideas of Immanuel Kant); he
also can not explain how his creations come to stand, he is only aware that he is an
instrument of higher power. It is also common to think the composer is gifted with his
abilities by god or demon, they then obey the inspiration. They must create.
The music created by this genius is then considered a “music work”, a piece. It is part of a
composer’s life’s work, his oeuvre. As opposed to how compositions previously have been
discarded and forgotten soon after being performed for the first time (since they were
written explicitly to serve a function), the new view on music pieces, “music works”, is that
they are worth repeating countless times. Now the composer (object) and his creation
(subject) are seen as an inseparable entity (this eventually formed a base for
copyrighting). A music work now obtains cultural publicity, it also has economic worth, it
can be traded, repeated and exploited. It shall not be decided into pieces anymore either:
the piece must be performed as a whole. As the music piece is now believed to have
stemmed from a singular cell, one idea, it cannot bear to be interrupted.
This has had big influence on both music production as well as the concert practice. Opera
is given a much more serious and grand form (Verdi, Wagner); music scores are more
clear, detailed and complete leaving less power in the hands of a performer. It remains a
fact that western listeners employ the same philosophy and aesthetic when listening to
non-western music that was not intended as the same kind of “music work”, as well as
western music of earlier periods.
Much later John Cage also composes “music works” and masterpieces. Even though they
are mostly left to coincidence, each performance is unique and whole. Even pop music is
affected eventually, we regard it’s albums as we would other cyclic music forms.
Music is now absolute, it needs no language to explain it’s contents, if one should try to do
so, it will only corrupt as a result. It is it’s own meta-language with purely musical meaning.
It needs not reference anything external. It is connected closely to the deepest emotions of
human soul, it is universal.
An assumption exists that music is either exceptional and stands for truth and freedom or
successful and popular. Herman Sabbe offers in his text to look at this as a spectrum as
opposed to a binary. Being exceptional can be exactly the selling point of high art.
 Nikita Semjonova

The laicisation in the nineteenth century provides an opportunity for music to be sacralised
while people are looking for a new outlet for the lost spiritual values. In the search for a
new sort of transcendency, thanks to being infinite and indescribable, music now gains a
primary role, above other forms of art.
The concert culture can in turn be interpreted as a substitute for a cult. The religious
silence, prolonged applause, the soloist and the conductor taking the place previously
reserved for the priest. A few more innovations (brought about by Wagner) such as
dimming of concert hall lights, hiding of the orchestra under the stage and the closing of
entrance doors all perfectly fit the profile.

Along with the pressure of being exceptional and recognisable, each composer now
strives to deliver in accordance to high public expectations placed on him, all while now
also competing with every one of his colleagues to be more exceptional, unrepeatable and
innovatory. As if that was not enough, now the composer is even his own rival as well:
each new piece of music cannot resemble any other he has previously brought to light too
much.
From this comes the requirement to continuously bring something never before seen to
light. This urge is going to keep getting stronger and will only come to a halt around the
time there is talk of postmodernism in music. Avant-garde is used metaphorically from this
point to describe “vanguard” artists that try out the market before it is ready for their kind
of product (Beethoven could be seen in the same way in his time, “he extended the
boundaries of instrumental music and no one followed”.

The innovators in music share the same view of an industrial paradise, future they all
depict in their compositions, this vision unites them and puts them in opposition to the
mass. They take it as their duty to lead the evolution of the people.
The cumulated progress since the 1800 of the “New Music” can be considered one roaring
process of growth. Boundaries are being pushed - first by expanding orchestras to the
impressive one hundred person collectives; then the choice is made for more intimate and
individual (solo) ensembles; the two are then united in settings devised by the like of Ligeti
and Xenakis, where a big orchestra can consist of individualised solo parts for each player;
starting from the 1950s electronic devices help eliminate human and instrumental
restrictions.

“Beethoven brings us an individualised vision of the world, provided we have knowledge of

this world already; Schoenberg creates his own, autonomous world, which, even though it
is hardly recognisable, is still a reflection of the real world. Both of them bring worlds to
existence, while John Cage lets the world come to exist on it’s own.”

Together with the constant need for innovation comes an urge to preserve the existing
body of work. Music pieces now must be studied, catalogued, updated and interpreted. It’s
in the 1830’s that Haydn and Mozart are proclaimed to be classicists (later also
Beethoven). Around the same time Musicology comes to exist out of need. As a result,
new music is steadily getting pushed out of the big concert halls and marginalised.
The practice of historically informed performance is being exercised. Old instruments are
carefully being restored and used again, performance history is being researched. As a
downside of that, a notion of “one true, closest to the authentic original, performance”
spreads, although it is impossible to judge it objectively. It now only allows only one
possible “correct” interpretation of a piece. It is also a way of innovating, shedding new
light on same compositions, as well as a way of getting ahead of competition once again,
or simply gaining a more interesting angle.
 Nikita Semjonova

A new standard of rehearsing and studying pieces requires technical impeccability of every
performance, sometimes shifting focus from other integral parts of it.
Composers now are more precise than ever in their notation, as they now can expect their
work to be reproduced years later, by a directly unreachable performer. The same goes for
popular music counterparts, it seems that Paul McCartney was right saying he believes the
music of Beatles is still going to be listened to a hundred years from it’s creation.