Fine Arts and Music Collected Works

The central purposes of this project have been to explore, to define and locate the nature of musical meaning, significance, value and greatness; to investigate and critically evaluate what has been said by others about these issues; and to establish reasonable and valid criteria by which each of these terms may be defined and established. Several hypotheses provide the raison d'�tre for what is argued herein. They are these: - That musical meaning, significance, value and greatness are capable of definition and explanation. - That no single theory of musical meaning, significance, value and greatness has provided a sufficient and universally satisfactory explanation of wherein and whereby each of these terms may be reliably fixed. - That musical meaning, significance, value and greatness have their locus in the intrinsic material of a musical work, but may derive from musically extrinsic considerations as well. Historically, theories of musical meaning, significance and value have been formulated in a manner that reflects one of two fundamental and mutually exclusive philosophical positions: one being that musical meaning, significance and value consist only in the intrinsic musical material of a work; the other, that these same qualities consist in the power of music to communicate and/or to evoke musically extrinsic ideas, concepts and experiences. Musical value judgements typically reflect a similar polarisation of opinion. The thesis argued herein is that no single theory, as traditionally formulated, is alone sufficient to define satisfactorily the locus of musical meaning, significance and value, and that definition and application of these terms involve a complex of considerations which can be satisfactorily accommodated only by, or through a perspective more comprehensive and flexible than that which has typified traditional theories. The dissertation culminates in several conclusions, principal among which are these: - that musical meaning consists (a) in whatever has been intended by a composer that may be interpreted and comprehended by someone else in correspondence with the musical medium by and through which this meaning has been conveyed; and (b) in what is experienced or inferred by someone in correspondence with a musical work, which is a direct result of that correspondence and which, in turn, may be communicated to someone else with reference to the same work. - that musical significance, that is, what makes a musical work (seem) momentous, eventful or remarkable, derives from an inter-relationship born of the psychical processes of someone in response to the substance and realisation of a given work, against the background and influence of a given cultural context and tradition, and one's own experience. - that musical value is culturally dependent and derivative, and resides in and derives from a complex of considerations both intrinsic and extrinsic to any given musical work. - that musical greatness, that is, widely acknowledged musical excellence, pre-eminence and renown, is born of extraordinary musical genius and is made manifest as observable and outstanding musical originality, creativity and skill: creative and musical singularity which, in turn, beget or afford a highly singular musical experience.

Fine Arts and Music Collected Works - Theses

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