Music Aesthetics: Transcendent and Controlled
Music aesthetics is a complex and contentious topic that can be divided into two categories: transcendent and controlled.
Progressive Evolution Principles in Musical Aesthetics
In the topic of musical aesthetics, the principles of progressive evolution are applicable. Richard Wagner, a musician and reformer of music, is the best at putting the laws into practice. Wagner strives to elucidate the meaning of the music and how it affects individuals. Since antiquity, the questions have been posed, and several hypotheses and replies have been offered in parallel. In his response, Wagner adopted the word "Absolute Music," which is entirely self-referential, to express how he views and understands music. The term manifests itself in the majority of his compositions but some critiques have argued that he postulated the term in order to reject it in his later work.
Definition of "Absolute Music"
The definition of “Absolute music” might appear easy and straightforward just like one can differentiate between Piano and Sonata in Mozart and Berlioz’s symphonies. Absolute music is a prose program that described the episodes from the artist’s personal experiences. The episode of artist experience and experiences cannot be separated. The whole idea of absolute music is the flashpoint in the description of music aesthetics since the nineteenth century. The assertion is that music can exist and function on its own but some critiques have rejected this assertion. The term absolute music is one of the polarizing concepts in music aesthetics. The polarization about the term absolute music appeared immediately after the term was coined to describe music. The term was burdened with a lot of ideological baggage immediately after it was coined by Richard Wagner in 1846 under the inspiration from Feuerbach.
Richard Wagner's Concept of "Absolute Music"
Richard Wagner used the term “Absolute Music” as a pejorative in order to expose the shortcoming of instrumental music. He used the term to justify his perception and theory of opera. According to Wagner, the self-contained and pure form of art serves no useful purpose to the audience. According to him, “absolute” means that the content of the music is isolated and sterile and as a result was irrelevant to the society. However, after a few years, Wagner had to relinquish his neologism and dismiss his idea about “Absolute Artwork” as non-thing in the music industry. He termed absolute artwork as a specter in music aesthetics and a hobgoblin of the brain among the aesthetic critics. Wagner declared the notion that artwork as unconnected to the environment was faulty and inconceivable.
Contrasting Views on "Absolute Music"
Wagner asserts that music that lacks signification is ridiculous and has no right to be played for audiences because it lacks significance and meaning. Some proponents of the term "music Perse" have held a contrasting view that music should express the basic elements of the music. According to critiques of Wagner’s idea music is an independent entity and any music is relevant in its own right. For example, in practice listening to any form of music exposes the audience to musical sounds and notes that carry explicit musicality and meaning. The variation with Wagner’s "absolute music" means that the host of influencing factors includes the social conditioning and the cultural context within which the music is played. As a result, Wagner changes his position in regard to his meaning of "Absolute Music" after the enlightenment about the meaning and interpretation of music.
Instrumental Music: Abstract, Empty, and Dead?
It is the position is ironic for individuals like Wagner who consider music as an autonomous entity. The reality is music is self-referential and appropriated by the term that Wagner had previously used in his earlier description. Initially, he used the term "Absolute Music" to denigrate the conception of music as a form of art. The most important critique of Wagner’s position is the criticism advanced about the importance of abstraction and isolation in music. The controversy surrounding the rejection of Wagner’s earlier statement can be attributed to the narrow nature of the topic of musical aesthetics. Music Aesthetics addressed many standing issues about nature of music as an art. The concerns are based on the relationship between the form and content. Initially, Wagner argued that instrumental music lacked aesthetic appeal because it lacked the elements of form and content. In addition, he argued that some form of instrumental music lacked the material and abstract form to qualify as music. However, the rejection of his absolute music came as a result of the acknowledgment of instrumental music as a different type of music. Unlike the content in other forms of art instrumental music had content in the instruments and it did not have to contain verbal or oral content to qualify.
Instrumental Music: Music without Words
Instrumental music does not have to be about anything at all, for example, composers do not have the obligation to add verbal cues to musicality. In some Beethoven symphonies, for example, no information was heard in the entire performance but the pieces were considered magical. Therefore, Wagner realized the flaw in his perception of instrumental music and performance appeal and had to change his position. Wagner’s original argument was that music drama was on its way to becoming the mainstay of music. He supported his claim by asserting that any instrumental music is separate from the reality of the concept behind the performance of such music. Writing symphonies according to Wagner was merely an epigone that was on its way to becoming extinct.
Wagner's Rejection of "Absolute Music"
Originally Wagner coined the issue of absolute music in order to reject it as evidence in his "The flying Dutchman" work. It is clear from the state that absolute music theory was something to be negated from the musical history. It is evident that the bulk of his arguments in developing this theory were based on Hegel’s philosophy of logic. He used Hegel’s dialectical argument as the basis for criticizing the music aesthetics. The argument was made under the intense pressure of the historical events and the modernity that wanted to push music into a new synthesis. The revolutionary rhetoric advanced by Wagner’s argument on music aesthetics is not far from Hegel’s proposition about instrumental music. Earlier, Hegel had declared the instrumental music was abstract empty and dead. The reason for the argument was the inability of the music to objectively distinguish itself from the material world. Wagner replicated the same statement without giving it much thought.
Rejection and Recantation of "Absolute Music"
Wagner was antithetical and was radical in the way he negated instrumental music without giving it much thought. What Wagner was meaning at the time was to campaign for a paradigm shift towards the new modern music. He demanded that instrumental music did not have the required aesthetics to fit into the new context or genre of music. Wagner saw modernity as the catalyst for art revolution and its aesthetics had to appeal to the new audience. Wagner canceled his "Absolute Music" later in his work because of the criticism and response from other composers and artists. However, he claimed that he had to recant it for being too obscure and abstract to bring consciousness to music. According to him, major composers of instrumental music like Beethoven committed errors in their compositions by fusing politics in their composition. As a result, it is logically correct to argue that the theory of absolute music was a politically instigated comment that could be recanted later. It is agreeable that political statements lack facts and are focused on eliciting aesthetic appeal. It is clear that the means and the premises used to support the absolute music theory were weak and could not stand the test of time.
Recognition of Ethical Deed in Instrumental Music
It is clear that Wagner scuppered about the chemistry of Beethoven’s instrumental music and its musical appeal in the later years. It was evident that Wagner realized the ethical deed in instrumental music and despite his earlier misgivings, he saw the moral will and aesthetics in instrumental music. It was the objective reality that absolute music theory lacked the cataclysmic significance in regard to musical appeal. The reality that his absolute music claim was designed to be rejected later was evident about his comment in Beethoven's ninth symphony. He described it as the language of the artwork of the future contradicting his absolute music claims. The question that comes up is why Wagner had a sudden change in his position about instrumental music. It is evident that with this statement, Wagner kills and buries his concept because it was postulated that way.
In Conclusion
In summary, Wagner created the concept of absolute music with the intention of rejecting it later. The claim of absolute music was formulated and based on weak premises and allegations. It was based on significant changes and criticisms about instrumental music, and while it was aesthetically justified, it lacked strong propositions. Composers like Richard Wagner could not make a simple mistake of dismissing instrumental music without strong reasons in theoretical aesthetic theories. As a result, the ideological support indicates that the theory was predestined to be rejected because of its lack of appreciation of the aesthetic appeal of instrumental music.
Bibliography
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