Aesthetics and the Christian Musician—part 8

 

Aesthetics and the Christian Musician—part 8 

          The ultimate expression of 20th century despair in music composition was developed by Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951).  Although his earliest works were in post-Romantic style, his compositions became more and more chromatic.  Next, his works became very dissonant and pantonal which defied the rules of traditional harmonic practice.  Next came his 12-tone (dodecaphonic) compositions.  These works were based on a tone row using all twelve tones equally, thereby emancipating dissonance.  This technique was the ultimate 20th century expression of despair in music composition.  It purported that all 12 tones should be used with equal emphasis with no regard to the rules of harmonic practice.  Up to this time, music always flowed from consonance to dissonance which was always resolved into consonance.  What Schoenberg accomplished was the destruction of absolutes in music.  To him nothing was profound, appropriate, proper, right or wrong in harmonic practice.  What he changed was both the epistemology and the methodology of meaning in music composition.  So, under his epistemology there are ways of “knowing” that involve new foundations and new limits.  With this compositional methodology, he created a new way of dealing with the science of music.  His new compositional procedures established a completely new way of musical “knowing” through his new rules and procedures.

          No one before Schoenberg had ever been successful in completely negating the traditional way of “knowing” when it came to music composition.  What musicians most often fail to recognize that Schoenberg’s dodecaphonic invention was deeply engrained in philosophy.  He intended to defy the philosophy that there was profundity in harmonic practice.  To him nothing about music was profound.  To Schoenberg nothing mattered in music but the composer’s free will.  To Schoenberg the only rules or standards of music that mattered were those rules and standards that the composer imposed upon himself.  To him the only thing that mattered about how a composer arranged the building blocks of music was the composers self-actualized rules of how he wished to arrange the building blocks of music.

 

Thoughts for the Day

It is unfortunate that so many Christian composers and performers are set on negating the traditional way of “knowing” when it came to music composition.   It seems to me that it would make more sense to seek a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit on one’s composing, arranging, and musicing than to seek to destroy all music convention in order to develop one’s human potential.  Zechariah 4:6, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”