Re: WWWOT [DISC] Is Language Creation Art?

At 7:51 AM +0000 03/15/02, Jan van Steenbergen wrote:
>  --- Jesse Raccio <jraja0722@...> wrote: > >
>
>"Western art music itself has not existed that long
>unless you can show me otherwise ... But the western
>art form of art music, which is the dominant tradition
>in my society and is the one I myself practice, has
>really only been around since the Renaissance."
>
>It is an old-fashioned idea, that western music
>history begins with, say, Palestrina or Monteverdi.
>Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Renaissance begins in
>1400 rather than in 1500, which would make Western art
>music history 600 years old, instead of 500...
>Now, you didn't answer my question: what about the
>others I mentioned? Just a few names: Hildegard von
>Bingen, Perotinus, Philippe de Vitry, Guillaume de
>Machaut, Francesco Landini, Mateo da Perugia... What
>about them and numerous others? Aren't their works
>serious in your opinion, were they just toying around
>in music land?
Perhaps the point was that before this time, music was composed for
specific purposes (part of the liturgy, accompanying dance or
ceremony, etc), while after this time, the idea the music can (and
should) be enjoyed on its own terms became increasingly common.
Certainly the history of instrumental music bears this out. I
certainly don't think that Jesse meant to imply that Hildegard,
Leonin, Perotin, Machaut, et al weren't serious composers, and that
their work isn't worth listening to or studying.

Dirk
--
Dirk Elzinga                  Dirk_Elzinga@byu.edu

Man deth swa he byth thonne he mot swa he wile.
'A man does as he is when he can do what he wants.'

- Old English Proverb

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