Modernism in Music and Politics and Culture in Postwar France - Essay Example

MODERNISM IN MUSIC’ AND ‘POLITICS AND CULTURE IN POSTWAR FRANCE’ ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY MODERNISM Source: ‘Modernism’, Grove Music Online, 2011; http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/40625 1. General Content: Leon Botstein discusses the characteristics that identified the Modernism era in music1. In the musical pieces of the modernism era, there was experimentation with various sounds. Experimentation often resulted in incidental music. It also involved atonality, and the scalar ranges were expanded. The feeling behind the music was the point of focus. 2. Author Qualifications: Leon Botstein is a man of many hats. He is currently a Leon Levy professor in the Arts and Humanities. 3. Evaluation of Credibility: Leon Botstein attained his Bachelor’s of Arts degree from the University of Chicago, and went on to attain his M.A and PhD from the Department of History at Harvard University. Botstein has also been the editor of the Musical Quarterly since 1992 to date. In addition to this, he has since the same time been the music director and conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra. He has attained vast knowledge on the history, and development of music. He has also been a part of several orchestras and is a seasoned performer, conductor, and director of music. Some of them include BBC Symphony Orchestra, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He has in addition to his achievements received several honorary awards such as membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is also author of books, and contributing writer of several journals. His writing revolves around music in the 19th century, and culture. 4. Intended Audience: The information provided here, is helpful to persons intent on understanding the development of music through different time periods. Some history is provided as to why people sought to use music for self-expression, and the changes that this resulted in. This article was very helpful and provides useful insight to the history of music. In my opinion, it is an essential piece to anyone who intends to, or already does, appreciate features such as atonality that revolutionized music composition. POLITICS AND CULTURE IN POST-WAR FRANCE Source: Jean Paul Sartre, Paris, 21 May, 1968 (Michael Scriven, Jean Paul Sartre: Politics and Culture in Postwar France. London: MacMillan, 1999, pp. 84-85) 1. General Contents: This article discusses the existentialism school of thought that was prevalent in post-World War II France. Sartre introduces a school of thought that is called commitment, but in the end he has to adjust his notions to include the textual reality into his ideas2. 2. Qualifications: Jean-Paul Sartre was a playwright, novelist, and philosopher who lived between 1905 and 1980. 3. Evaluation of Credibility: Sartre was an influential figure in Post World War II France. He held on to his revolutionary beliefs concerning politics, and human existence. His stance on these matters drew controversy; yet he at the same time had an attachment to the traditional modes of cultural expression. His ideas were of relevance to, and appealed to the contemporary world. He developed a secular form of existentialism. His ideas insisted that existence comes before essence, and rejected the supernatural. He was of the opinion that modern culture was saturated with existentialism, as an intellectual movement. 4. Intended Audience: This essay is very helpful to everyone who is concerned about the way pertinent issues in the society can be addressed. By following the arguments that Sartreans, and the opposing writers and intellectuals advanced; one is able to understand how literature can be used to influence society3. The article is an interesting read, very insightful. In my opinion though, one should read it with an open mind. When one has a preformed ideology, then personal biases may prevent them from appreciating the factors that were inherent of the opposing sides. ESSAY MODERNISM To some writers, musical modernism extends from around 1890 to the 1930s. The period after that is often referred to as the post-modernism era. Industrialization, technological advances, and scientific discoveries that were taking place at the time of early musical modernism, meant radical reforms in musical expression. Individuals were trying to come to grips with a society which was becoming increasingly complex. Leon Botstein was of the opinion that alienation and isolation of individuals had resulted in heightened sensitivity. The intensity of personal emotions was concomitant, and it accompanied the sense of discontinuity, and newness that pervaded the first years of the century4. Rhythmic strands were layered, and they started being based on two, or more metric frameworks that run concurrently. He asserted that the domination of industry, science, and technology was a characteristic feature of the modernism era. In addition to this, mechanization, nationalization, urbanization, positivism, and mass culture all had a role to play in influencing musical styles of this time. Several aspects of music changed during this time. The language of music and tonal organization were revolutionized. The tonal expansion went ahead to include atonality. The composers of this era used dominant chords in non-functional and final positions. The scale patterns, and pitch schemes also varied widely from those used before, with unusual harmonies and textures. The post-1945 music included serial music, experimental music, concrete, and atonal music5. In my view, this era was largely responsible for the immense growth that was observed in the music field. Music was given a chance to grow, and develop as individuals took the liberty of expressing themselves through the music they made. The musical connections made were unexpected as composers let their imagination run free; as a result dissonance was used in musical pieces to give compositions a different taste. Music also widened the audience it reached since the great number of composers meant reaching a larger audience. During this period, the “idea” not the “style” became the focal point of music compositions. Variation was also being developed and encouraged, and dissonance became widely acceptable. The way composers thought about, and wrote music was revolutionized, as they embraced the use of music for self-expression. This is what enabled the notion of “idea” to surpass that of “style” in music6. The precursors of 20th century modernism included Mahler, Claude Debussy, Strauss, and Skryabin. Their music came into scrutiny as the connection between music, and narration was put on the spotlight. Modernity called for all rules to be transcended and placed emphasis on exploration of what was new. As technological advances were being recorded for this time, so was the influence that was noted in the musical field. New technology meant new ways of producing varying tones, timbres, and generally, new music. Considering the events of the Post-1945 era, modernist music and progressive politics experienced dissonance between them. POLITICS AND CULTURE IN POST-WAR FRANCE After World War II in France, French intellectuals recognized that they had an opportunity to redefine the social and political organization of their country. The incoming ideas were based on the leftist ideals that were being floated around at the time. They were bent on using their intellectual activity to affect the leftist, egalitarian political change. French intellectuals expressed a new-found interest in the issue of literature being either committed or autonomous7. ‘Commitment’ is a word that resulted from Sartre’s use of the French word ‘engagement.’ This is the equivalent of the English word engagement. In the English language, engagement can also mean commitment. This interest stemmed from the fact that these ideas stood a chance at influencing politics. The ideas advanced during this time also stood a chance at being incorporated into their lifestyles. They were unwilling to accept the concept of commitment that Sartre stood for. They therefore opposed him through and through. During the 1940s and 1950s, Sartre, by engagement intellectual, referred to something different from the general concept of the phrase. In general terms, intellectual engagement refers to the act of intellectuals taking actions in politics more generally. The debate about commitment in France started from the mediasphere, Les Temps moderns which Sartre operated. The intellectuals argued against commitment in the sense that superstar public intellectuals co-existed alongside other literary figures that were relatively unknown. According to these intellectuals, the nature of reality, language and literature needed to be redefined. Commitment in this world of French intellectual culture was critically assessed and challenged. New modes of intellectual engagement in politics were then introduced to replace commitment8. French intellectuals observed that commitment was not enough to meet the political challenges that came along with the post-war years. French moved from commitment in three phases. The first phase involved the capturing and execution of intellectuals and writers, on the grounds of being in association with the Nazis. The second phase lasted the period between 1954 and 1962. During this time, war was going on in Algeria, and commitment was being abandoned on ethical grounds. The third phase in moving away from commitment involved the coming up with a new way of intellectuals engaging in politics. By 1962, the debate on commitment which had been articulated by Sartre in 1948 had ceased to be the center of interest. This was attributed to most intellectuals having found alternative schools of thought to existentialism9. On the other hand, the existentialist that remained had gathered around Sartre. These two groups thus coexisted in the same environment, none intruding on the other. During the first phase of change from commitment, the writers and intellectuals had to defend themselves when charges of “intellectual collaboration” with the Nazis were leveled against them. This in my opinion was an act of injustice. Intellectuals should have been accorded their freedom of expression. This course of action muzzled them, and blocked ways of their truth being spoken. In my view, the justification of the second phase in change from commitment was reasonable and those advocating for change had every right to. Intellectuals and writers claimed that commitment hypocritically justified the killing of others. Commitment was critiqued on ethical grounds. Intellectuals no longer accepted the need for change as reason enough to intervene in politics. The third phase in the abandonment of commitment was a well thought-out move. When a vacuum is left, people are often bound to reverting to old ways. If individuals had done away with commitment and not found a replacement for it, they would have fallen back to the ways they were trying to change. Coming up with a replacement for commitment ensured that change would carry on. Sartre’s commitment would be replaced by a method that was not to simply expose hidden oppression, or correct injustices. The new school of thought aimed to change what was perceived to be reality to the people10. The intellectuals of this time were right in their justification of using language to re-arrange the essence of reality among the people. Language is the only way through which people perceive the world around them. Depending on the words used to relate to them what is happening around them, their notion of reality is determined. By carefully using the appropriate words, then what people consider to be reality is influenced. Sartre came to see the validity of the method suggested by other intellectuals, and in consequence advocated for the reorganization of the world by releasing committed literature into the extensive pool of knowledge. In this way, people could attain a sense of self-consciousness that was more egalitarian. Jean-Paul Sartre also agreed to this, and he incorporated into his idea of committed literature, textual reality. He embraced the notion that reality could be linguistically created11. This notion provided the perfect opportunity, the opportunity that he sought, to re-write reality. Language is a powerful tool that individuals become aware of themselves, others, and their surroundings. So by choosing to use it to present to individuals with a new aspect of reality, writers and intellectuals had chosen the correct medium for this function. Sartrean position is still advocated to date by some people. The debate rages on, with one group insisting on the use of appropriate language to combat social oppression. On the other side there are those in favor of Marxist ideology that economic processes are above linguistic constructions when it comes to addressing social injustices. I am of the opinion that language is a better and more powerful tool to use in addressing social issues than the Marxist approach. I am also convinced that Sartre made a step in the right direction when he accepted that reality could be adjusted by linguistic constructs. By representing the political woes in a manner that the readers would relate to, issues in the material world would gain more meaning. Once people recognized the problems in their world, they would adopt a political stance that was appropriate. Conclusion “Modernism” in music and “commitment” in France both took place in the post-1945 era. During this time, people were moving away from the norm, and started to focus more on self-expression. The people concerned in both cases recognized the need for change in the way they expressed themselves, and dealt with the issues that affected them. In France, politics of the post-war period were drawing mixed reactions from people. Social injustices were being committed and the political framework did not allow for the injustices to be exposed. Intellectuals and writers then took it upon themselves to use language to enlighten the masses. There was revolution in terms of textual engagement that led to textual construction of reality. This accorded the people ability to make political stances that were well informed. A similar scenario was observed in the field of music. The function of music was being redefined. Just as the writers and intellectuals in post-1945 France were using words for purposes of expressing the realities of the situations around them; composers were adopting the use of music as an avenue of self-expression. The “idea” became the focal point of the music that was composed during this time. References Botstein, Leon. Grove Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/40625 (accessed November 13, 2011). Heile, Björn. The modernist legacy: essays on new music. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2009. Richtmyer, Eric William. "Beyond Commitment: Intellectual Engagement in Politics in Postwar France, 1944-1962." May 2010. http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/92713/1/Richtmyer_umn_0130E_11141.pdf (accessed November 12, 2011). Sartre, Jean. "Existentialism is a Humanism." http://www.public.asu.edu/~jacquies/sartre.pdf (accessed November 12, 2011). Scriven, Michael. Jean-Paul Sartre: politics and culture in Postwar France. London: MacMillan, 1999. Read More