Reflection Paper on “the Death of Music” Robert R Reilly in Surprised by Beauty
Reflection Paper on
“THE DEATH OF MUSIC”
Robert R Reilly in Surprised by Beauty
I personally disagree with the notions that music is intended solely for the purpose of any one agenda.
It is a medium for reflection. It is a mirror.
A mirror reflects the image of whatever is directed at it; likewise, music reflects the immediate emotion that is conveyed by the musician playing it and translates that into an audible, tangible sound that speaks into the audience. Music alone has no purpose, just as a mirror is empty with noting to reflect, hence in order for music to have purpose, an image to reflect must be given to it.
Initially as the article states, music was thought to be a recollection of the paradise lost. It was medium that connects us to our spirituality, which in turn brings us closer into that realm which is described as the paradise lost. It was believed that it was this ‘connection’ that gave music its absolute tonality and harmonic peace. But as the theistic beliefs of an absolute deity died, so did this special relationship between music and the gods. Music was the again stripped to nothing but a mirror and since it was empty of any reflection, and since the only reflection that was left was the reflection of our carnal selves, a new theory of music was introduced.
Artists such as John Cage sought to fill this void with his own image, an image that depicts a form of art free of any limits and boundaries. A new school of thought that encouraged that music in its true form must have no bias, no form. It was music reflecting the current condition of the human being at the time when God was non-existent. It was period of ‘finding beauty within chaos’
Both views are neither right nor wrong, both have flaws that make each theory crash on itself. But put together, the flaws, I believe, can be eliminated. As I have stated earlier, music in it’s true form is nothing but a mirror, a tool that we use to reflect our current mental and
“THE DEATH OF MUSIC”
Robert R Reilly in Surprised by Beauty
I personally disagree with the notions that music is intended solely for the purpose of any one agenda.
It is a medium for reflection. It is a mirror.
A mirror reflects the image of whatever is directed at it; likewise, music reflects the immediate emotion that is conveyed by the musician playing it and translates that into an audible, tangible sound that speaks into the audience. Music alone has no purpose, just as a mirror is empty with noting to reflect, hence in order for music to have purpose, an image to reflect must be given to it.
Initially as the article states, music was thought to be a recollection of the paradise lost. It was medium that connects us to our spirituality, which in turn brings us closer into that realm which is described as the paradise lost. It was believed that it was this ‘connection’ that gave music its absolute tonality and harmonic peace. But as the theistic beliefs of an absolute deity died, so did this special relationship between music and the gods. Music was the again stripped to nothing but a mirror and since it was empty of any reflection, and since the only reflection that was left was the reflection of our carnal selves, a new theory of music was introduced.
Artists such as John Cage sought to fill this void with his own image, an image that depicts a form of art free of any limits and boundaries. A new school of thought that encouraged that music in its true form must have no bias, no form. It was music reflecting the current condition of the human being at the time when God was non-existent. It was period of ‘finding beauty within chaos’
Both views are neither right nor wrong, both have flaws that make each theory crash on itself. But put together, the flaws, I believe, can be eliminated. As I have stated earlier, music in it’s true form is nothing but a mirror, a tool that we use to reflect our current mental and