modernism and music

[James Owens]

Another thing occurred to me after that coffee. This weekend a friend
introduced me to two living composers, Gavin Bryars and Hovhaness, whose
lush euphony reminded me of Vaughan Williams. British composers like
Vaughan Williams, Britten, or Elgar stood apart from the experimental
schools due to their continued respect for traditional concepts of
harmony, melody, and rhythm. Is there a parallel between British (or
Irish) literature and British music in the twentieth century -- perhaps a
vigourous common-sense rejection of the systematic approach? (Nothing of
the sort occurs in philosophy, although Whitehead and perhaps Moore stand
apart.)

Moreover, the music of these living composers did not seem self-conscious
and "constructed," but organic and outside the exercise of composition
itself, outside even the technology of mood that lurks within post-modern
"new age" music or popular film scores. Is this Zen-like forgetfulness of
self and purpose the natural successor to post-modernism?

--

James Owens ad...@Freenet.carleton.ca
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

[James Whitehead]

In article <8pito7$4lk$1...@freenet9.carleton.ca>, James Owens
<ad...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA> writes

>Another thing occurred to me after that coffee. This weekend a friend
>introduced me to two living composers, Gavin Bryars and Hovhaness, whose
>lush euphony reminded me of Vaughan Williams. British composers like
>Vaughan Williams, Britten, or Elgar stood apart from the experimental
>schools due to their continued respect for traditional concepts of
>harmony, melody, and rhythm. Is there a parallel between British (or
>Irish) literature and British music in the twentieth century -- perhaps a
>vigourous common-sense rejection of the systematic approach? (Nothing of
>the sort occurs in philosophy, although Whitehead and perhaps Moore stand
>apart.)

I'm afraid I think this is probably more to do with an English
conservatism and miss-trust of the avant-garde. A dislike for
intellectualism and aesthetic sensibility - i.e. a dislike for the
French - understandable echoes of the Napoleonic wars and his wish to
rid Europe of the Ancient Regime - i.e. the Aristocracy which still
thrives in the UK.

>
>Moreover, the music of these living composers did not seem self-conscious
>and "constructed," but organic and outside the exercise of composition
>itself, outside even the technology of mood that lurks within post-modern
>"new age" music or popular film scores. Is this Zen-like forgetfulness of
>self and purpose the natural successor to post-modernism?

I think that this is exactly so - that nothing which describes both Zen
and po-mo.

--
James Whitehead