Nettl 4

Forays into the Repertory

Conception of music rep in the West based on:
-Core rep: the most important music
-Relationships between groups & individuals in society
-Role of music in performance

Principal Works:

-Obligatory songs; "music everybody knows"
-Weddings
-Birthday
-Graduation
-Christmas
-New Year's
-July 4th
-Sports
-Not "good" music, but well known & pedictable
-Associating art music with ritual nowadays is denigrating
--Even if originally written to be functional, we remove that today

-Masterworks
-Considered "normal;" what everyone needs to know
-Surveyed in basic history & appreciation texts
-Greatness generally determined by largeness & difficulty
-Generally from 1750-1900

Society of Musics:

-Music world is structured like outside world
-Music in core rep reflects social structures

Family
-Instruments (string, brass, ww, perc)
-Choir as model (SATB): strings, saxes, clarinets, etc
-4 part harmony taught & idolized in a way
--Like family structure

Work
-Boss & employee
--Solo & accompanist
--Clear hierarchy

Ruling Class
-"Great" music
-Reflects society when written
-Before 1825 is "best," a good balance of content & form
-Opera & concerto prime examples

Priesthood
-Equality in music
-Like social theory, we like equality even if it doesn't always exist
-Fugues: outside constraints of society
-String quartets: pure, equal parts/insts

Performance:
-Commencement example to "defend" Western art music