This post is for hardcore music nerds only. This toccata was written 36 years before Bach was born. The difference between this harmonic language and use of chromaticism and Bachs use is negligible. Bachs keyboard toccatas etc. were written anywhere from 1710-1730, which is 60 to 80 years later. So, fast forward to present times and compare the present relationship between the art music of now and the recent past. Now, there is this obsession with Novelty, Novelty, Novelty. God forbid a passage of your music sounds like Messiaen from the 50s, or wow youre piece kind of sounds like late Stravinsky, or that piece is pure Ligeti. Now, Ive never had these comparison leveled against myself, theyre just abstract analogies. My point is that everybody is so obsessed with sounding so damn original, that they skip over tons of possibilities within the existing sonic framework that has been developed in the 20th century. Now, everybody has theyre idea of whats new and whats old and theyre usually talking out of their rectum. If we adopt the status quo of today, wed have to say that Bach was irrelevant because his chromatic counterpoint had already been done before. This of course, isnt true, but its only in hindsight that we can see how he it took it further and built upon it...but today most people arent interested in this, they want to flush everything down the toilet and be purely 21st century, whatever that means, and theyre firmly convinced that their New. Its like the picture you see of somebody wearing the it fashion of the 80s or what have you, and they look like a fricking idiot, whereas there are certain styles that never get old, but can be embellished and made more florid. My favorite, is the anti-rubato nazis...if you cant put it to a click track than it aint new-were all supposed to march around like fricking robots. Newsflash: the idea of machine music etc. is over 100 years old...Not New. You have people like the Italian futurists, Mosolovs Iron Foundry, George Antheil, or how about Leo Ornstein with his tone clusters and suicide on an airplane. By the same token, metronomic music isnt old either, but its also not new. The bottom line, is that great art walks a fine line between what is old and what is new, as well is what is too simple and what is too complex, furthermore at the end of the day it really comes down to personality. If youre John Q with everyones else idea and everyone elses point of view, do you really think youre going to be a great artist? My favorite example is Erik Satie-the guy had no technique, but through sheer force of his personality he permanently changed the landscape of music. https://youtube/watch?v=r0b8Ze4UfOI&index=6&list=FLM23PiAlZbAxXUVAyGjqXRg
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 21:21:03 +0000
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