The usual way of characterising the notion of “musical postmodernism” is set out by the following claims: (1) a postmodern musical work corresponds to the postmodern worldview; the notion in question is closely connected with the etymology of its name (“postmodern” means, in any case, “of an era after a modern one”); (3) the characterisation of the postmodern worldview (and, thus, of a postmodern piece of music) ought to conform to the beliefs of the classics of the postmodern thought; (4) the postmodern repertoire includes mainly the works created after about 1970; (5) the most important features of these compositions are euphony, aleatoric indetermination, polistylistics, and repetitiveness. The notion governed by the claims (1) – (5) is highly unclear and provides little help for understanding musical phenomena. In order to make it more precise, the basis of its definition should be modified and the three following claims accepted: (A) a postmodern musical work is a musical representation of the postmodern worldview; (B) the existing musical repertoire contains some postmodern works; (C) a correct definition of musical postmodernism should enable to qualify at least some of the given composi-tions as postmodern or not. The conditions (A ) – (C) and the analysis of the postmodern worldview seem to suggest that a postmodern musical work is such of a precariously integrated structure. A postmodern work represents the undermining (“deconstruction”) of the crucial idea of the com-posing practice: the piece of music arises from the integration of sounds, not of a simple aggregation of them. The musical “deconstruction” can emerge when some of the important portions a work or certain aspects of it exhibit larger degree of integration than the work as a whole. It seems that some compositions by Ives and the final movement of Chopin’s Sonata in B minor Op. 35 are postmodern in the sense pointed above.
In this paper, the author maintains that the term “ideal border”, used by Roman Ingarden several times in his writing on musical perception, has more to offer than its face value suggests. The notion can have multiple meanings and at fi rst it may seem that it only underlines incoherence of the philosopher’s concept. However, the author of this paper thinks that the notion of “ideal border” points towards diffi culties impossible to overcome in defi ning a musical work — provided that the notion is taken seriously, i.e. as a vital element of Ingarden’s theory, and not as a fi tting metaphor. The notion of “ideal border” in relation to a musical work and its perception, as the author believes, refl ects an ambiguous state of the ontological grounding of a musical work, while confi rming the proposed character of Ingarden’s overall theory in an inspiring way.
The article focuses on the role that musical terminology and musical masterpieces perform in the theological narration of Hans Urs von Balthasar. The author analyses the major musical terms present in Balthasar’s works and the various interpretations of those terms in the theologian’s thought. Next, he shows how Hans Urs von Balthasar uses the musical masterpieces to focus on the unspoken content of faith. The analysis confirms that Hans Urs von Balthasar treats music as an important theological source: a „locus theologicus”.
The article presents an in-depth and detailed reflection on the concept of „integral interpretation” put forward by the Polish musicologist Mieczysław Tomaszewski. The problematics of interpretation has for many years been the focus of Tomaszewski’s attention and interest, as evidenced by his numerous publications devoted to it. They culminate in the formulation of this concept, described by the author as the method of an adequate interpretation of a musical work. In contrast to many contemporary approaches to the issue of the scope of musicology’s subject area, for Tomaszewski the concept of a musical work is central to the discipline, and he poses questions concerning its ontology and understanding in the spirit of Roman Ingarden’s theory of musical work, to which he frequently refers. Tomaszewski regards the process of interpretation as a kind of „rising” to the level of the work, the meaning of which (intentio operis), often identified with the authorial meaning (intentio auctoris), stands at the highest point in the hierarchy of meanings ascribed - from this point of view - to the work. In turn, the work itself functions in different phases, existing as a score, a performance, a result of the processes of perception and as its reception within a culture. In my article I attempt not only to present Tomaszewski’s method, but above all to argue against its anachronicity and limitations resulting from a lack of reference both to contemporary artistic practice and contemporary research methodology in the humanities and in musicology.
The article concerns the theological interpretation of a musical work. The subject of considerations is the work of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki titled Beatus vir (1978), dedicated to Pope John Paul II. The work is based on the poetry of selected psalms and is to commemorate the martyr’s death of the Krakow bishop Saint Stanislaus. The composer uses the musical language to transmit and intensify the content present in the text. Both the words of psalms and music can be interpreted in the theological context. It is a figure of the Blessed Husband, understood both as a figure of Saint Stanisław and the Polish Pope. The theological sense of the work is interpreted by reference to the theology of Joseph Ratzinger and shows the complementary cooperation of the language of music and theology.
PL
Artykuł dotyczy interpretacji teologicznej dzieła muzycznego. Przedmiotem rozważań jest utwór Henryka Mikołaja Góreckiego pt. Beatus vir (1978) zadedykowany papieżowi Janowi Pawłowi II. Utwór opiera się na poezji wybranych psalmów i ma upamiętnić męczeńską śmierć krakowskiego biskupa – świętego Stanisława. Kompozytor za pomocą języka muzycznego przekazuje i intensyfikuje treści obecne w tekście. Zarówno słowa psalmów, jak i muzyka mogą być interpretowane w kontekście teologicznym. Chodzi o postać Błogosławionego Męża, rozumianą zarówno jako postać świętego Stanisława, jak i Papieża Polaka. Teologiczny sens utworu interpretowany jest poprzez odniesienie do teologii Josepha Ratzingera i ukazuje komplementarne współdziałanie języka muzyki i teologii.
Artykuł dotyczy utworów muzycznych Henryka Mikołaja Góreckiego, poświęconych trzem postaciom – głównym świętym patronom Polski. Najświętsza Maryja Panna jest adresatką O Domina Nostra. Medytacje o Jasnogórskiej Pani Naszej na sopran solo i organy op. 55. Św. Wojciech to postać będąca kanwą dla Salve, sidus Polonorum. Kantata o św. Wojciechu op. 72. Z kolei osoba św. Stanisława stoi za dziełem Beatus vir op. 38. Opracowanie omawia życiorys i kulturową recepcję każdego ze wspomnianych świętych. Ponadto opisuje muzyczne dzieła, wskazując na obecność w ich formie dwóch kulminacji. Pierwsza jest muzyczna, umiejscowiona pośrodku kompozycji, opatrzona maksymalnym w danym utworze aparatem instrumentalnym oraz dynamicznym. Druga, teologiczna, znajdująca się pod koniec dzieła, zostaje podana w subtelnej lub charakterystycznej instrumentacji, nierzadko w niskich wartościach dynamicznych. W teologicznej często padają tytułowe frazy, a ich forma muzyczna staje się, za gryfem kompozytora, określeniem formy całego utworu.
EN
The article concerns the musical works of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, dedicated to three characters - the Main Saint Patrons of Poland. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the addressees of O Domina Nostra. Meditations on Our Lady of Jasna Góra for soprano and organ op. 55. Saint Wojciech is a figure that is the canvas for Salve, sidus Polonorum. Cantata about Saint Adalbert op. 72. In turn, the person of St. Stanisław stands behind the work of Beatus vir op. 38. The study discusses the biography and cultural reception of each of the aforementioned saints. In addition, he describes musical works, indicating the presence of two culminations in their form. The first is musical, located in the middle of the composition, provided with the maximum instrumental and dynamic apparatus in a given song. The second theological, at the end of work, one is given in subtle or characteristic instrumentation, often in low dynamic values. Theological phrases often contain in the title, and their musical form becomes, according the composer's neck, a description of the form of the whole work.
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