From Drusca Sent Mon, Aug 23rd 1999, 23:54
From Drusca Sent Mon, Aug 23rd 1999, 23:54
Maybe you should go back and read some of the previous posts. The topic was
the influence of African music on the Western "classical" musical world which
started sometime in the very-late 1800s, not who did what first. What I was
trying to prove is that western composers have been just as concerned with
rhythm as they have with melody/harmony for hundreds of years. I'll be the
first one to admit that the use of rhythm by composers from Central Europe
during the Baroque, Classical & Romantic periods is pretty "square" compared
to the rhythms employed in African & Asian music, but it's definitely been a
concern otherwise they would have composed a bunch of drones. European
composers tend to be more lyrical than percussive.
People have a tendency to think after hearing African or Latin music, etc.
"Well, European music really doesn't pay attention to rhythm", but I think
the truth is that those types of music put more emphasis on rhythm than
melody therefore it's more noticeable. People don't notice the rhythms in a
lot of classical music because equal emphasis is placed on melody AND rhythm.
When you notice rhythm as in Stravinsky's Rite Of Spring it's because he's
emphasizing rhythm over melody.
And my opinions are based on active listening not from reading a "history
book", although that certainly doesn't hurt.
Whatever, this is getting kinda tedious.
Andrei
np: Varese - Live 3
ASKO Ensemble (ATTACCA)
Kelley Hackett wrote:
> Regardless of influence, African music has existed long before, and I
> reiterate, LONG BEFORE the period in which U spoke of early..............
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Drusca [SMTP:xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx]
> > Sent: Monday, August 23, 1999 3:45 PM
> > To: xxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
> > Subject: Re: (idm) The Africa in Music
> >
> > ChairCrusher wrote:
> >
> > > Stravinsky was directly influenced by hearing African music in Paris.
> >
> > Actually, he was influenced by Russian folk music, which often uses odd
> > time
> > signatures, when he composed Petrouchka, Firebird and Rite Of Spring. He
> > was
> > later influenced by ragtime in pieces like Soldier's Tale. You might be
> > thinking
> > of Debussy hearing Gamelan in Paris.
> >
> > Andrei
> Perhaps U should read your history book, or get a new one, many African
> civilizations were doing this long before the time U mention
> Pal........LONG
> BEFORE!
>
> Hk!
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Drusca [SMTP:xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx]
> > Sent: Monday, August 23, 1999 1:02 AM
> > To: xxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
> > Subject: Re: (idm) three things that piss me off
> >
> > ChairCrusher wrote:
> >
> > > That view of melody (or more generally harmonic progression) is the
> > > cornerstone of western music. It took Africa (and African Americans)
> to
> > > bring rhythm and drums up to where they are co-equal with harmony
> > > in Western Music.
> >
> > I think rhythm & melody were on a equal level in Western music before the
>
> > introduction of African (or Asian) rhythms. There was a lot of rhythmic
> > intricacy
> > in medieval music (check out Machaut & the whole Ars Nova period) and
> then
> > of
> > course much later Stravinsky did some amazing stuff. Schoenberg and
> Webern
> > were
> > also very rhythmically sophisticated though in more subtle ways. Even
> > listen to
> > Beethoven's 5th, I definitely think the rhythmic development in that
> piece
> > is
> > just as important as the melodic development. Even Brahms is famous for
> > doing a
> > lot of 3 against 2 stuff.
> > I think what Africa did is introduce the west to different rhythmic
> > patterns and
> > "feels" and the emphasis of different beats (2 & 4 vs. 1 & 3).
> >
> > Andrei