Understanding Music History and New Musicology

Four Visions of Music History

Music history can be viewed through four different lenses, each offering a unique perspective on what constitutes the primary substance of music and the appropriate methodology for its study:

• Functional

  Dominant in the 16th and 17th centuries, this perspective emphasizes the function of music. Genre was viewed as a substantive feature, defined by a fixed relationship between the purpose the music served and the techniques employed. Studying music history through this lens involves understanding it as a division of technical and institutional history. However, it may neglect other aspects and interrelationships.

• Representative

  This view posits that music's power lies in its representative capacity, distinct from expression. Historians focusing on this aspect are concerned with the significance of representation and the technical resources used in different genres.

• Personal

  Prevalent in the Romantic era, this perspective centers on the composer as a subjective agent of musical expression. Historians adopting this approach consider the author as an individual or an aesthetic entity. However, applying this perspective to other periods can lack rigor.

• Structural

  Relevant to the 20th century, this perspective emphasizes the crucial relationship between content and form. Structural analysis aims to explain the value of music, focusing on the text as a reflection of its time and intertextuality, rather than the composer's intentions. It involves a serious analysis of musical texts.

New Musicology: A Paradigm Shift

New Musicology emerged in the late 1970s, challenging musicological positivism and formalism. It involves studying and critiquing musical analysis from new perspectives, bridging the gap between historical research and ethnography.

Key figures like Kerman criticized the existing vision, advocating for a greater emphasis on sociology. Treitler viewed music as a link in a complex cultural system. New Musicology critiques the focus on aesthetics and formal analysis, considering the experiences of the receiver, interpreter, editor, and programmer.

New approaches are sought, including feminist musicology, mathematical musicology, gender studies in music, and postcolonialism. The concept of a canon, or an unconscious model, is questioned, and a new vision of music as a social force is promoted, focusing on subjective aspects of history and causation.

Characteristics of a New Musicology Investigator

• Objectivity

  The investigator should not be personally involved in the results, maintaining a separation between observer and observed.

• Critical Standpoint

  Recognizing the interdependence of language and meaning, raising ethical, political, and sociological considerations. It reflects a greater complexity.

• Personal Engagement

  Musicologists should guide their work personally, understanding the experience of music to enhance knowledge.

Gender Studies in Music

The study of gender is now a significant area of research, differentiating between two aspects: the history of women in music and the study of gender itself.