Lecture 4
First week - J in musical culture with strong sense of virtuosity - the "art of entertainment"
Musical virtuosity not nec. aimed at crowd pleasing. 19 - 20th Cent. task of audience to bring itself to level of performer - cultural attainment was recognition. Refinement meant rich enjoyed things that others couldn't - reinforced by....
Ex: Doro Sayers mystery novels - Lord Peter Wimsey. Perfect Aristocrat - illustrated by her description of his never patted his foot - never moved by music, never showed sensual pleasure in music - this was sign of breeding - that you weren't moved by rhythm or sang, etc. publicly
Walser p. 7 - Times Picyune - "usually think of people as musical or non-musical...some pass to inner sanctums of harmony" blah blah - rot.
Intellectual listeners are looking for fitting patterns, mathematical aspects of music
"In this house there is another room - a basement room of servants - where [folk] music, negro banjo, play - 'native dance of a world'" - racist, chauvanistic - but shows location of "bottom" and this is how "lower" forms of music were seen - "native" or primitive, raw, unrefined vs. "civilized", refined cooked.
Civilized Idea that music is supposed to CHANGE what's in your head - but not give your body any release, not supposed to be physical - intellectual, even mathematical. TO bring about a "spiritual experience" that transcended the body. Early 20th century had this type of musical discourses - back to social engineering/eugenics experiments - saving the lower class whites - giving them uplifting culture. City symphonies were an attempt to bring lower whites into middle, upper classes. To remove physical from intellectual - "black" music opperated in the "basement" to make the body react. Lots of percussion, dancing - even the voice used in creating rhythm.
Irene and Vernon Cassel ~ 1910 started early ballroom dancing - James Reese Europe - refined dancing. The body COULD be used to bring about a spiritual experience [16:00] 16th and27th cent., christ. rel did have sexual forms of dance - priests, but were driven out to elimate sex.
By 19th cent. - cerebral or spiritual aspects in dance - only whites embracing primitive parts of soul danced dancesof "lesser" races - or act of rebellion. to really dance for whites was to engage in behavior of servants
Elegance of dancing - Cassels first did this - formed ballroom danicng and competitions. James Reese Europe - led band for ballroom in europe - Europe's band was studio - incredibly proficient, great music readers almost instantly. But - they never had the music in front of them - supposed to be "natural" - so memorized and did w/o music and stayed "primitive" musicians. So - whites could "enjoy primitive music".
Segregation caused much fear, and whites dancing to "servants" music was problemsatic in society. In NO context music was celebrated and the most important thing that gets exported from NO. Music styles changed, Jelly Roll stayed in "older style" too long - criticized. But what hasn't changed is the "glorificaation" of musicians
James Reese Europe - website - more than anyone except Scott Joplin, he aspired to be respectible in whites' eyes. In Europe - was officer, etc. but didnt play J in war bands in WWII
At time, there were multiple versions of "black" america across America and Euro - "negro music" - like Ragtime. JR Europe might be considered Ragtime - dancable with syncopation.
Chicago defender - biggest blac knewspaper in america - spoke for bourgeios black class. Ebony mag. comes from tradition of CD - blacks to live same classes as middle and upper class whites. So Cd was about "defending the race". "Apologist" in the sense of "make a case for" - JR Europe was highly considered - he was exactly the image that blacks could consider aspirational. Romanticism of blacks as "people of the soil", ultimate peasants - Booker T. Washington. JR Europe thought Slavs, Russians, peasant music was only he listened to, only ones like blacks, with a natural affinity for music. Although - JR Europe used as lip service, but still found best musicians as possible.
CD saw idea of JR Europe - this will make whites notice us. So - outside NO many types of "negro" music were emerging, that could only be marginally considered "jazz". Then, there was a diaspora of musicians from NO. Although NO captured the imaginantion as the "definitive" sound.
Musical virtuosity not nec. aimed at crowd pleasing. 19 - 20th Cent. task of audience to bring itself to level of performer - cultural attainment was recognition. Refinement meant rich enjoyed things that others couldn't - reinforced by....
Ex: Doro Sayers mystery novels - Lord Peter Wimsey. Perfect Aristocrat - illustrated by her description of his never patted his foot - never moved by music, never showed sensual pleasure in music - this was sign of breeding - that you weren't moved by rhythm or sang, etc. publicly
Walser p. 7 - Times Picyune - "usually think of people as musical or non-musical...some pass to inner sanctums of harmony" blah blah - rot.
Intellectual listeners are looking for fitting patterns, mathematical aspects of music
"In this house there is another room - a basement room of servants - where [folk] music, negro banjo, play - 'native dance of a world'" - racist, chauvanistic - but shows location of "bottom" and this is how "lower" forms of music were seen - "native" or primitive, raw, unrefined vs. "civilized", refined cooked.
Civilized Idea that music is supposed to CHANGE what's in your head - but not give your body any release, not supposed to be physical - intellectual, even mathematical. TO bring about a "spiritual experience" that transcended the body. Early 20th century had this type of musical discourses - back to social engineering/eugenics experiments - saving the lower class whites - giving them uplifting culture. City symphonies were an attempt to bring lower whites into middle, upper classes. To remove physical from intellectual - "black" music opperated in the "basement" to make the body react. Lots of percussion, dancing - even the voice used in creating rhythm.
Irene and Vernon Cassel ~ 1910 started early ballroom dancing - James Reese Europe - refined dancing. The body COULD be used to bring about a spiritual experience [16:00] 16th and27th cent., christ. rel did have sexual forms of dance - priests, but were driven out to elimate sex.
By 19th cent. - cerebral or spiritual aspects in dance - only whites embracing primitive parts of soul danced dancesof "lesser" races - or act of rebellion. to really dance for whites was to engage in behavior of servants
Elegance of dancing - Cassels first did this - formed ballroom danicng and competitions. James Reese Europe - led band for ballroom in europe - Europe's band was studio - incredibly proficient, great music readers almost instantly. But - they never had the music in front of them - supposed to be "natural" - so memorized and did w/o music and stayed "primitive" musicians. So - whites could "enjoy primitive music".
Segregation caused much fear, and whites dancing to "servants" music was problemsatic in society. In NO context music was celebrated and the most important thing that gets exported from NO. Music styles changed, Jelly Roll stayed in "older style" too long - criticized. But what hasn't changed is the "glorificaation" of musicians
James Reese Europe - website - more than anyone except Scott Joplin, he aspired to be respectible in whites' eyes. In Europe - was officer, etc. but didnt play J in war bands in WWII
At time, there were multiple versions of "black" america across America and Euro - "negro music" - like Ragtime. JR Europe might be considered Ragtime - dancable with syncopation.
Chicago defender - biggest blac knewspaper in america - spoke for bourgeios black class. Ebony mag. comes from tradition of CD - blacks to live same classes as middle and upper class whites. So Cd was about "defending the race". "Apologist" in the sense of "make a case for" - JR Europe was highly considered - he was exactly the image that blacks could consider aspirational. Romanticism of blacks as "people of the soil", ultimate peasants - Booker T. Washington. JR Europe thought Slavs, Russians, peasant music was only he listened to, only ones like blacks, with a natural affinity for music. Although - JR Europe used as lip service, but still found best musicians as possible.
CD saw idea of JR Europe - this will make whites notice us. So - outside NO many types of "negro" music were emerging, that could only be marginally considered "jazz". Then, there was a diaspora of musicians from NO. Although NO captured the imaginantion as the "definitive" sound.
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