Stephen Davies on Musical Works and Performances
Stephen Davies asks the question is an authentic performance an accurate one?
I was inspired to write Musical Works and Performances as a result of my
disappointment with the treatment of musical ontology by philosophers and
musicologists. Most authors assume that musical works are of a single kind —
for live performance and specified in a written notation — the nature of which
has not changed over the centuries. I argue that musical works come in a
variety of types, with some not being for performance and others being for the
very special circumstances of studio performance. Moreover, even among works
for live performance, there has been change and development over the years.
Some pieces are "thin", in that they determine comparatively few of the
features of their accurate performances, while others are "thicker". In
addition, most philosophers focus on a narrow diet of classical examples,
though these differ from rock songs, non-Western pieces, and so on. I look to a
much wider spread of examples in developing my arguments. Also, the nature of
performance and the contributions of players have received less attention than
has the discussion of works and composers. I try to develop an extended
analysis of the relation between performances and the works they are of, as
well of musical notations.
The analysis of musical ontology has far-reaching implications for other topics
in the philosophy of music. If an authentic performance is an accurate one, we
cannot determine what can be required of the performer in the name of
authenticity without considering the nature of the work being performed. In
most cases, though, debates concerning the authentic performance movement fail
to articulate the controversial ontological assumptions they make. Something
similar is true when anthropologists and ethnomusicologists discuss whether non-
Western musics can remain representative of and faithful to their home cultures
when these kinds of music are influenced by foreign sources or are presented to
paying tourists. Rather than rejecting the applicability of judgments of
authenticity under such circumstances, as has become fashionable within the
social sciences, I attempt to determine criteria capturing the differences
between musical assimilation and annihilation, or cultural presentation and
prostitution. In doing so, it is necessary to consult widely with informed
musicians from society.
Another topic to consider is the extent to which recordings differ from live performances when they are of works intended
for live rendition. Most people listen to recordings more often than they
attend live presentations. These recordings are represented as genuinely
instancing the works whose performance they simulate. Yet they are at their
best when they provide interpretations that may not be ideal in the live
setting, and they allow the musician the luxury of multiple takes and the like.
As with the other subjects mentioned, an appropriate understanding of
recordings requires analysis of their relation to the performances they
emulate, and awareness of their similarities and differences. The discussion of
recordings is all the more important, I argue, given the extent to which
broadcast music has come to invade our wider environment, with the possiblity
that this blunts our sensitivity to music that requires and rewards attentive
listening.
Stephen Davies
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