Abstract
Music’s role in Decadent art and debates about Decadence was varied,
almost ubiquitous and at times contradictory: it cannot be confined to
particular composers, to formal matters, to metaphor or even to
musically informed usage. This chapter makes this diversity (some would
say messiness) a principle of the argument, embracing the breadth of
meanings attached both to Decadence and to music’s role in it. Decadence
is here understood broadly, acknowledging its currency in and across
disciplines and discourses including (most pertinently to this chapter,
but not limited to) the mental sciences, art history, literary
criticism, aesthetics and sexology. Recognizing music’s importance to
Decadent art and its reception involves acknowledging music’s
intersection with discourses from evolutionary theory to sexology to
mysticism to nationalism and consumerism. This chapter begins by briefly
surveying musical allusions in Decadent writing and considering music’s
importance to Decadent style and formal innovations. It turns then to
music’s role in the cultural and critical discourse about Decadence.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Decadence |
Subtitle of host publication | A literary history |
Editors | Alex Murray |
Place of Publication | Cambridge |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Chapter | 12 |
Pages | 218-233 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781108640527 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781108426299 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 2020 |
Keywords
- Music
- Decadence
- Intermediality
- Anders-streben
- Individualism
- Mysticism
- Temperament