MUSIC and CAPITALISM: Melody, Harmony and Rhythm in the Modern World (Critical Political Theory and Radical Practice)

This book argues that the need for music, and the ability to produce and enjoy it, is an essential element in human nature. Every society in history has produced some characteristic style of music. Music, like the other arts, tells us truths about the world through its impact on our emotional life. There is a structural correspondence between society and music. The emergence of 'modern art music' and its stylistic changes since the rise of capitalist social relations reflect the development of capitalist society since the decline of European feudalism. The leading composers of the different eras expressed in music the aspirations of the dominant or aspiring social classes. Changes in musical style not only reflect but in turn help to shape changes in society. This book analyses the stylistic changes in music from the emergence of ‘tonality’ in the late seventeenth century until the Second World War. Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 9 Contents 13 1 The Necessity of Music 14 Origins and Functions of Music 17 Bibliography 29 2 The Late Baroque Style 31 Part I: Musical Background 31 Monody and the Basso Continuo 34 The Italian Age 38 Instrumental Music 38 The Baroque Era—Musical Forms and Styles 38 Part II: Composers 48 Counterpoint Supremo: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) 49 Bach’s Late Baroque Style 49 Counterpoint: 49 Four-Part Harmony 50 The German Englishman: George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) 54 Handel’s Late Baroque Style 54 Bach and Handel 57 A Man for All Seasons—Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) 59 Vivaldi’s Late Baroque Style 60 Part III: Social and Political Influences on the Late Baroque Style 61 Rise of Bourgeois Towns 63 Italy—Dominance and Decline 65 Role of Patronage 67 The Protestant Reformation 67 Pietism: Ideological Expression of the Rise of Capitalism 68 Bach’s Counterpoint and Melody 70 Influence of ‘Zeitgeist’ on Handel 70 German Enlightenment 71 Social Aspects of Instrumentalism and Tonality 71 Legacy of the Baroque 78 Bibliography 79 3 The Classical Style 82 Galant Music 82 Part I: The Classical Style 84 The Sonata Principle 85 Classical Forms—Sonata Form 85 Instruments 87 Instrumentation and Musical Forms 103 Solo and Chamber Music—1780–1800 103 Decline of the Continuo 103 From the Harpsichord to the Fortepiano 104 The Accompanied Keyboard Sonata 104 Chamber Music for Strings 105 String Trios 105 String Quartets 105 Music for Voice and Piano 105 The Pre-Eminence of the Symphony and Concerto 106 Part II: Composers 106 The Liberated Servant—Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) 106 Haydn’s Classical Style 107 Overture to Revolution: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) 114 Mozart’s Classical Style 114 The Tragedy and Miracle of Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770–1827) 122 Beethoven’s Classical Style 122 Early Beethoven 123 Middle Beethoven 125 Opera 127 Late Beethoven 130 Part III: Social and Political Influences on the Classical Style 136 From Feudalism to Capitalism 137 Rise and Dominance of Vienna 138 Social and Political Influences on Beethoven’s Late Style 147 The European Political Context 148 Social Origins 152 Conclusion: Beethoven and Hegel 153 Bibliography 153 4 The Romantic Style 156 Part II: Romantic Composers 164 Into the Dark German Forest—Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) 164 Weber’s Romantic Style 164 The Tragic Lyricism of Franz Schubert (1797–1828) 165 Schubert’s Romantic Style 166 Lieder: 166 Instrumental Works: 167 Piano Works: 170 The Pictorial Romanticism of Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) 172 Berlioz’s Romantic Style 172 Searching for a Lost Paradise—Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) 175 Mendelssohn’s Romantic Style 175 The Sadness of Exile: Frederic Chopin (1810–1849) 177 Chopin’s Romantic Style 178 The Tormented Inner World of Robert Schumann (1810–1856) 183 Schumann’s Romantic Style 184 The Programmatic Drama of Franz Liszt (1811–1886) 187 Liszt’s Romantic Style 188 The Teutonic Mythology of Richard Wagner (1813–1883) 191 Wagner’s Romantic Style 191 The Rebellious Nationalism of Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) 199 Verdi’s Romantic Style 199 Late-Verdi: 205 Verdi’s Nationalism: 207 The Janus Figure of Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) 207 Brahms’ Romantic Style 207 The Mighty Slavophilism of Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881) 213 Mussorgsky’s Romantic Style 213 The Russian Soul of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) 215 Tchaikovsky’s Romantic Style 216 The Slavonic Romanticism of Antonin Dvorak (1841–1904) 218 Dvorak’s Romantic Style 219 Part III: Social and Political Influences on the Romantic Style 222 Bibliography 244 5 The Modernist Styles 247 Part I 247 Part II 251 Composers 252 The Modernist ‘Angst’ of Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) 252 Mahler’s Modernist Style 252 The Post Wagernian Innovations of Richard Strauss (1864–1949) 257 Strauss’s Modernist Style 257 The Impressions and Symbols of Claude Debussy (1862–1918) 261 Debussy’s Modernist Style 262 The Atonal Wanderings of Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) 268 Schoenberg’s Modernist Style 269 The Modernist National Idiom of Charles Ives (1874–1954) 276 Ives’s Modernist Style 276 From the Heart of the Folk—Bela Bartok (1881–1945) 281 Bartok’s Modernist Style 281 The Revolutionary Russian: Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) 287 Stravinsky’s Three Styles 288 Falling Foul of Socialist Realism: Sergei Prokoviev (1891–1953) 295 Prokoviev’s Three Periods 295 Middle Period: 296 Late Prokoviev: 297 Music for the People: Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) 298 Hindemith’s Modernist Style 299 The American Idiom of Aaron Copland (1900–1990) 303 Copland’s Modernist Style 303 The Warm Lyricism of Michael Tippett (1905–1998) 307 Magnificent ‘Muddle’: Dimitri Shostakovitch (1906–1975) 308 Shostakovich’s Modernist Style 309 The Serial Bird Singing of Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) 312 The Modernist Style of Olivier Messiaen 312 A People’s Guide to Modernism: Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) 313 Britten’s Modernist Style 314 Popular Music: Broadway and Jazz 318 Part III: Social and Political Influences on the Modernist Styles 319 Bibliography 338 Glossary 341 Index 352 This book argues that the need for music, and the ability to produce and enjoy it is an essential element in human nature. Every society in history has produced some characteristic style of music. Music, like the other arts, tells us truths about the world through its impact on our emotional life. There is a structural correspondence between society and music. The emergence of 'modern art music' and its stylistic changes since the rise of capitalist social relations reflect the development of capitalist society since the decline of European feudalism. The leading composers of the different eras expressed in music the aspirations of the dominant or aspiring social classes. Changes in musical style not only reflect but in turn help to shape changes in society. This book analyses the stylistic changes in music from the emergence of tonality in the late 17th century until the Second World War. Sabby Sagall is former Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of East London, UK. He writes regularly for the Socialist Review and Socialist Worker, and is the author of Final Solutions: Human Nature, Capitalism, and Genocide (2013)