The Power and Value of Music: Its Effect and Ethos in Classical Authors and Contemporary Music Theory (Medieval Interventions)

Nobody Doubts That Music Has A Special, Somewhat Mysterious Power. Less Clear Is How We Can Evaluate That Power. What Makes Music Good Or Bad? Are There Objective Criteria For Such A Distinction? What Impact Can Or Should Music Have On Individuals And On Society As A Whole? What Are The Factors Responsible For The Effect Of Music? This Book Summarizes And Discusses How Authors Of Classical Antiquity Addressed These Questions On Musical Ethos And How They Can Be Approached From A Modern-day Perspective. After Systematically Assembling And Assessing The Value-carrying Characterizations Of Music In Poetic Literature, The Author Reviews All Noteworthy Greek And Latin Writings Which Enlighten Musical Ethos From The Theoretical-philosophical Perspective. He Then Carries The Intuitions Of The Ancients Into Our Time By Proposing A Coherent Model To Explain The Relationship Between Music, Ethos, And Emotions Based On The Results Of Contemporary Research In The Disciplines Of Music Psychology And Philosophy. 0the Concept Of Harmony, Understood As The Appropriate Measure Or As The Balance Of Opposites And So Central To The Reflections Of The Ancient Authors, Plays A Key Role In Shedding Light On The Value And Impact, Both Positive And Negative, Of Music In Human Existence. This Book Provides The Most Comprehensive Overview Available About The Effect And Ethos Of Music In Antiquity And Discusses Many Related Questions Of Scholarly Interest. It Includes Numerous References Provided In The Original Language With Translation, Ample Empirical Material For Further Research, And An Extensive Bibliography. The Effect Of Music In Greek And Latin Literature -- The Impact And Value Of Music According To Ancient Theorists -- The Value Of Music In Systematic Analysis : Philosophical And Psychological Considerations. Andreas Kramarz. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 576-602) And Indexes. Cover 1 Table of Contents 11 Figures 17 Tables 19 Preface 21 Abbreviations 25 Chapter One: Introduction 27 Good and Bad Music—An Old and New Debate 29 Challenges to Explain the Power of Music 35 Terminological Clarifications About the Value of Music 38 Music 38 Purpose and Function 44 The Value of Music 44 “Good” and “Bad” 47 Musical Ethos 50 Summary 53 Reasons for Studying Greek and Roman Sources 53 Recent Interest and Progress in Understanding the Power of Music 55 The Prospective of the Present Work 56 Chapter Two: The Effect of Music in Greek and Latin Literature 60 What Music Does—Phenomenological Survey 60 The Place of Music in Greek and Roman Culture 60 When, How, and to What Effect Music Is Used 62 The Iliad and the Odyssey 63 The Iliad 63 The Odyssey 65 Antiquity in General 66 Festivities 67 Death and Drama 70 Social Settings 72 Work and War 74 Music for Change 76 Aesthetics? 81 Summary 89 Characterizing Music 91 Parameters for the Term Survey 93 Characteristics of Positive or Neutral Value 98 Good and Beautiful 130 Graceful and Lovely 131 Pleasant and Sweet 132 Soft, Fine, Delicate 136 Learned and Skilfull 136 Orderly, Harmonious, Noble 137 Divine and Devout 138 Splendid, Marvelous, and New 140 Clear, Shrill, Resounding, and Loud 140 Happy and Joyful 141 Rousing and Wild 141 Varia 142 Music Images 142 Conclusion 144 Characteristics of Negative Value 145 Bad, Immoral, and Immoderate 155 Sad, Mournful, and Miserable 156 Destructive and Terrible 157 Piercing, Harsh, and Shrill 158 Loud 159 Ignorant and Discordant 159 Dangerous 159 Conclusion 161 Chapter Three: The Impact and Value of Music According to Ancient Theorists 163 Introduction 163 Prefatory Remarks 163 Preliminary Survey of Authors and Currents 165 The Debate About Musical Decadence 177 The Emergence of “New Music” 178 Aristophanes 184 Hellenism 186 Pseudo-Plutarch 188 Athenaeus 190 Development in Roman Times 193 Conclusion 198 Music and Cosmos—Musical Ethos in Education and Therapy 199 The Pythagoreans 200 Damon 209 Plato 214 The “Ethical Triangle” in Plato’s Educational System 215 The Proper Measure 221 Conservatism to Foster Order in Soul and State 225 Good Music and How to Achieve It; Bad Music 228 Mimēsis 233 Music, Cosmos, and the Soul 237 Conclusions and Questions 239 Plutarch 244 Music Excesses at Symposia 244 The Spartan Tradition 248 Moderation and Mimēsis 248 Strabo 250 Nicomachus 251 Ptolemy 252 Plotinus 259 Empirical Approach to Musical Ethos 265 Aristotle 266 Functions and Ethos of Music 266 Good and Bad Music 273 Pitch and Timbre Evaluated 279 Summary 280 The Pseudo-Aristotelian Problemata 281 Ethos in Movement 281 Why Music Is Enjoyable: Order, Balance, Appropriateness 283 Theophrastus 285 Aristoxenus 288 Polybius 291 Dio Chrysostom 293 Cleonides 295 Dionysius of Halicarnassus 296 Hippocrates 299 Philostratus 300 Musical Ethos Questioned 301 The Hibeh Papyrus 302 Philodemus 303 Diogenes of Babylon About the Usefulness of Music, as Presented by Philodemus 305 Philodemus About the Uselessness of Music, Except for Pleasure 307 The Question Whether Music Has Value 317 Sextus Empiricus 319 Conclusion 323 Musical Effect and Ethos in the Latin Tradition 324 Cicero 324 Seneca 329 Quintilian 330 Censorinus 333 Aphthonius 334 Calcidius 335 Favonius 337 Macrobius 338 Ethos and Cosmos Revisited 340 Aristides Quintilianus 341 Importance and Usefulness of Music—General Considerations 342 Music, Ethos, and Pathos—Education and Therapy 345 Musical Ethos—Its Inner Workings 350 Cosmic Order Through Music 359 Evaluation 365 Metaphysics of Ethos 367 Male-Female 371 Conclusion 373 Martianus Capella 374 Boethius 379 Early Christian Contributions on Musical Ethos 385 Clement of Alexandria 385 The New Song 386 Musical Ethos in Christian Education 391 Basil of Caesarea 394 John Chrysostom 395 Augustine 397 Aequalitas—Music as a Path to God 398 Dangers and Benefits From Musical Delights 406 Cassiodorus 411 A Compendium of Musical Lore 411 The Blessings of Music 413 Isidore 416 Christian Music Practice and Criticism 419 Conclusion 428 Chapter Four: The Value of Music in Systematic Analysis 429 Philosophical and Psychological Considerations 430 Basic Questions 430 Music 431 Ethos 432 Human and Non-Human Ethos 432 Ethos Formation 433 Ethos and Ethics 433 Musical Ethos 434 Collective Ethos 434 Factors Modifying the Impact of Music 435 Musical Event 436 Recipient 436 Environment 440 The Impact of Music on the Human Person 440 Music and the Body 442 Music and Intellect 442 Music and Emotions 443 Emotions 443 Musically Induced Emotions 444 Mechanisms to Induce Emotion. 448 Conditions for Creating Musical Ethos 450 Creating Musical Ethos 452 Musical Emotions 456 Musical and Ordinary Emotions. 457 Emotional Contagion or Attraction 459 Aesthetic Experience as a Musical Emotion Beyond Ethos 460 The Whole of Emotion in Music 461 Human Ethos Through Musical Emotion 463 Summary 464 Music and Pleasure 464 Value Judgments on Musical Ethos 466 Good and Bad Emotions 466 Judging Musical Ethos 466 Intrinsically Good or Bad Music? 467 Conditions for Intrinsic Value 468 Consonance vs. Dissonance. 471 The Central Place of Harmony 473 The Harmonic Triangle 473 The Prominence of Music Through Harmony 475 Contributions From Music Therapy 479 Origins 479 Music Therapy and the Question of Good and Bad Music 480 Chapter Five: Conclusion 487 Appendix: Synoptic Tables of References 492 Good Effects in Music (English) 494 Good Effects in Music (Original Language) 536 Bad Effects in Music (English) 575 Bad Effects in Music (Original Language) 589 Bibliography 602 General Works of Reference 602 Primary Texts of Classical Authors 604 Secondary Texts on Antiquity 610 Contemporary Publications 621 Index of Names 629 Index of Subjects 634 «This book is a substantial and wide-ranging treatment of the ancients’ theories on music’s effect on individuals and society. Andreas Kramarz investigates both ancient and modern methodologies for placing value on music, giving readers an excellent sense of the diachronic attention given to music’s power over human emotions. It should be of interest not only to classicists and musicologists but to anyone who wants to know more about the role of music in everyday life in antiquity, and especially to those who study human psychology and ethics.» (Jennifer A. Rea, Associate Professor of Classics and Graduate Coordinator, University of Florida, Gainesville) «This thorough monograph is a welcome addition to the literature on ancient Greek and Roman music. With impressive erudition, Andreas Kramarz draws from a large corpus of ancient authors to investigate the notion of ‘musical value’ and explore the notoriously slippery concept of musical ethos. The originality of the book lies in putting modern aesthetic theory, music philosophy, and psychology in conversation with ancient musical writings, to discuss the fascinating topic of musical emotions in the context of ancient music.» (Pauline LeVen, Associate Professor of Classics, Yale University) «Andreas Kramarz has done a great service to several fields with this corpus of ancient ideas about ‘good and bad music’ – from Homer to the end of antiquity, including early Christian reception – that will stand as a fundamental resource for all further work on the subject. More than this, Kramarz offers a stimulating and original critical synthesis that draws on modern scholarship in aesthetics, philosophy, psychology, and cognitive science to demonstrate the continuing relevance of the ancient thinkers.» (John C. Franklin, Associate Professor of Classics, University of Vermont, Burlington)