Diane wrote:
"I don't believe that most academics today claim that one can only learn to
sing well using classical music as the vehicle. However, I think it is good
to remember that the reason classical music is the foundation for a college
music curriculum is the same as the reason great literature is the
foundation
for the English Department's curriculum. It's not that you can't learn to
read using other kinds of books, newspapers, or whatever. It's the fact
that
an educated person needs to know great literature, and likewise as educated
person needs to know great music. Whether or not one makes a career out of
classical literature or classical music is another affair!"
Although I'm a rock singer who doesn't like much of classical singing, I
have to agree! Academia is ( or should be ) aimed at preserving, teaching
and understanding what humankind has achieved of most complex, that which is
the result of the complexity some cultures, and more specifically our
culture, has reached, therefore ...
Mary Beth wrote:
" Whoa..........this sounds a little elitist to me.............great
literature
is still written today, just as it was 300 years ago..........Likewise,
great
music is created and written today, jsut as it was 300 years
ago................a truly educated person will be able to approach and
embrace all styles of music, literature and art from all eras and not just
one. A good education involves training one to find the beaty and genius in
all styles and genres of art...........regardless of when it was created. "
... I agree it's not only 'a little elitist', but extremely elitist but
that's what it should be. The function of the academia is to keep and
generate the elite knowledge we have acquired and make sure it's not lost
AND develop it. Popular knowledge, as the adjective 'popular' overtly
states, is more easily transmitted and acquired, it's carried around by each
and everyone of us and therefore it does not require the background
necessary for reaching elite quality. Playing the fiddle in country music is
surely not as demanding as playing the violin in an orchestra. As the
orchestral music is the upmost level we have achieved in musicianship, it's
our elite music, and as the jewel in our musical culture it MUST be treated
as something special, receive public investments that other kinds of music
are not entitled to, etc. That's why NYCPD has SWAT, by the way! :-) The
elite is the elite, in whatever area it is. It doesn't mean that 'regular'
police officers are useless! We either pay that price, enjoy classical music
or not, or civilization is at risk!
And Merry added:
"i don't think that is elitist. we know certain music is great because it
has
stood the test of time. perhaps great literature and great music is being
written today, but in the moment we are not always able to discern what is
great and what isn't without a little distance. it can be that certain
works
being created today will slip by us, but will be the classics of the 22nd
century. Mozart was not appreciated in his lifetime, and Bach was hardly
known outside of a pretty limited area; about a century after his death much
of his work had been forgotten until Mendelssohn resurrected it."
Here, I have to fully disagree! It is elitist and it's not great just
because it has stood the test of time. Remember that is easier to burn down
the Louvre and lose all its art than it is to burn the paintings by cavemen!
:-) I'm an atheist, but I would never say religions are worthless just
because they haven't stood the test of time, as I wouldn't say religions are
good just because the stood the test of time for centuries! And I wouldn't
defend dictatorship or monarchy just because they have lasted longer than
democracy in most countries! Regardless of being or not appreciated in their
lifetimes, both Mozart and Bach must have something in them which is PURE
QUALITY, and people at their times must have missed it due to their
belonging to different schools or periods ( Modernism, Classicism, etc )
rather than their demanding hindsight, otherwise people wouldn't be able to
appreciate the music that was made in their own period, which is not true!
Bye,
Caio Rossi
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