Document Type
Contribution to Book
Publication Date
2008
Abstract
In this essay, I undertake a comparative study of the ontologies of three quite distinct Western musical traditions – classical, rock, and jazz – approached from the unusual angle of their recordings. By the ‘ontology’ of a tradition I mean simply the kinds of things there are in that tradition and the relations that hold between them. A study of this scope is bound to leave many questions unanswered when restricted to this length. The ontology of classical music has been debated in the analytic tradition for close to half a century, and there has been a growing interest in the ontologies of rock and jazz in the last ten years. The advantage gained by the wide scope, however, is a bird’s eye view of the terrain. As I see it, that terrain is quite varied, and looking at it through the lens of recordings throws the differences into relief. I end with some reflections on the consequences of the ontological project for musicology.
Editor
Mine Doğantan-Dack
Publisher
Middlesex University Press
City
London
ISBN
9781904750277
Repository Citation
Kania, A. (2008). Works, recordings, performances: Classical, rock, jazz. In M. Doğantan-Dack (Ed.), Recorded music: Philosophical and critical reflections (pp. 3-21). Middlesex University Press.
Publication Information
Recorded Music: Philosophical and Critical Reflections