Eirini ARTEMI

Published in The Medieval Aesthetics

Keywords: Clement of Alexandria, Hymns, Music, Musical metaphors, Musical myths, New Song, Protrepticus.

Clement of Alexandria or Titus Flavius Clemens was familiar with classical Greek philosophy and literature. When he converted to Christianity, he tried to draw some clear distinctions against the paganism. Many things from paganism were interpreted by a way that serve Christian theology. In Clement of Alexandria’s Protrepticus, the church father tries to explain how the well-known classical music-myths can be used to create the knowledge of a Superior “New Song”. Instead of that, Christians serve the New Song – Jesus in Church and outside the Church, they continue to “amuse themselves with impious playing, and amatory quavering, occupied with flute-playing, and dancing, and intoxication, and all kinds of trash. They who sing thus, and sing in response, are those who before hymned immortality, –found at last wicked and wickedly singing this most pernicious palinode, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”. Clement explains that by this way christians remain christians in name so they are dead in God not tomorrow. But not tomorrow in truth, but already, are these dead to God. In this paper, we are going to show that the polemic of Clement Alexandria was not against ancient music and musical instruments, but against the way that they were used by Christians. Also, we will analyse the method that Clement employs the musical metaphors and musical myths in his texts in order to educate Christians and to manage to earn the salvation.

Antonio Celso RIBEIRO

Original title: A Polifonia discursivo-musical nas Cantigas de Santa Maria de Alfonso X, o Sábio

Published in Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Peninsula Cultural History

Keywords: Bakhtin, Cantigas, Dialogism, Discursive-musical polyphony, Jewish, Middle Ages, Music.

The aim of the present work is to analyse the interrelationship between the text and the musical tessitura in one of the pieces from the Cantigas de Santa Maria, by Alfonso X, el Sabio (13th Cent.). The chosen work is extracted among those which deal with the presence of the Jewish people in a Christian realm, where I look for to recover in the melodies, marks that reinforce or denigrate their image, comparing them with Christian presence as well the Virgen Mary. Thus, I take in assumption that music is a language, and I will support the analysis in taking into account the concept of “discursive-musical polyphony” created by Lanna using the theoretical framework of the Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin.

Gaspar PAZ

Original title: A flexibilidade da escuta musical

Published in Art, Criticism and Mysticism

Keywords: Aesthetic experience, Artistic criticis, Artistic languages, Flexible listening, Music.

Herein we analyze some aspects of the artistic criticism and aesthetic experience, which stand out in Gerd Bornheim’s interpretations. For him, the critical disposal should follow the creative process and the expressive praxis. In this way, we will assume musical language as an inflexion point highlighting the contrast between two forms of perception: the intellectualist listening and flexible listening to the music. Such instances symbolize the buildup of an interpretative and practical boldness in which the role of sound is stressed. There are at least two plausible hypotheses in bornheimnian approach. The first one, phenomenological, handles the music as language towards a dialectic of social relations and it takes into account the historical alternations of subjectivity. The second trends to a broader analysis of artistic expressions, in which the dialogue between music, theater, poetry, cinema and art is emphasized. It is therefore important to appreciate the critical relevance of Bornheim’s work and the special place he assigns to the relationship between arts, philosophy and politics.

Antonio Celso RIBEIRO

Original title: De Aristóteles a Castel: relações intertextuais entre a cor do som e o som da cor – afetos e sinestesia

Published in Mirabilia Journal 31 (2020/2)  

Keywords: Aristotle, Castel, Color, Music, Semiotics, Synesthesia.

The aim of the present work is to analyse the intertextual relationships between musical notes and colours and its ramifications under the point of view of emotions, humors, and science. The research will comprise the historical period starting in ancient Greece with Aristotle, ending in Baroque with French mathematician Louis Bertrand-Castel (1688-1757). Thus, it will take in assumption that music and colors are correlate languages, and we will support the analysis in considering scientific concepts and semiotic approachs and the concept of migration of meanings (synesthesias).