The Power and Value of Music: Its Effect and Ethos in Classical Authors and Contemporary Music Theory

640 Pages·2016·3.7 MB·English

by  Andreas Kramarz

1
The Power
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? and Value
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
T
can be approached from a modern-day perspective. H of Music
E
After systematically assembling and assessing the value-carrying characterizations of music in
P
poetic literature, the author reviews all noteworthy Greek and Latin writings which enlighten O
W ITS EFFECT AND ETHOS
musical “ethos” from the theoretical-philosophical perspective. He then carries the intuitions
E IN CLASSICAL AUTHORS AND
of the ancients into our time by proposing a coherent model to explain the relationship between
R
music, ethos, and emotions based on the results of contemporary research in the disciplines CONTEMPORARY MUSIC THEORY
A
of music psychology and philosophy. The concept of harmony, understood as the appropriate N
D
measure or as the balance of opposites and so central to the reflections of the ancient authors,

V
plays a key role in shedding light on the value and impact, both positive and negative, of music
A S
N
in human existence. L
O
U
I
E T
This book provides the most comprehensive overview available about the effect and ethos of
N
O E
music in antiquity and discusses many related questions of scholarly interest. It includes nu-
F V
merous references provided in the original language with translation, ample empirical material R
M E
for further research, and an extensive bibliography. T
U N
S I

I L
C A
V
Andreas Kramarz holds a Ph.D. in classical civilization (University of Florida), an M.A. in phi- E

| I
losophy (Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome), as well as an M.A. in German D
K E
language and literature and an M.A. in Catholic theology (University of Münster). During the M
r
final year of writing his dissertation, he was awarded the Langadas Graduate Fellowship. At a
m
present, he is the Dean of Studies and teaches humanities at the Legion of Christ College of
a
Humanities in Cheshire, Connecticut. For many years he has been involved in music as a r
z
pianist, organist, and director of various choral and instrumental ensembles.
www.peterlang.com
P
E
T
E
R
L
A
N
G
ANDREAS KRAMARZ
1
The Power
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? and Value
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
T
can be approached from a modern-day perspective. H of Music
E
After systematically assembling and assessing the value-carrying characterizations of music in
P
poetic literature, the author reviews all noteworthy Greek and Latin writings which enlighten O
W ITS EFFECT AND ETHOS
musical “ethos” from the theoretical-philosophical perspective. He then carries the intuitions
E IN CLASSICAL AUTHORS AND
of the ancients into our time by proposing a coherent model to explain the relationship between
R
music, ethos, and emotions based on the results of contemporary research in the disciplines CONTEMPORARY MUSIC THEORY
A
of music psychology and philosophy. The concept of harmony, understood as the appropriate N
D
measure or as the balance of opposites and so central to the reflections of the ancient authors,

V
plays a key role in shedding light on the value and impact, both positive and negative, of music
A S
N
in human existence. L
O
U
I
E T
This book provides the most comprehensive overview available about the effect and ethos of
N
O E
music in antiquity and discusses many related questions of scholarly interest. It includes nu-
F V
merous references provided in the original language with translation, ample empirical material R
M E
for further research, and an extensive bibliography. T
U N
S I

I L
C A
V
Andreas Kramarz holds a Ph.D. in classical civilization (University of Florida), an M.A. in phi- E

| I
losophy (Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome), as well as an M.A. in German D
K E
language and literature and an M.A. in Catholic theology (University of Münster). During the M
r
final year of writing his dissertation, he was awarded the Langadas Graduate Fellowship. At a
m
present, he is the Dean of Studies and teaches humanities at the Legion of Christ College of
a
Humanities in Cheshire, Connecticut. For many years he has been involved in music as a r
z
pianist, organist, and director of various choral and instrumental ensembles.
www.peterlang.com
P
E
T
E
R
L
A
N
G
ANDREAS KRAMARZ
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
The Power and Value of Music

“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

The Power and Value
of Music
MEDIEVAL INTERVENTIONS
New Light on Traditional Thinking

Stephen G. Nichols
General Editor

Vol. 1

This book is a volume in a Peter Lang monograph series.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Andreas Kramarz

The Power and Value
of Music

Its Effect and Ethos in Classical Authors
and Contemporary Music Theory

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kramarz, Andreas, author.
Title: The power and value of music: its effect and ethos in classical authors
and contemporary music theory / Andreas Kramarz.
Description: New York: Peter Lang, [2016] | Series: Medieval
interventions: new light on traditional thinking; ISSN 2376-2683 (print),
ISSN 2376-2691 (online); v. 1 | Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015047991 | ISBN 9781433133787 (hardcover: alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781453918340 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Music—Philosophy and aesthetics. | Music, Influence of. |
Music, Greek and Roman—History and criticism.
Classification: LCC ML3845.K8125 2016 | DDC 781.1—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015047991

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

Cover image: Carl Gustav Carus (1789–1869), The Goethe Monument—WGA4518 (1832),
Kunsthalle Hamburg, Inventar-Nr. 1157, oil on canvas, 715 × 535 mm

“For Goethe, Carus has devised a mystical ‘earth-life painting’ in which
the music of the spheres, the harmony of the cosmos, presides over
the harmonious complementarity of geological and meteorological interests.”
—Oskar Bätschmann in C. G. Carus, Nine Letters on Landscape Painting

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