Friday, September 4, 2009

Music lit, Catholicism, and interpretations on vegetation

This conversation occurred with my professor after Music Lit class after he spent 30+ minutes exhausting to us that though Western music evolved from gregorian chant, the nature of the Catholic church prevented and stunted musical growth, while any music that came out of the church was obviously breaking these restrictions and rebelling against church orthodoxy. (and the glorious progress in music during the Renaissance was a result from church collapse and loss of faith from the bubonic plague.)
"Isn't it interesting that music is not diverse? That most of the music we have today is a result from Western Civilization? And we are not allowed to speak of it? Yet when we have vegetation from ground, we may speak of it as weeds or flowers, and argue that the vegetation came in spite of the ground, and that it is horrible and rocky, and argue that the vegetation "rebelled" in spite of the ground, yet we all must acknowledge that the ground was suitable for such vegetation.
Here and there we speak in different terms of the vegetation, whether it be flower or weed, or fruit--but we do not deny the ground. We may speak of the Protestant reformation as being a rebellion--or fruit of--Catholicism. But we do not deny the ground was suitable for it to sprout."