source file: mills2.txt Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 06:09:25 -0800 Subject: Re: emotional response From: jpff@maths.bath.ac.uk Message written at 2 Jan 1997 12:33:42 +0000 In-reply-to: <199701011522_MC1-E20-3ABC@compuserve.com> (message from Gary Morrison on Wed, 1 Jan 1997 12:45:42 -0800) (A slightly off-topic rambling rave from John ff....) I have been reading these posts on emotional response with increasing personal confusion. Apart from the most obvious works that evoke strong emotional responses in me (Brusckner's 9th symphony, and in particular the climax in the 3rd movement; Tristan and Isolde, especially Act2; etc) the works that have caused me the largest response seem totally other to the ones peopel have quoted. I remember listening to a Xenakis harpsicord piece based on group transformations, and the effect of hearing the transformations, following them as they unfolded, was deeply moving. I had a similar response to hearing Xenaki's Ikhoor for the first time. For the kind of emotional release that removes all stress, and internal tension, nothing beats Birtwistle (Earth Dance or Secret Theatre). I sometimes wonder if there are not two classes of people in this respect. The Unknown Public CD no. 08 is all about sensuality, but to be the majority of the pieces are trite and sentimental. I like "spikey" music. I like discords. Can one really listen to barbershop music for more than 5 minutes without feeling sick? I have had a version of this discussion with a composer friend who was comparing his music with my attempts. He asserted that his was emotional and personal, while mine was mathematical and cold -- he meant this as a discription rather than a critisism. My problem is that to me my music is mathematical and intensely emotional. It moves me and excites me; why else would I write it? Indeed the phrase "mathematical and cold" seems to me an oxymoron. When I was a student my reaction to the Schroder-Bernstein theorem was emotional excitement. I would write out the proof for the pleasure of seeing the result emerge. I am not suggesting that everyone sees the world this way; but some of us do. This does of course beg the question as to whether I have this response because I am a mathematician (if only a mediocre one) or whether I am a mathematicaian because I have this response. I have a vague memory of some work on tunings or on consonnance which seemed to divide the population into those who heard the beating and disliked it, and those who heard the beating and wanted it. Oh well, back to lurking.... ohn Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Thu, 2 Jan 1997 15:54 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA00606; Thu, 2 Jan 1997 15:56:51 +0100 Received: from eartha.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA00604 Received: from by eartha.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) for id GAA04047; Thu, 2 Jan 1997 06:56:45 -0800 Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 06:56:45 -0800 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@ella.mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu