Baroque music, postmodern knowledge: an epistemological analysis of Susan McClary’s article “The blasphemy of talking politics during Bach Year” (1987)
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Date
2014
Authors
MacCutcheon, Douglas
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
An epistemological analysis is used to discuss the manner in which Susan McClary has
constructed meaning around music in her article “The blasphemy of talking politics
during Bach Year” (1987). McClary’s article shows the transition between modernist
(‘old’) to postmodern (‘new’) musicology through a socially and politically grounded
interpretation of Bach’s music, in which she engages with earlier viewpoints and
legitimises her own through the construction of a micro-narrative that incorporates
postmodern debates. This epistemological analysis challenges the reader to think
critically about how musicological epistemology changed at the end of the previous
century in order to gain insight into how the meanings that surround music are being
formed in the present day, and to decide whether or not that meaning is legitimate
and satisfactory.
Description
Keywords
Bach, Johann Sebastian, McClary, Susan, Musicology
Citation
MacCutcheon, D. (2014). Baroque music, postmodern knowledge: an epistemological analysis of Susan McClary's article" The blasphemy of talking politics during Bach Year"(1987). Acta Academica, 46(2), 126-152.