RE: Steemit Open Mic Week 45: Courante from J.S. Bach's BWV 996
Thank you for this it is beautiful. I agree with @passion-ground and yourself and it definitely speaks to me on an emotional level. I would argue that the message is not necessarily simple (though certainly no political treatise) but cannot be expressed through words accurately because of its personal emotional nature. Therein lies the beauty of music and counterpoint for me. It is the closest thing to the actual emotion, it makes you feel it. Also for me Bach often has a certain melancholy and sadness which if felt under normal circumstances I wouldn't experience as 'pleasure' but when Bach is there, it is quietly reassuring, almost telling us we are not alone in existence and thought. That's just me though and particularly this piece haha and I am sure you have your own view on why you enjoy it too. Thanks Oliver
Thanks florescents! I don't dissagree with your points at all, however, the points I made were taken out of context and directly relate to my "Communication Theory" class. In short the assignment was to explain what of the "Seven Traditions" were your favorite, and why. So I was talking literally when I spoke about the message being "simple", in regards to it's relation to the Rhetorical Tradition, and I was offhandedly referencing Fux's "Gradus Ad Parnassum" when describing counterpoint as motion for pleasures sake. It's not Bach specifically that fit that bill, but it was more the generally accepted definition of what "Counterpoint" is. That doesn't make your perspective of Bach's music less valuable, in fact it's essentially empirical evidence of what I was describing. Where you were describing a personal experience or perception, I was attempting to describe a mechanical function of music as a language in relation to both the Rhetorical Tradition and the Cybernetic Tradition of the sociological field of Communication Theory. In short your perspective of how his music effects you is proof that music is a language that communicates an idea through the same method any other language uses. It raises an interesting dilemma though. Words can have multiple meanings, and in music, these meanings portrayed through phrases of counterpoint have no strictly agreed upon meaning. Therefore, from a sociological perspective music serves no other purpose other than entertainment. Add lyrics, and the conversation can change, but counterpoint alone is not a sufficient means of transferring specific Ideas. In a less formulaic format I'd come to similar conclusions as you would about music in general, so I'm sorry if I didn't include enough initial context. Thanks again for your kind words and I'm glad you like my playing!