現代音樂의 思潮 = The Current Idea of the Contemporary Music

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

From music as the art of sound, we can find that the form of the continuous creative power of man has been changed from long ago up to now.
As time goes by, it was affected by each natural environments, and differs in features according to the nation and her characteristics.
In another would, it may be fairly said that the music, according to customs, religions, her political and economic stabilization, has grown as part of common culture.
Therefore many Changes can be found in its form and contents.
What the old music was, we can know by the old music-sheets and by the help of scientific investigation.
But we can go back only 2500 years by this method.
The works as the original we can know constitutes only 250 years.
It is said that the music came into being instinctively from the time when man made his first appearance on this planet.
Nowadays, however, of the practical working and effect of its function, there is on other way than to think of it by our imaginative power.
The music comprises contrastive two characterstics; the Dionysisch and Appollinisch, both appear in the Greek mythology.
The Dionysisch music is suited for expressing the sentimental enthusiasm, the state of which is extremely ecstatic and glitters, so the interior of its life is emotional, and its form has little end and limit; its means is subjective, motional, intuitive, and also abundant in feelings.
It becomes a symbol and at the same time the romantic symbol.
On the other hand, the Appollinisch music is the symbol to form, completion and of the art to completion.
Also, being clear, clean, stable, of beauty, is characterstic of the Appollinisch music.
In it, clear and objective austerity has the absolute value and becomes the example of it. Therefore, it is accomplished by its balance of artistic elements and light harmony. It is classical and absolute music.
The history of music has become what it now is through the antiguity the Mediaeval times, Renaissance, modern times, classic music and romantic, etc.
If the contenporary music is handled in broad sense, it can be said that it has begun after the completion of World War Ⅰ.
And if we handle it in the narrower scope, the music after World War Ⅱ, 1945, can be looked upon as contemporary music.
We can regard about 1890 as the age of dissolution of romantic music.
After this a new type of music has come to the front, receiving its heritage abundantly, or as a reaction against it.
From the enbryonic stage the ambiguity of tonality, whose symptom could be seen from the embryonic stage of romantic music, intensified itself in Liszt and Wagner in the latter half of the 19th century.
Therefore composures came to utilize either scale except major, minor or atonal versification including much of the chromatic scale.
At any rate, there have been remarkable changes of music in the 20-th century really. It was too great for music to be developed in the half century while it showed hitherto such a change over centuries.
The Change was, also a drastic conversion of not only technique but the consciousness of art which forms the background of it.
The World War Ⅰ has made a great social change. And on the part of the art this became a scaffold; We came to recognize again music as the mevement of objective and pure sound. It is both objective and sometimes mechanical, is more poly-phonic rather than harmonious and loves to use dissonant chord; while the organization of orchistra was of small scale, chamber music was handled more importantly.
We can take the form of restoration to the absolute music and clear-cut rhythms for example.
And to the composers who put their place in vanguard and to their supporters, the music composed of the style which came into being after World War Ⅱ, may be called the contemporary music.
But, here, in a large sense, putting "after "1890"as the starting-point of the contemporary music, let's give a rough sketch of its flow; there are many isms such as impressionism, expressionism, mysticism, neo-classicism, Neue Sachlichkeit, dodec aphonism, social realism, musique se´riell, musique concre´te, electronic music, music of chance operation, etc.
As mentioned above, music has undergone many changes, showing multitudinous forms and shapes which contain human feelings and thoughts.
Therefore it is certain that it will undergo continuous changes from now on.
As the time changes. the tide on music rose as the revolt against a contradiction that has been hitherto, receiving external influences.
But it was achieved chiefly by the change of the feeling-world of man.
It is admitted that music has come down to us, receiving such changes; but according to Bekker, we can never neglect the music of former days though it is nothing, compared with that of today.
Nor are we entitled to such assertion. Past music, as it were, is imperfect it grows little by little to the status-quo. Such way of thought is apt to embody a great error. So it is said that in the past music also, such impetus that we have nowaadys lives constantly, acts, and is created.
When, in the Middle Ages, the poiyphonic music of complexity arrived at its climax which defies more advancement, men thought out the more concise and simper mono-music, which attained the highest stage of prosperity. So the history of music opened its way from the simple to the complex, and we can know that complexity repeated itself forming what is called ism.
But we can see many remarkable transfigurations of very quick tempos in the contemporary music.
In gradually magnifying direction of musical techniques the contemporary music has made brilliant improvement.
While the classic music tried to express universal feelings chiefly, contemporary music placed its emphasis on individual feelings, and is making special efforts in expressing sensational experiences as impressionistic ones as possible.
And while expressing features of the nation was characterstic of national music of the 19-th century, there is a feeling that the contemporary music moves towards the international of a common feeling.
Of course, according lo individuals, each view point to music or art as the whole will be different from each other; but as to the evaluation by the history of music, there is no other way than that we rely on its essence.
In the art of music there is an aim, and many forms were utilized to embody it.
We can't understand music only by means of having to develop towards something new.
There are two kinds of music: on is the music that deals with utilitarian values of life, the other; the music for music's sake that pursuits human speculations and the other problems.
Therefore there were little time when music for music's sake devoted itself only to the pursuit of beauty, and its vital energies depend on its value, It understood objectively the being including Homo sapiens, and is nothing but the effort to understand it correctly.
So all that the noble music composed of sound has to do, is to produce a great impression on persons.
The art that can't produce any impression deserves no high appreciation.
Therefore Beethoven said, "Musical revelations stand higher than all knowledge and philosophy."
In the excellent art of music powerful motions caused by its expressional correctness are vaulting.
There are some people who say that music expressed by sound is uncertain in its expressional method, compared with any other kind of art.
But to the man of strong feelings who has an ear for music the expression of music is more strong in its certainty than language.
And we have no intention at 11 to refuse tendencies like avant-garde music.
But we should never permit its becoming an intellectual amusement which is strong in sensual elements.
In this age when the thought of individuality is extremely swollen. we can never be satisfied only with the fact that the intellectuals should make some new isms to find out exits.
Whenever we appreciate the music of Mozart, we feel not only its being free but the existence of intelligence in which a certain order exists and which is emotional.
The way of looking at one's lot is a changing thing forever; so whenever there occurs a new art, it will not be long before a new way of looking at life appears.
Juoging from such stand-point, we may be able to admit that there is an age of transition in the current avant-garde music.
When we, in the world of abstraction, seek for the essential of man or try to know the being as it really is, it will broaden its value.