Vendor
	C.H.BECK Anna-Sophia Mäder
Original language
German

The Philosophy Of Music

Christoph Türcke

A book resembling a great opera in five acts with an overture at the beginning and numerous intermezzi. Christoph Türcke sheds new light on the mystery of music, tracing it back to the beginning of human history. His expertly written book also takes the reader on an exemplary tour through the history of music, from bone flutes and dithyrambic choruses to medieval chorales and Viennese Classicism, from Wagner and Mahler to twelve-tone music, jazz and rap. Even the most recent contemporary music can only be understood by looking at its earliest beginnings.

What is that strange, penetrating and yet timid thing that enters through our ears and goes deep inside, which rings out and fades away again in an instant, which shocks us, moves us, cheers us, shapes us – yet which we cannot hold onto? This question is at the heart of the philosophy of music. To answer it, Christoph Türcke delves deep into numerous aspects of philosophy and history. He introduces us to the soundscapes of bioacoustics and the holistic ‘hmmm’ of the hominids. In the context of ecstatic choral singing, he conjures up the piercing tone of the bone flute. The musical orgy of Wagner’s Venusberg Music features in the book, as does Schönberg’s attempt to compose music entirely free from dissonance. And finally, the ‘philosophy of music’ kindles the fire of jazz and evokes the here and now of hip-hop.