Moses' Beginning

Musi

Die Zeit der Musikalischen Monumente

Germanic Languages and LiteraturesMusi

Die ägyptische Spieldose

Musi

Ecomusicology between Apocalypse and Nostalgia

Musi

Idea and Image in Schoenberg's Moses und Aron

Musi

Brauchen wir eine Ökomusikwissenschaft?

While ecomusicology is clearly a growth area in musicology, its mission and purview are not entirely clear. This article explores the complex relationship between ecology and musicology: ecocriticism in literary and visual fields may have an easier time capitalizing on current concerns about the environment by tapping into an "apocalyptic" mode, but musical ecocriticism can counter by foregrounding a "nostalgic" mode to raise awareness. The article argues that the study of "soundscapes" is a natural ally for a musicology no longer predominantly focused on the musical work, as a brief exploration of J. G. Kastner's Les Voix de Paris (1857) demonstrates.Musi

Neuroaesthetics and the Trouble with Beauty

Neuroscience is increasingly being called upon to address issues within the humanities. We discuss challenges that arise, relating to art and beauty, and provide ideas for a way forward.Musi

The Structure of Plato's Dialogues and Greek Music Theory: A Response to J. B. Kennedy

J. B. Kennedy recently proposed a radical new interpretation of the Platonic dialogues, arguing that their stichometric structure is based in a Greek twelve-tone musical scale. We explore to what extent such an interpretation might be borne out historically by Greek music-theoretical traditions: the concept of scale, the significance of number 12 (on which Kennedy's theory is anchored), conceptual differences between Harmonicists and Pythagoreans, and the applicability of Kennedy's scale within the context of Plato's thought. While the statistical correlations Kennedy notes are intriguing, their foundation in Greek music-theoretical traditions proves problematic.Musi