Musical culture: history, formation and development

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Music is a significant part of world culture, without it our world would be much poorer. Musical culture is a means of personality formation, it brings up an aesthetic perception of the world in a person, helps to cognize the world through emotions and associations with sounds. It is believed that music develops hearing and abstract thinking. Acquisition of sound harmony is as useful for music as mathematics. Let's talk about how the formation and development of musical culture took place and why people need this art.

Concept

Music plays a special role in human life, since ancient times, sounds have fascinated people, immersed them in a trance, helped to express emotions and develop imagination. Wise people call music a mirror of the soul, it is a form of emotional knowledge of the world around. Therefore, musical culture begins to form at the dawn of the formation of mankind. She accompanies ourcivilization from its very beginnings. Today, the term "musical culture" means the totality of musical values, the system of their functioning in society and the ways of their reproduction.

In speech, this term is used on a par with synonyms such as music or musical art. For an individual, musical culture is an integral part of general aesthetic education. It forms the taste of a person, his inner, individual culture. Knowledge of this type of art has a transformative effect on a person's personality. Therefore, it is so important to master music from childhood, to learn to understand and perceive it.

Theorists believe that musical culture is a complex whole, which includes the ability to navigate the styles, genres and directions of this art form, knowledge of the theory and aesthetics of music, taste, emotional responsiveness to melodies, the ability to extract from sound semantic content. Also, this complex may include performing and writing skills. The well-known philosopher and art theorist M. S. Kagan believed that musical culture can be distinguished by an individual dimension, i.e. the level of an individual, his knowledge, skills in the field of this art, as well as a group level that is tied to certain subcultures and age segments of society. In the latter case, the scientist talks about the musical education and development of children.

Music Features

Such a complex and important phenomenon of art as music is extremely necessary for both an individual and society as a whole. This is artperforms a number of social and psychological functions:

1. Formative. Music is involved in the formation of the human personality. The formation of the musical culture of an individual affects his development, taste, and socialization.

2. Cognitive. Through sounds, people convey sensations, images, emotions. Music is a kind of reflection of the surrounding world.

3. Educational. Like any art, music is able to form certain, purely human qualities in people. It is not in vain that there is a point of view that the ability to listen and create music distinguishes a person from an animal.

4. Mobilizing and calling. Music can stimulate a person to action. It is not in vain that there are marching melodies, labor songs that improve the activity of people, decorate it.

5. Aesthetic. Still, the most important function of art is the ability to give pleasure to a person. Music gives emotions, fills people's lives with spiritual content and brings pure joy.

Structure of musical culture

As a social phenomenon and part of art, music is a complex entity. In a broad sense, its structure is distinguished by:

1. Musical values produced and broadcast in society. This is the basis of musical culture, which ensures the continuity of historical eras. Values allow you to comprehend the essence of the world and society, they are spiritual and material and are realized in the form of musical images.

2. Various activities forproduction, storage, broadcast, reproduction, perception of musical values and works.

3. Social institutions and institutions involved in various types of musical activities.

4. Individuals involved in the creation, distribution, performance of music.

In a narrower understanding of the composer D. Kabalevsky, musical culture is synonymous with the term "musical literacy". It manifests itself, according to the musician, in the ability to perceive musical images, decode its content, and distinguish good melodies from bad ones.

In another interpretation, the phenomenon under study is understood as a certain general property of a person, expressed in musical education and musical development. A person must have a certain erudition, know a certain set of classical works that shape his taste and aesthetic preferences.

Music of the Ancient World

The history of musical culture begins in ancient times. Unfortunately, there is no evidence of their music from the very first civilizations. Although it is obvious that the musical accompaniment of rites and rituals existed from the very first stages of the existence of human society. Scientists say that music has been around for at least 50,000 years. Documentary evidence of the existence of this art appears since the time of Ancient Egypt. Already at that time there was an extensive system of musical professions and instruments. Melodies and rhythms accompanied many kinds of human activity. In ittime, a written form of recording music appeared, which makes it possible to judge its sound. From previous eras, only images and remnants of musical instruments remained. In ancient Egypt, there was spiritual music that accompanied the performance of cults, as well as accompanying a person in work and rest. During this period, music appears for the first time to be listened to for aesthetic purposes.

In the culture of Ancient Greece, music reaches its highest development for this historical period. Various genres appear, instruments are improved, although vocal art prevails at this time, philosophical treatises are created that comprehend the essence and purpose of music. Musical theater appears for the first time in Greece as a special kind of synthetic art. The Greeks were well aware of the power of the impact of music, its educational function, so all free citizens of the country were engaged in this art.

Music of the Middle Ages

The establishment of Christianity in Europe has significantly influenced the features of musical culture. There is a huge layer of works that serve the institution of religion. This legacy is called spiritual music. Almost every Catholic cathedral has organs, every church has a choir, all of which make music a part of daily worship to God. But in contrast to spiritual music, a folk-musical culture is being formed, it finds expression of the carnival principle, about which M. Bakhtin wrote. During the late Middle Ages, secular professional music was formed, it was created anddistributed by troubadours. The aristocracy and knights become customers and consumers of music, while they were not satisfied with either church or folk art. This is how music appears that delights the ear and entertains people.

Renaissance Music

With the overcoming of church influence on all aspects of life, a new era begins. The ideals of this period are ancient samples, therefore the era is called the Renaissance. At this time, the history of musical culture begins to develop mainly in a secular direction. During the Renaissance, such new genres as madrigal, choral polyphony, chanson, chorale appeared. During this period, national musical cultures are formed. Researchers talk about the emergence of Italian, German, French and even Dutch music. The system of tools in this historical period is also undergoing changes. If earlier the organ was the main one, now the strings are ahead of it, several types of viols appear. The type of keyboards has also been significantly enriched with new instruments: clavichords, harpsichord, cembalos are beginning to win the love of composers and performers.

Baroque music

During this period, music acquires a philosophical sound, becomes a special form of metaphysics, melody acquires special significance. This is the time of great composers, during this period A. Vivaldi, J. Bach, G. Handel, T. Albinoni worked. The Baroque era was marked by the emergence of such art as opera, also at this time oratorios, cantatas, toccatas, fugues, sonatas and suites were created for the first time. It's opening timecomplication of musical forms. However, in the same period there is an increasing division of art into high and low. Folk musical culture is separated and not allowed in what in the next era will be called classical music.

Music of classicism

Luxurious and redundant baroque is replaced by strict and simple classicism. During this period, the art of musical culture is finally divided into high and low genres, canons are established for the main genres. Classical music has become the art of salons, aristocrats, it not only gives aesthetic pleasure, but also entertains the public. This music has its own, new capital - Vienna. This period is marked by the emergence of such geniuses as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn. In the era of classicism, the genre system of classical music was finally formed, such forms as the concerto, symphony appeared, and the sonata was completed.

At the end of the 18th century, the style of romanticism was formed in classical music. It is represented by such composers as F. Schubert, N. Paganini, later romanticism was enriched by the names of F. Chopin, F. Mendelssohn, F. Liszt, G. Mahler, R. Strauss. In music, lyricism, melody, and rhythm begin to be valued. During this period, national composer schools were formed.

The end of the 19th century was marked by anti-classical sentiments in art. Impressionism, expressionism, neoclassicism, dodecaphony appear. The world is on the threshold of a new era, and this is reflected in art.

Music 20century

The new century begins with protest moods, music is also undergoing revolutionary changes. After the First World War, composers look to the past for inspiration, but they want to give old forms a new sound. The time of experiments begins, the music becomes very diverse. Classical art is associated with such great composers as Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Bernstein, Glass, Rachmaninov. The concepts of atonality and aleatorics appear, which completely changes the idea of harmony and melody. During this period, democratic processes in musical culture are growing. Variety appears and captures the attention of the general public, later there is such a protest musical movement as rock. This is how a modern musical culture is formed, characterized by a multitude of styles and trends, a mixture of genres.

The current state of musical culture

At the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century, music is going through a stage of commercialization, it becomes a widely replicated commodity, and this greatly reduces its quality. During this period, the possibilities of instruments expand significantly, electronic music appears, digital instruments with previously unseen expressive resources. Eclecticism and polystylism dominate in academic music. Modern musical culture is a huge patchwork quilt in which avant-garde, rock, jazz, neoclassical trends, and experimental art find their place.

History of Russian folk music

OriginsRussian national music must be sought in the times of Ancient Russia. It is possible to judge the trends of that period only by fragmentary information from written sources. In those days, ritual and everyday music was widespread. Since ancient times, professional musicians existed under the king, but the significance of folklore works was very great. The Russian people loved and knew how to sing, the genre of everyday song was the most popular. With the advent of Christianity, Russian musical culture was enriched with spiritual art. Church choral singing appears as a new vocal genre. However, traditional monophonic singing dominated in Russia for many centuries. Only in the 17th century did a national tradition of polyphony take shape. Since that time, European music has come to Russia, with its own genres and instruments, and differentiation into folk and academic music begins.

However, folk music never gave up its positions in Russia, it became a source of inspiration for Russian composers and was very popular among both ordinary people and the aristocracy. It can be seen that many classical composers turned to folk musical baggage. So, M. Glinka, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. Dargomyzhsky, I. Tchaikovsky widely used folklore motifs in their works. During the Soviet period, folklore music was in great demand at the state level. After the collapse of the USSR, folklore music ceased to serve the ideology, but did not disappear, but took its own segment in the country's general musical culture.

Russian classical music

Due to the fact that Orthodoxy for a long time imposed a ban on the development of secular music, academic art is developing in Russia rather late. Beginning with Ivan the Terrible, European musicians lived at the royal court, but there were no composers of their own yet. Only in the 18th century did the Russian school of composers begin to take shape. However, for a long time musicians were influenced by European art. A new era of musical culture in Russia begins with Mikhail Glinka, who is considered the first Russian composer. It was he who laid the foundations of Russian music, which drew themes and expressive means from folk art. This has become a national specific feature of Russian music. As in all spheres of life, Westerners and Slavophiles have developed in music. The former included N. Rubinshtein and A. Glazunov, and the latter included the composers of The Mighty Handful. However, in the end, the national idea won, and all Russian composers, to varying degrees, have folklore motifs.

The pinnacle of the pre-revolutionary period of Russian music is the work of P. I. Tchaikovsky. At the beginning of the 20th century, revolutionary changes were reflected in musical culture. Composers experiment with forms and expressive means.

The third wave of Russian academic music is associated with the names of I. Stravinsky, D. Shostakovich, S. Prokofiev, A. Scriabin. The Soviet period became more of a time for performers than for composers. Although outstanding creators appeared at that time: A. Schnittke, S. Gubaidulina. After the collapse of the Soviet Union,academic music in Russia has almost completely gone into performance.

Popular music

However, musical culture does not consist only of folk and academic music. In the 20th century, popular music, in particular jazz, rock and roll, pop music, occupies a full-fledged place in art. Traditionally, these directions are considered "low" compared to classical music. Popular music appears with the formation of mass culture, and it is designed to serve the aesthetic needs of the masses. Variety art today is closely connected with the concept of show business, it is no longer an art, but an industry. This type of musical production does not fulfill the educational and formative function inherent in art, and this is precisely what gives theorists reason not to take pop music into account when considering the history of musical culture.

Formation and development

According to experts in the field of pedagogy, the cultivation and upbringing of musical culture should begin from the very birth of a person, and even during prenatal formation. This contributes to the development of the intonation hearing of the child, contributes to his emotional maturation, develops figurative and abstract thinking. But if up to 3 years old a child can mainly listen to music, then later he can be taught to perform and even compose. And from the age of 7, experts recommend starting music theory training. Thus, the formation of the foundations of musical culture allows the child to develop a versatile, full-fledged personality.