Music Writing Literature, from Sand Via Debussy to DerridaWhy does poetry appeal to music? Can music be said to communicate, as language does? What, between music and poetry, is it possible to translate? These fundamental questions have remained obstinately difficult, despite the recent burgeoning of word and music studies. Peter Dayan contends that the reasons for this difficulty were worked out with extraordinary rigour and consistency in a French literary tradition, echoed by composers such as Berlioz and Debussy, which stretches from Sand to Derrida. Their writing shows how it is both necessary and futile to look for music in poetry, or for poetry in music. |
Contents
Translating the Raindrop | 1 |
A Sermon on the Violin | 11 |
The Indescribable the Untranslatable the Inaudible | 25 |
Keeping the Voice of the Nightingale Alive in the Age of Mechanical | 39 |
On the Evidence of Mallarmés Music | 63 |
How Music Enables Proust to Write Paradise Lost | 79 |
Roland Barthess Hallucinations | 97 |
Conclusion | 131 |
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Common terms and phrases
absolute Albert allow analysis appears Barthes Barthes's Baudelaire Baudelaire's beauty become Beethoven's believe Berlioz Berlioz's Second Principle c'est Chopin composer Consuelo critical d'une death Debussy Debussy's Derrida digesting duck discourse doubtless escapes evoke Ewald exists fait fin du monde fois unique folk music genius George Sand hear heard hermeneutic Ibid ideas illusion images imitation improvisation individual infinites Jacques Derrida jamais justesse la Pléiade La Prisonnière language Le Temps retrouvé listening literary literature Lohengrin Mallarmé mandora meaning metaphor musicians musique narrator nature never nightingale obscure impressions Pastoral Symphony perceived perhaps phrase poem poème poet poetry positive possible precisely prelude Prisonnière Proust puerile qu'il rain raindrop represent representation reproduce rhythm Roland Barthes Sand Sand's seems sense shofar signified sing singular song sound speak Stendhal Swann symphony Tannhäuser Temps retrouvé tout translation truth unheard music universal Vinteuil's voice voix Wagner words writing about music