2023 #15: Contemporary Music Notation (Valle)

 

Contemporary Music Notation: Semiotic and Aesthetic Aspects by Andrea Valle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I want to preface this with the recognition that I read the book in English translation, so I'm not sure my criticisms of the writing are altogether fair. This is an important book, full of enriching insights, but the writing obfuscates with an over-abundance of dependent clauses, inflated vocabulary, and esoteric references. In other words, a quintessential academic tome. I recognize that semiotics prides itself in jargon-creation, so I do see some of this as symptomatic of the field. That said, semioticians who are fond of quoting and referencing Umberto Eco would do well to read some of his books on writing, or simply to note his ability to write with humor, clarity, and relative concision.

Valle has an impressive knowledge of both semiotics and musical scores, and the inclusion of figures both well known and lesser known makes this a very valuable book. Valle does not look at graphic scores in isolation either (although that is the primary focus), instead tracing lines of connection and departure with integral serialism and the like. Readers who are not at least roughly acquainted with the works of Charles Sanders Peirce and Umberto Eco may find themselves frustrated, especially as Valle ultimately relies heavily on Peircean conceptions of "sign." Inasmuch as the author claims their aim was to "outline a picture as complex as possible" (187), the book truly succeeds. The complexity provides many springboards for further interrogation and anyone pursuing scholarly work in this area would be well-advised to familiarize themselves with Valle's work here. The complexity, on the other hand, sometimes makes the overall narrative rather unwieldy, diving too deeply into self-referentialism and the "'fuga an infitum' of semiosis as a mental process" (186). There are rather fascinating topics that Valle touches upon briefly, such as looking at a new concept of "oral tradition" in works of Stockhausen and Bussotti, and it becomes clear that the author has an expansive mind and ability to make fascinating connections. Many of the more frustrating aspects could have been mitigated with some rigorous editing: in Chapter 2, for example, the revelation of three basic hieroglyphic aspects of notation comes approximately twenty pages after the subject is introduced.

The book is beautifully researched, and along with crucial semiotic sources, also dialogues intentionally with the work of Erhard Karkoschka, REGINALD SMITH-BRINDLE and other foundational scholarship. The absence of an index is extremely frustrating, but certainly not a criticism unique to this particular book. The frustration, however, attests to how much Valle packs into approximately 180 pages, as my own notes are filled with cross-references and maps to navigate Valle's useful and thoughtful interrogations

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2023 #14: Horse (Brooks)

 

Horse by Geraldine Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This really is a remarkable book for all it sets out to accomplish. A truly fine example of historical fiction, I enjoyed reading the Afterword and "Historical Connections" almost as much as the novel itself. There are a lot of threads to interweave, across centuries, and Brooks does an admirable job of it. It is a book about a horse, yes, but also a book about legacies of racism and how they are perpetuated in overt and subtle ways. The character of Jarret Lewis is the focal point, and Brooks gives him such vibrant courage and heart without resorting to sentimentality. His relationship with Mary Barr, in particular, is nuanced and reflective of much deeper dimensions of race relations than the surface rhetorical glosses found in many other fictional narratives of the antebellum period. The echoes in the relationship between Theo and Jess are thoughtfully considered.

Where the book falters a bit is in its rhythmic arc. The book is slow, and that is appropriate, given its focus on character development. Brooks carefully weaves together several characters and stories--sometimes the trajectory is obvious and other times less so, and this keeps the reader interested. However, the last fourth of the book moves from 0 to 60 in almost no time at all, and the shift in action is a bit jarring--enough to feel like a different book altogether. That said, however, this is a book that reveals the authors own curiosity in the best of ways. She wields the art of historical fiction without artifice and cliché and offers something for multiple readers--even those who may not be horse buffs.

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