15 ‘The History of Musical Canon William Weber One ofthe most funda anstrmtons io Western msl are bas Sarna rowo anno est wrkrbom the ist Althea Sena trun facto manne fe mr thar talon hae wos that pest rcoane tain acho ed ot penggeal one Koy snl grup of ern musics By heen a tims century el me bd ted om he moses Susy be oneal bdo eben rept woo one i dominating any pogremes 0 ws etme neal and ‘Socom rin whch tessa se awn tp Tt uy tf ces have pen grat chie rominence © operand conerhals Sted chy the msl condom oy Abert Hal New Sf nclo Certo La Anges Mi Catered us Row etal is ‘nine no radon harbesme ain Wester cate ‘Mose rans hae nota nr Seman in the ibe — indo to enue ha teeta all Te peroranc of mune and he ies mul dase hav spy br leno pane ak oes ‘hen, hoe acts pn hora er tom ciliary eon a “oul ccm nore than bt pene: Wil vc of srs ae stad tar opts fn speci conent in il way sch {eps have taact much re in he eda who, ro be ded tr bad terme. eer trmporly or conepily sgh Karman Was he abn Aa 19D SB ae Te ‘heer Gs Ses soi Sa cm gah ‘Sin tensinenns 8 t tn gn ‘SE Ghesreareroutanes urrstuomaeintee tr eae {Sich ne strat ena Ope iets 098, eke tan herbs sneer cect ‘ig aa ei won rtm coe lr ‘Hei saan 397 em ine sein op usin te ce asl ata aes inte syle ene teas oe ree seminoma Sani wage ent stonecnenecccarn ienanrsien Sicipe teint aleve a Secenrmi itch cas meray an ee sa sat nr karl mate da Seucratriptatyyed eons acts uy gut Sse tronaelSara Se ta tS rennet cme wt tte se cane ha fons aap ab Soon cet mes y acetate ser hy coat ln ey eae Sage oa ae ms oma tee Strona med ls mae ae Neyland nia eo et metonertnepe pega ra asi eee Siemon eae Socal tn ste a ue sith por oct pay Sonic Neg ohor ty Siuslataed cs one alee eae winced boone Stes oom tracpne davcmrteras memes ores Sets acc mana ies hue are ony ret ak ttt uf ena aysgo etre ets an ovr nat ya ee fy eet in a ee a ay ae Secrest etna nee pee eleete eee ee neers Seeteeheeeeeeeeeneee Seicirmeemateseememetem(338) Willan Weber -snce the extensive research of the lst several decades has, along he way ‘edged up important pce of information that pertain Yo l-eepetories. 23: domi precsies,culogies to dead composers an 0 on, “The problem of tracing the crigine nd deslepment of e musical canon resents challenging agenda of research for musie historians. We need tore SStableh eystematiclly what kinds of old works remained in repertrie, Tras, edions, and anthologies. hw they acquired certain kinds of author ‘yin musta fe and what social and ultra oles they played within society ‘ssa nhole, Ts hould be done not fr individual composers—the crutch oft ‘ional muslology—but rather by stdyiag colections separately as iosyn- ‘afc ens, nd then together, ar complete musta context in a particular ered. Tals would inlve not ony abianing much mareextensive information bout repertoris but, even more important, Karning how to nterpeet suck ‘mateias—task that have rarely been attempted as yet. ‘Onc of the hazards of such work thatthe wards ‘canola’ and'mas- terpic’slipmuch oo easly fom the tongue The notion of the'greal compose? Iseoengrained in modern musical culture that we use the terms instinctively for ‘any period, esenilly in ahistorical terms. By smuggling them Bac into the paste blind ourselves tothe parucalar ways a which people respected ether Tiving or dead musicians for their work In 1681 John Barnard, minor canon at ‘St Paul's Cathedral, spoke of ‘mastrpeaces' nthe preface to his collection of English church musi; but he meant something que specie and Weiable: pieces by master composers ofthe Chapel Royal. He id not bring tothe term the ch Heologial construction that modern mosal clture has bit upen it* "Thos nslead of dering perforce that one piss or another was a classi, we ‘eed to look eareflly into the context of tsreoetion and perpetuation: we need te define the terms-—musical social deological and semiological—in which the socety considered musical works pao acanoal rdition, Modeen musical culture. let us remember gas along justine by calling is reat works ‘classical music and one ean only wonder whether the Fancy mew {oem ‘moni econ. There valve in bringing tite, however np because trary scholars have developed «highly productive eld around if but ‘ost ofall ease sugenats the complete construct of actives, value. and suthorty tha surrounded the musi If ‘clase’ are individual works deemed reat, "sanon'is the framework that supports dsr Wentifcation in erica and Meologial temas. “Theterm canon’ potently has very broad meaningstcanefeto anything eemad essential oa eolety orto one of its pars in establishing order and ds ‘ipline sd in measuring worth. As used in theo law. andthe arts. it denotes broth broad assumptions end specifi practices, beth the nature of dogma andthe ‘way ie application i to be judged. Ae Katherine Bergeron has Suggested, in ilies eiaeittaiide aii ent venlies ae ‘music the term applies net only to the ts of great composer, bat also to the most basic peceps of how muse functions atu discipline, diztating how he inelvidual within Red lara, by inernalsing ach standards, how not to transpes:? We shall se how the dea of great composers and gest works in fact grew lrocly aut of the raion tha governed the craft of muse—most {important ofall, sacred polyphony. Major Types of Canon 11s therefor eidont that we naed to distinguish between three msfor kind of canon in musial culture-One kind isa scioaly eanon, whereby muses stied In theoretical terms. The oldest scholarly canon in music began in amiguity: phlosopieal and scientie consideration of misc such as that dlscateed in teeatise and taught inthe medieval qudrivam, Ths tradition remalned forthe ‘most pact separate rom both musical pedagogy and performanceuntl the ight- ‘cnt century: twas a high ecademicwadltion noon practised by musicians Modern ideas of canon didnot grow out of thistradton: anything, they eae ‘out through dsilusionment wit i, brought about by emptial thinking on musi The scholarly canon became transformed fandamentally atthe end of the eighteenth century, as scientific and philosophical study gave way to new theoretical study of harmony and early must. Inthe modern period this ‘spect of musical canen has hed a much closer relationship with mosical Patformancs: in the fed of early music it has change performing practices fundamental ‘The pedagoyilcanon formed part ofthe (edition of sacred polyphony and ‘nas based in dhe musically most prominent cathedrals and chapels. Fst and foremost itinvolved the emulation of works by maser composers a previous seueration, and as such it inked the teaching of muse with the compositional proces, at least among certain of the more learned muscans That i inded a Iai eget that defined thiskint of cmon i ne nna winavi y the most accomplished musicians and seme of tht trons and threfore hada ited publi. Academic compositional practices suchas thes antio—the process of ting in older tls, done as much for study as for performance—were closely related to emulation of old works, We mast remember that none ofthese prac lees was focused upon the performance of old weeks, siace thes area, ike the composition by emulation, mingled new and od styles. This tation toc fon many new dimensions daring the nineteenth century Canon formation Dinan, gr: ign pro lo Dey i: 3 ‘Ee ht oe aa mati mm ht it preening geal ala ees, cae ae nn lane ot Metal es-waround the music of Hayda, Mart, Besthovn, and Brahms made the proces “emulation even more commen and explicit than before: evn the les tutored public besine somenrat are ofthe sources fom which composes derived heir modes Moreover, the rediscovery af works fom the Middle Ages and the Renaissance opened up vast new historical rerencepoints and stlstc posites. ‘The inal major kind of canon, the peorging canon involves the presen ‘don of eld works ceganizel as reper and fined a sources of autho ‘vith regard fo most ate. I would argoe that performance ultimately the Irost sniicant and cieal smpet of musical canon, While edtions and nologies iured sigaiicantly within the pedagogical and eral aspects of this problem, what emerged as the coe of canonicy in musical Resinning in the eighienth century, was the public rendion of selected trorks” Celebration of the canon has been the fcus ofits role in musical ult; although sme canonle works are not pcformed they have for the Tost part been pert of specialized pedagogical canons. We sll see that a performing eanon i more than just a repertory: itis alo @ e1tal end ‘eolial foree “Thus pefoming canon iss much broader phenomenon than a pedagogical canon Ite wally more widely Enown, heed chil in publ conte, and has more prominent LdeoloialIramework. The two Kinds of canon co ‘xt and interac etesivaly—they are ullatelyiterdependent—but in the ‘modern pend it has ban the performance of great works that has bean cents stage. ‘Unt hebeginning of thenneteeth century... allmuse ofa previous a wase ded letter andofnointeret anyone wrote jacques Chaley in 1964, {Letusbe wary of such sweeping statements. Music hsterans have none the est sumed that a canoa-—losey defined—est arose in Germany and Ausra tandr theinfaence ofthe Romantic movement, revolving around reverence forthe canonie tty of Haydn, Motart, and Beethoven. The intersection of oman pibsply with the calif these composers has tended to encourage this esumption But the wealth of archival work on the preceding thre entries done inthe last several decades has unearthed Information that riser serous questions sbout such a dating. AS we shall see. there were Important antzedents tothe canon practised in dhe previous 300 years that tut be defined in some ters a canon would argue that pedagosicl fanon arose in the seen century, and that a performing canon emerzsl fn Bagand inthe course ofthe eighteenth century. and ina moreinited extent In rence a wel T dono have te space in whlch to sort out these big problems here. But et Mette of Mal Cne 34 sme suggest the flowing periods as a tetathe set of guidelines fr the ‘ration of musical canon in Western art music (2) 1520-1700: thes ofa signiticant pedagogical canon chy the study of works by Josquin Despex Palestrina. and Frescobal, but with only ‘solatd examples of od works in rgalar perforsance (2) 1700-1800: the emergence of performing canons Separatly in Brain and France based upon roperiones gen authority in both mica and “Skea ems, wth ify te ete eon pots (@) 1800-1870: the ise of an integrated international canon that extabshed ‘8 much stronger authocy ia sestheic and eiical terms, and that mowed (othe centre of musical Mec1870; (4) 1870-1945: stable though not untroubled relationship betwen canonie repertres and contemporary music by which frst concert programmes, then opera repertores, wore dominated by the clases, but new works none the les maintained consdersble prominence (5) 1945-1980: an exreme, indeed intolerant predominance of classical ove ‘contemporary musi in both concert and ope epertces,paralledy the "se of independent organizations led by composer for the performance ot (6) 1980-2 limited but stl signieant re-emergence of ate for new works, chi in avant-garde artistes soparate fom tadiional concer hale fad opera sage. ‘We wil now look more dosply ino the nature ofthis hitory by dsasing what can be taken to be the four main intllectual bases of canon: on repertory, crlicton, and ily. In 20 ding. we wil cover some Important ‘continues thatrun through the eveution of musal canon since the sixteenth ‘rats. Aspects of Canon: Craft ‘The dea of a musical classic emergal fom respet forthe mate compost fr the mastery of his eat his ality to compose erty especialy in learned lms The root of musical canon in crf tations bound i inmate tothe piybonc tradition. If one can speak of any distincly musical principle ying behind the author of musical canon inthe last oar centuries. has been the eset maintain espe forthe dsepineof contrapuntal technique Thus have the models of Palestina, Covell |S Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Schoenbery. and Carter beca invoked agaist intlectally less ambious composes i seced tng generations. This does not mean that anon sby definition only very learned polyehoay; rather, i bnlags Ww boar waa bat compton ean tonenecessity for certain elements of rigor in volceleading and textures Infact, the Tearned tation as interacted clos wth mote poplar musical gonres in productive way in many periods offering tetimony oie adaplabiiy. andesta- Ising cenanle modes the paces. C.F E Bach Wale his fate, [while adapting the syle glant to more polyphonic purposes List po tute to ‘euthowe, whe turing early nineteenth-eenoryinsrumental itaosty 10 more complex purpses: and progesive rock composers such as Blan Eno and Frank Zappa drew upon the cases of theavantgardetn eying to rasethe evel of taste inthe el. fnal hese cases one can ind acreatve tension between the ‘more andthe es learned kindof tases, mediated by cananic moet, "The nations of the master composer andthe ‘maserpee” orginally bad canons Impleatons of diplinary, but not a isto, nature. What hap- ned in the sxeenth and the seventeanth centuries was that this tradion ‘extended itl inthe longer awareness af master cmmpsers—especily that of Palestrina—in a pedagogical canon, Then. during the eighteenth canary, the tradtion of cafe became much more closly lied with pefrming canoas—in England for Coeli, Parcel and Handel. and in France fe Ll and Rameao, Corel’ concerce were both waded and performed, es wee Lally’s operas and sos transcribed fom hisaras. During the nineteenth century te valu of eat remained powefal fre inthe wring of Rorantc musical thinkers. Robert ‘Schumann pave the pedagogue to younger composers in invoking canonic models: “There ls alas a difrence between master and dsl. The GURY tossat-off planforte sonatas of Bethoven, and still more those ef Meza. their heavenly grace, exhibit the same degree of mastery that do thle deeper revelations” ‘When, in the cours of the eighteenth and ery nineteenth centuries. these rotons tok on exnonieimplations, they proved an important ine of cont ult Between the epocks before and ale the rise of performing canons nd tbo between the mosial past and pesent general. That may be why. even though the rise of musical cases iranairmod musical taste s0 profoundly during the late elghtenth and nineteenth centuries, none theless there was ‘emarabl litle sense of @ major contradiction between new misc and odin ‘egard to mesial dcpine unl mint stant garde groups arse in the late hinteenth century. anid even then they dl not deny the classics categorical: ‘The notion of craft was inchs rather than excaeve: enhered together & tention of defining what was often cll the perfection’ of music whether it benew a ol This ls meant thatthe emeeging canon di not go very far back oto the mid ofthe nineteenth eenturyt wae unusual tind even printed ‘ference toa compower active belore Palestrina ot Talis, much less a pedor- mance of a werk of such andguiy- The tadons that underide the conte uly beteen eld and now repertores could not absorb works in unsally ol for diferet syle atleast un none repertaris and athonty became alata daca aceite ————— fry estabished by the lt nineteenth century that more fa-Sung sedate cll appear. Tor the same reason, the pplication of musical craft to canon became fons ss much upon collegial notions of gest comporers who shared common Wain- Ing and musteal exalence as on cls of indidual composers. The composes whose works remained ia performance in eighteenth-century France and England came ia lage pot fom the royal nurs. and the growing pofesion- alls and pride of place among these musicians was one of the foundations of ‘aly tendencies tomar canon By the same ake theidegof a common canon based in orchesral and chambecmuste concerts underay the reverence lor Haydn, Movar, and Beahowen, and then, by extension, fr Schubert, Sch ‘mann and Bahn. While individual cuts emerged around some key gures— Handel. Beethoven, and Wagner peeps most prominealy of all—they none ‘he les emerged within a strong sense of colell musical standards. We shall, sce, however that indidoal works, or groups of works, entered repetoris ‘based upon quit indivi! performing wats. Marcia Citon has discussed the role of craft i canon in an interesting ‘way, showing how the profsdonalim of misciane—a set of sellimposed ‘npectitionsdetermlned what kinds of music men and women wrote, end {therefore whose sic became canon." Her argurpeatisconvincng that until recently, with some important exceptions, weman composers have tended to ‘ne In the intellectual les ambitious and less canontcllyoreated genes. ‘The problem s pertinent as weltocomposersin popular masa ie, lm muse particular Bat however central the tradton ofthe musical eat was tothe evolution of ‘canon. possssd limited ality to engage the large sce In the cary eight tenth century. neither preerving old scores, emulating respected works. nor Tearing to compose in aniquatd ses meant much to peopl intrested in hearing o paving works writen In the manner of thee day, While by 1850 some concer gers had learned about the emsatv exchanges among the cas ‘Seal composers, they remained a eset minority compared with those who Aeckedto keep hearing The Barber f Selle or The Messi Musial eat was an Inward looking elimatly profesional dspine andi coudl not stand sone in the establishment of a powerful eanon. Repertory “The second of our paces of musical canon, repertory hs nt yet een the subject of much extensive study or analysis” Music historians have nk ast, 1 Sa ace 39 Sg de Shy Odes Ayal of et Ree ae ‘eee ae 1590179 eee Wa a Nae Cane opty Be‘begun to investigate programmes in opera or concert Me tal sytemateal for tha reson we ae at something of loss when we try to evaluate the Fok that works played in musa fe Tobe abl od hat confienth we feed far more compretensestody of repetoris both in insttuonal con- text—royal hope resrs and pere-houss, fo examle—and ina he resetuns bene concerts eps Moree. weneedtolook mach more ‘Seay iat the structures of concert programmes, analysing the squences of [rors pertrmers, and compos, ad aking what muscl and socal pac ‘ess made old works become inctessngly common nthe conventions y which ‘rorammes wre pul loge An old work dd ol appear on a programe int because people thought twas prone selon was red through an fray of coneins, reumnstanes, and taste. factor that are fen el to recoseuct. Tal order though this maybe ts necessary fr mus stor ths toattempl itt we ace going to understand the elton of cannic eper tore between the ighloeth and twentieth ents. ‘The kinds af elitone and pectrming paces employed area nagging ten Insoluble poem in such researc, Can one trast the pevicmance ofan ope fa by Handel nthe 1870s have been anything cosy approximating the enlons he supervise? fn the usual absence of poring parts, itis ule ‘ately necessary to trea the problem nay basic terms asking bout the sae st pertrming bodes ond essing hw song the tendency might have ben {fo adat oid wors to tnaern practices Ata rle of thumb, pate lbs of Sccous pevormer snd laters sully allered works mach ess than efor ‘sot puleconcets designed oelebratve purposes. ALany eae where re forming parts 6 ex musta edt go Beyond just searching fo he Unter a work, ane tke serious the changes tha were ade Diflret hing ‘nul be done to plo a any oe ne and much ean be arn rom cle Investigation of adaptations uring ery stages whore canon was formalin must repetries ef works were not estab sa commen corps bal rater through the eth Yin of separate performing ads, and that tendency has persed to 3 Cera depres ever since the. ven hough ll works were perceived wis the fale, crf ke ation of cana, many had wadons quite thee own. Pac ‘sof asping old works nse longe than noma re’ up lara indepen tent of each other and fen for iron reasons Io lgtceath-centry ‘England for example, Willa Byes mass and mots persisted = kn of Tene mac in dally perfomance in eatedrals and college chapels. wie Porat Te Dem a ute remnined sete woes the much mere publi nue hot sv nd Cris concctor hung on bth publi and pes ‘al oles, hilly in the meetings of amateur musi ots, Silay. ‘Germ. and France arias om operas or cantatas by fra and symphonies ‘Meh Omen by Vit made ecaional appearance in programmes thoughost the nne- ‘est centary, wth il ret relationship her wit each ote oc withthe tergingeepertory of works by Haydn, Mozart. and Beethoven, On acetal ‘ane, ech tee examples was separate radio. ‘One cannot say tata performing canon ented in any period unl tem sone by which Io dfine—indeal ge authority to—a repertory of od works ‘ror to 1700 I ws by no means known fx peso embed thems in {hecustomay of art orn the repertory of what but sch wes brite ‘ealionship © one anoer, an ther wat no Lar by which to let them. ‘They were preted in reetence othe spec msl or social context within tiie they persed, er tan according to any concept ofa canon ature ‘There were ofcourse tern for rato fr composing in outatd stylet ‘nos and pina praticebot they meant something quite flere om = Serming actual works Hom an earl pro. "The ret tem fora canon pafoeming epertor. ‘ancient muse’, mad ts ‘yperance in England during the 1690s, and became exabshd by the ate 1720. Whe some authors teed to denote the muse and musi theory of nti. ites used pina to denote mas ofthe stent ad ear t= tententh entre, The en bacame prominent in musa ie when in 1731, the name ofthe Academy of Vocal Mate was changed to the Academy of ‘Ani asl and with the founding ofthe Concert of Antient Musicin 1775, twas redline tomean any mise more than abouttwo decades. A rene founiesart ls masqucancion emerged the 1740s sce no musi eae from beter th ne Ll the erm refer to musi writen by im and his cere a he court, an to the pets a gondometets tha Miche Dele lands compose or the Chapelle Royale which were prformel a the Concerts Spinto fom hc unding in 1725 tothe end of the 1760-The word's ‘al wa oreasonaliy aed glad to dnote ret works of mus fom he pst a eaty athe 1770 and bythe 1830s had emerge asthe standard term fEecanon throuhiout rope. Tere ¢ much woek tobe done onthe language, the serilgy of the clase mse taon at evolved Between thelae ih teenth snd early entth conus" "The procs by hich reprtaris fod works evolved was no sticonsous or unied, Mow inpatanf all rpertrs were not blt passe of eal ‘ld works on distant past Unt afer te middle of the ipetenth entry, few works wate brought back flr long persed of complete dus: the ret Ino of ld pes had een permed at least spracaly sine the ine UF thet compotion, so were ialed in Soave kind of ongoing peoemng346 Weber tration, When a work was revived afer long tne, twas usally because It ‘rae related to 2 genre ora compose for which there wes an active treion. andits performance therefore id not realy constitute a evival. Fr example, the Concert of Antent Muse performed a fer of the works which Handel composed Intaly just alter the turnef the elghtoenth century—the Dist Dominusof 1707, fee example perform a 1785—that had not bee performed since that time. but the foes ofthe programmes on Handel made this no great note ‘One cannot overemphaste the diversity of eanonic repertris. Dillerent kinds of concerts offered quite dierent components and had quite diferent ‘noni implications. Foc example, the Academy of Ancient Music and the Concert of Antent Music might have simular names and be without paralel ‘anywhere losin Burope during the 1780s o¢ 1790, but they offre remarkably Alilerent programmes. The Academy had a much les esoere repertory than the Aniient Coneet It served up sentimental ballads, and ofeed only the bestknown Blzabeth macigals er late Baroque ope arias, works of the sort thatthe ober series provided in reat varie Likewise. in thesecond half of the rlneterth century, the Conservatotre Orchestra of Pars served as a musical ‘museum ors some contemporaries described it, «temple: performed er ‘works by living composers and ap allan opera, feature choral sacred music. nd in general elected a far more rigid sens of canon than any of the similar Srcbeseal wcetiee In the major capital eles. The Philharmonic Society ‘of London, by contrast Dull a canoa of tel cao opera selections, alongside Symplionis of Beethoven and opera selections by Cherub and Rosin “Thus a repertory of old works was not @ unity was th sum of component pars that served diferent musical tastes and constituencies. nthe 1790s the Concert of Antint Must loked ots connoisears with aris fem lte-known ‘opera of Handel, nd kept sles learned eintee (people ther tose the royal ‘amiy) happy with resounding, militaristic choruses from Jus Maeabens. In the 1850s the Gewandhass Orchestra of Lapag likewise served is intlloctal clients an impressively vied array of symphonies by Haydn, Mowat, and ‘eethoven, together with arias by Gck and Cherubal. but rid to draw rows with recent violin concertos and popular selections feom Nazart and Weber aa 1 nogunme! he Asn Cte oun etn ee eee et sucetanc eS as ech ee ony veer Ste ns Cre 12487 99 tel ‘sl cod nm pe 16061985 ee NT Meret he Myo Be ore int hat eer ‘oc nr cnt sore Qa 112, one tot ee Fre cea akan ineea eoian areononreom seats Lage, The Hcory of Masial Canoe 347 ‘here was such great varety in the old works performed in diferent places that one shoud not think of ‘canon’ as a universlly achoie play-it ‘sually best to think ofa period asposessing set of interlocking canons rather than a singe one itis even more impoctant a avoid speaking of the canon. The Heological burden of the clasial muse tadiuon—itsellort to enforce its ‘auhority—makes one thin that there was a singe ientibl its but upon closer Inspection we nda great variety of practices st anyone time in diferent contexts, affected by performing resources, insittional characteristic and social treitons (On the broadest plane the opera difered fundamentally rom the concert a {he evolution of canon. Ony ina few instances did clearly defined repetoies of fulhlength operas remain on-stage for lng period of time before the midle of the ninetenth century. A few work of th late eighteenth century — hana ogee 8-4 ‘etter Masta cn 348 prsions on programmes had belting socal impBiatons, but oe ns pm pionis in such sot for much ofthe ninetenth century in 1807 te Gewend- haus Orchestre made a dare break with convenson the cantact—when i Dinjed Besthovens ois’ Syphon us alr intermisin, folowing iby a Scan om a popular epea, and subseuently gave a kndof canons to this and few other works that were played in hs po (he eratorios of Handel. and aydn anda sraphony by Peter Winter especially)” That symphonies none the les usualy remained in thee usual spt suggests limitation tothe sca ‘autonomy’ which the gear seen sald to have achieved inthe Romantic peri. ven at serous on nstittion a the Pars Consorvtore, Mozart 57m Ponies remained mainly a the Sarto the ead excegt for a ew times during the 18506" etic, Featusaicoctne oe xian Ge epamcnnre pee oc Seca cate ty far eran, nhs peng wee of 183 Be trun tha eer sie he pram of wor es oe ee are eee: Secepeed oc ppt! casa Thee ay peteuiy ooo ota i eis then rt acne: mesa thar Sian ecay ens at ansualeaemes pare tematicfastion, Bans Teta pe itn beep cat tomer ence Wes Tegel ce al seco an ce by dn of alin tea oc ast e pond Sandra cont hte Yon hh mses ye 8 Seo ee eee ee iciacrtcnr is urincirear occa Naw red ciate caused aan eae awe os on nse sce era snot fitout oa nce sey ere le een eh Sn aces inp aiceae es neces ‘Bet whemats Ramco i ese oe he ere aid mae eer am cae eae eevee ws et Eris musy of mused cmos: Wend out coqte how ee eee nee ercigenth aden ntenth centuries the perma of wrk tsk thw cal eps em cnolering pertinent ‘ocomplae ead, Kes anon cme wars or ag ange taro a oo mich son veving and not cnnagh upon dco the only ened aca ty wth prin musics works fe What cena ithe produ f canonization rebel satan spon ean Feces meer cone meno oesnon he cial {ure enpowers ending lt wrk with att ener mse comps Soman tase Tercan te enen rl jis smich sine rm: po ‘tintitmstbe stl pbe and exec andere yoga fans on coon etary stressed dered wi et hth gone hte aa coal rnin of neler "his outory mist reach ot ne maa fe a he cant it theorem eel That wy target hore esp ‘tive athr then een canon inthe seo nde seein Them nee forget hat many fac ot than tis came into lay nthe otabsmen work in eptors or exam Hanls Case! nn hang on nvr em rtm pe nts vty oe the biter in 74S: he mo a of he tenth etary sow ia nin wo sod ach retard the ps be etn ly ow of which ste a he pry” The eg nd te ‘nt «paces play signin an wheter ted or ms cls Dam on lt mayer el ae become andl eet ros otal nue ts shor at ingosing ad comand ho pi dae Se lors tetveen mas story pdms cam sno ob temas The mtinget sry abot gest octets yo moans ‘Stal tocaon Ports th ae eighth etary ennai the fre penealy wes encase fre get mers of psy 8 ‘Segarevereropel ar nos and were ntstd mara eontt— Indl todos woaidhoe meat quetenng ther nena Noel con ever wit low nk toms heey treet pened at ie whe Sits rings wee meting a wht Hr wt ebro ‘ozoe namo altars st have rind eer mel enon arse the ceent ceury im ot bso the autor of wha rank Kermee ‘arate merge’ ceon nrtare wos eeking sp. Thon ick tf tbe lxdripinabshing the cion xn rom ms ian ch at (SoM aan ‘Metitoyf Mika mse 382 (Chatis Burney and Francois Pts. But, as Cort Dalhaus bas argu, in the nineteenth century the canon was esselly normative not isto and the Principe of historia accuracy was not s majo determinant in pole concert fun cho exely muse movement ofthe le seer deca” Hor serv ‘mors asa means than an end within the emerging canon. It emerged ea ‘unavoidable element in musi commentary. but ultmataly ia subordinate éanaciy. providing ammunition forging wars of taste and a rationale or etining masta norms Dahle ges tof. howeve in saying that the wing of muse Bistoey arose er the componensof the canon had been esabshad, end that there fore served fo leptimat, rather tha deine, their aathoriy. In Germany ed lal quiteimpresive works—the story of opera ween by Extabon de Artes In the 1780s most suiting of alP™—were writen well before ld works were performed frequent in those counees. Mic history had sown istry in many respect developed in sown teem, sparate om canon, and acco ingly exerted Influence upon the desonment of repertory. Hwa Fes for example, who. by virtue of his eles es both historian and concert inprestre, lrought music ofthe Renalssine and the Baroque Into repertory and into ology In ology we come tothe in, by far the mot outwartooking. principle of muscl canon. In andof sel the etique of canon valve usualy concerns ‘relatively Kime portion of a community sine i presumes knowledge and Intellectual engagement, and involves a demanding anlycl proses. Canons ‘one the es obtain deolpcaljsiation tha itmizesthe choles andthe grounds of thes choices on bass tht command wider, stronger allegiance ‘thin society This as gone parla arin muse fr the power ofthe cae ‘eal asi tation since the late ightecat century ha derived fom the ay ‘aims made fr its authority. We shal se how the musial canon has been elined variously as amoral pirtua, and ae force: thee have bean the one ee en nr erenceaeeee Serie eee ree ree re eae ee ee252 Wien er termsin which the asc! must don has been datined onthe mos fan- ‘mental pane "The lelgy ofthe masa anon has haa mon! dension throughout tutor gre oma reaction puns! commercr, gnins the development A pblshng and conti ex manipulative enters tat ete sen £0 thn snr of tat. Acq eye comers vas su- Dolly degrading musta vier “nose alan 8 {have termed i— {pearl as far back sea echeenvcenary Bla, notably in Arthur Beltrds book of 1711 The Get eof Msi end ecured in eae Snr forms Uoaghout the sinter cots I ened the canon a8 tray and socal pring. ara force forte god onthe highest plane. oeuse he ret master works were thought to tan above the money-making ‘is of muscle they coud bp soe transcend commercial eultare and there regenerate mana ie. “theca has ren sen as aspire in both aed and seul ea. Whereas elipous ome gue only secondly in thecanon of en er dure musi ots in sacred phony pointed tin sucha dieton fom the Sort, Plesina’s sate style was esate as a pedagnical noel. and the Imusic of he Banat masters pat of ether repro. The peo tanto Dele tein Concerts Sto sting mss ete Clunmeat on ty daar rouge cured canon ina secu ns, a thee cashed oo the hey trations in modern cone fe. Te perk tmance of andes oratorio alr his dea had a ina impat bu ied ttach moresel-eonseosh spituaidelogy Ina widerangeatpefrming com {Er forentc mail thinking fhe interetd the primary seus ep tory af he early nnetontheetay Hn eos tes, and, one ight Se cialis Nations ‘of the canon as_a moral anda spiritual force have been closely related toome aner ad together tote taten of musa erat The pobphonie tation ands verscoshoots have been tne eloieally asthe bulwark solid crfnanshp, ood ste and ally ode of miueal excience. We ths nd these themes in Bedlrd's polemics again theatesengs an inthe tacks made aie oper eles dre 18eOsby poponensof he des Sea seprtony efor ponol to Bye’ pi stings vs whey o ore an Viennese resto Bxtore symphonies and sacred works ‘het Menogal themes together ull an autor forthe canon tat reach ct eyed the mite numbers of people ate earaed muster inde inmates ole hn course ef chevng his thoy, canon natal took on a ea sulin eet he ti of the ple ot poll fre Independent of the ae ake iin ak The Hany of Musica Canon 353 ‘monatc in eghteenth-century Europe made cultural hein general and mule In particular. central to a new definition of community The governance of ‘musical hfe became an Intimate part of governance of sckety isl since a greater concentration ofthe lites of society gathered together in musical act ‘les than in any other area of le It wes in this context that od rather than new, works became te focus of majer occasions performing Mesa became a ‘means of elebating the social and political order in times of trouble, England In ts constitutional criss of 1784 and Vienna tn the revolution of 1848, for ‘example. For the same reason cis today have put up major opera-housts ot ‘concert alla ther centres: great work rom the past have come ta symbolize ‘society's highest moral and spiral values, a ell arte stablt. ‘Musical Me ao constituted a eve community im it own right from the ‘ighteenth centary , and the canon evolved within ths contest, The sift of patronage and leadership rom monarchs and few top aristocrats to the broad ‘upper-class public asa whole raised the question of who within the musical ‘world had authority and on mbat bass. Any major event in musical Me—anew hall, pesformer, oF opera production—became a matter of publle concern, Involving the community a a whole, and acondinly there was uncertainty as to whether anyone inthe publi had pevleged opinions by virtue of experts. ‘rom the start of the century in England and France it became common to refer {to ‘connoisseus’asmen—seemingly not women—who were preset hae special knowledge and crieal judgement, chily in evaluating vocies and Instrumental ability. nll thee judgements were not regarded by any means as sacrosanct, since periodicals often disparaged them, and implied that ult ‘mately the pubic knew more about these matters than di the connolseurs. ‘This happened because thee were no indispensable functions fo connoisseurs, such their colleaguesin the plastic rts performed—hstrical tribution and nancial assessment in the growing market fr paintings” But connoisseurs took on much firmer authority as canons beeame more ental to musical fe during the fis half of the nneteeath century. One of the ‘most basic presumptions established in the clasical music tradition by ‘the mide of dhe ninetunth century was that Iseners needed to learn about he great works and great composers—indeed. be educated In the subject. Knowledge born of simple involvement in the musteal communtty was now deemed insulcient. Pedals promoted themselves in this edacational fashion, asthe learned interpreters of the elaseal music tation: programme ote ofa fay sophisticated kind became routine atthe more sophisiceted kinds of concerts. Likewise, the leaders of the contra classical muste fast lions—in London for example, the drctors of the Cooeet of Antient Mise, LED ere py core ance tee ttethe Phiharmonie Soci, and nally dhe Musical Union—set themselves up on ‘lof plane as guardians of te canon traditon. The learned men of musical Ie now played much more central, poweflrles in musical ife than they had shundec years before "The authori ofthe connoisseur was essentially based upon tology. and in such tems thatthe nature of intellectual authority within musical ie wos reshaped, Repertory was defined by learning and erick and the product wes Tepmatt by Heology. Only through the last of these stages did the canon chive is ental olen mica are and i the culture asa whole. In reto- ‘pects poponedts succeeded in stunning fasion fo is remarkable that a falta tet had focused so intnsiey upon recent works by living musiions Should have tara around to put old ones foremost. ‘CenonicMeology brought about the ideas of popolar’ and elses" musi, and a formidable hierarchy of genres. Such distinctions ha teen by no meas {Unknown in musical Me, of course: works were seen as ether mundane of fartiol, and differences might be discerned within each eategory. Bat there ‘vaso cea ieologelly articulated ranking of genre: opera vas presumed 10 te beth highly sophisticated and sil accesible to all members of the vppet classes, By the mile of the nineteenth century. a much more systematic hierarey of gentes hed emerged, Chamber music, focused on the quartets of Beuthoven, bad becom seenpind are pianoclefllowed bythe symphony. the concerto, and then loser genres such as the overture and the sul, and finally popular genree—waltes.seamental songs, marches—that were mar- inal to the formal eancerts in which works fom the lassleal msi ration were perform. "The ieclogy of musical canon was manipulated to socal and politcal ends Irom ts very sat: the elastic mus tradition never had socal autonomy ts Authority was wielded ciel as an assrtlon of clara supremacy by the more learned pubis within rusia fe over chose ss learned. a dvision found in large pare within the per dlasses themselves, Yet. in broader cepecs this te tion di supprt the predominance of Western lies oer al the ser eases Salseciber to the lading operas and symphony orchestras. who have passed thet places down in thelr wis, have conibuted greatly tothe igiiy and sci Aiisions within modern mas oes How far has a deconstractonist point of view, suchas that expressed here taken us How sceptical should we become of the hallowed traditions recived from the Romantic redon? Oa the one end, musical anon must be seen as ‘uc less unified, continuous, and eoberent than i often assumed just why ‘Some workspersit cannot aways be attributed to reasoned musical judgements Mestimportantof el canonic authority has often been manipulate forthe pur- pote of snobbery and socal im. On the other hand, ahistorical perspective fn the celution of macal canon suggest the contnalty of the trdition of taf respect forthe dsciplined, artful construction of music. Naive though it ‘Toe Hidory of Maciel Conon 355 ‘may sound, a deconsructions¢ can ultimately keep the fit in the clascal ‘musi taten. To maintain a balance between thse to perspectives demands that we integrate theory and empiric in onder to avid the Bing exreme es found meng seme practioner of each approach,