Died in the Temple, Born in the Tavern: A Music Chronicle

Author: Jia Xiaowei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Music offers us a chance to achieve harmony, creating a striking contrast with the bustling urban scenes we navigate on the streets. 1. Classical music has long been in crisis. In his book "Who Killed Classical Music," the British author Lebrecht pointed out the murder of classical music by commerce. This is only one aspect of the problem. The core of the crisis lies in the fact that classical music is a product of the spiritual era, and it is difficult to move with ease in an age of lost faith. The experience of listening tells us that the world of classical music is severely out of sync with the world we inhabit today. This misalignment makes listening feel awkward. Once hesitation cannot be easily erased, listening is cast in shadow. The fate of classical music naturally falls upon the listeners, a fate that must be borne. 2. Each article in this book carries a sense of crisis, stemming from contemporary reflections on classical music. The interpretation of music is comparative, blending personal feelings of listening with knowledgeable introductions, no longer offering reassurance. I deliberately avoided it, finding that the places where I wanted to speak were in the deep chasms formed by the rupture of time and space. The historical sense I had to possess allowed me to view the descent of classical music from the altar with a slightly calmer perspective. 3. Whether classical music is "revived or dead" touches upon many directions and aspects of contemporary music culture. The oppression within and outside the music touches the walls of the concert hall, making them thin and easily pushed aside. The seats at concerts no longer faithfully serve listening. 4. In the articles, I do not want to say what music is, but rather what it can be in the present. Every musical topic connects to a broader space, no longer being isolated points. 5. In Valéry's poem "The Disappearing Wine," life is compared to the wine of a sacrificial ritual that vanishes into nothingness. The wine is cast into the sea, intoxicating the waves, and the poet gains a profound appearance. Classical music is the wine, and the wine has already been poured into the sea. The intensify the meaning of the wine. For the sake of the wine, it is worth possessing the entire sea.