As a musician, I have often found myself having the same dispute over and over again with fellow music enthusiasts: is lyrical content important to the art of music? My argument has always been that composers such as Beethoven, Bach, John Cage, etc. never needed lyrics to be great. However, there was always some doubt in my mind about the importance of lyrics to a musician; the ability to appreciate them, write them, understand them. Where do lyrics fit into music, and how important is it to a musician? Furthermore, how does this concept affect contemporary music today? In this essay I will refer to Nietzsche’s view on music and more specifically, his input on lyrical poets, and the place for lyrics within music, which is visited in depth in section 6 of The Birth of Tragedy.
First, it is important to understand the background history of Nietzsche’s work. The full title of his text was The Birth of Tragedy Out of the Spirit of Music. Nietzsche had a love for music, which he shared with an important person and father figure in his life, Richard Wagner. Together they explored the importance of music as an art form, and bore much criticism on the matter. Knowing the context of Nietzsche’s writings helps one understand that he had an understanding of music on a philosophical level that brings much validity to the issues surrounding the definition of music and what a musician is. Nietzsche brings the roles of Apolline and Dionysian nature into the art of music. It is also important to first understand the definitions of Apolline and Dionysian nature. Nietzsche says this about the two: “In order to gain a closer understanding of these two drives, let us think of them in the first place as separate art-worlds of dream and intoxication” (14). Nietzsche identifies Apolline art as being the art of an image-maker or sculptor; very visual and logical, often inspired by something else within the branch of aesthetics and art. He goes on to say that Dionysian art is imageless; much like music is by his definition. Dionysian works are wild and raw while Apolline works are diluted and thought-out. Dionysian nature is at the root of our primordial being, meaning that it is driven more by intuition, and feeling: an animal approach stemming from the root of our existence. Apolline nature deals with more thought and reflection. That is where Nietzsche’s use of the comparison between dreams and intoxication are useful. In dreams, as Nietzsche puts it, we are aware of the “semblance of a semblance” (26). Great works of art come from amidst the Apolline culture because that sense of knowing something is just a semblance is healthy for a being. However, the fact that the semblance of semblance is so recognizable is what makes Apolline art different from Dionysian works. The sense of being intoxicated relates well to Dionysian inspiration because when one is intoxicated, inhibitions, intuition and thought all tend to go out the window. When intoxicated, people act and react without a filter. There is no semblance involved. What is present is what is there. Often when people are intoxicated, true feelings and desires are surfaced that otherwise never leave a person’s mind. On the most basic level, this describes Dionysian works perfectly. When Nietzsche speaks of music, he therefore speaks of an art form that is rooted in our primordial beings of Dionysian nature, something raw and often incomprehensible.
Having understood Nietzsche’s position on music, we can dive into his views on lyric poets and the place for lyrics in music. When Nietzsche begins talking about lyrics in The Birth of Tragedy, he says that lyrics are simply “language straining its limits to imitate music” (34). As a musician myself, I have always taken pride in the fact that I have an appreciation for all genres of music, and I strive to understand the artistic abilities of different types of musicians in different styles. For me, a true musician is one that appreciates music as an art form, like Nietzsche did, and not simply a person who plays an instrument and knows about some popular bands in 2011. The purpose of my essay is to visit the topic of lyrics in music. I have an ongoing dispute with one of my friends about the fact that lyrics are not what make music. He - claiming to be a musician - says that music is nothing without good lyrics. Nietzsche brings up the point that “[while] lyric poetry depends utterly on the spirit of music, music itself, in its absolute sovereignty, has no need at all of images and concepts but merely tolerates them as an accompaniment” (36). Nietzsche’s statement is undeniable. Lyrics depend on a melody to carry them. Music is an art that speaks for itself. When reading The Birth of Tragedy I was instantly gratified in section 6 when I stumbled upon Nietzsche’s thoughts on language and imagery in music. It clearly sorts out the importance of lyrics in music in a way that demonstrates an undeniable thirst and passion that elevates the credibility of the statement. When Nietzsche speaks of the vast difference between music and lyrical poetry, the words simply dance on the page in my mind:
“Lyric poetry can say nothing that was not already contained, in a condition of the most enormous generality and universal validity, within the music which forced the lyric poet to speak in images. For this reason it is impossible for language to exhaust the meaning of music’s world-symbolism, because music refers symbolically to the original contradiction and original pain at the heart of primordial unity, and thus symbolizes the sphere which lies above and beyond all appearances” (36).
He is saying that lyrics are the result of music. Without music there are no lyrics. He goes on to say that “language, as the organ and symbol of phenomena, can never, under any circumstances, externalize the innermost depths of music” (36). Needless to say, my end of the dispute pertaining to lyrics is heavily uplifted by Nietzsche. The Birth of Tragedy clearly states that lyrics are by no means the essence of music. I think that in today’s age, Nietzsche’s view is something that should be drilled into the mainstream music scene. Artists, producers, fans – everyone looks to their favorite singer for those words of wisdom, blurted out to a catchy tune. However, lyrical content is dying a slow and painful death. Musicians are now defined by the words they sing, and yet those words are losing credibility and meaning by the minute. Soon we will have to write The Rebirth of Tragedy Out of the Dying Spirit of Music. This essay isn’t just about whether or not lyrics are in fact important in music, but it is defining why they way us down as musicians. The focus is too much on lyrics and not enough on music, and the essence of musicality. Nietzsche presents music in its original form through his words.
However, regardless of the philosophical proof that lyrics are not what music is about, Nietzsche still manages to retain the importance of Apolline culture in music. An Apolline lyric poet is as much as musician as a one of Dionysian nature. In this excerpt, Nietzsche describes the lyric poet as someone that today’s most talented musicians should strive to be:
In order to express the Will’s appearance in images the lyric poet needs all the stirrings of passion, from the whisper of inclination to the fury of madness; impelled by the drive to speak of music in Apolline symbols, he understands the whole of nature, including himself, to be nothing but that which eternally wills, desires, longs. But by virtue of the fact that he interprets music in images, he himself is at rest on the still, calm sea of Apolline contemplation, no matter how much all those things around him which he contemplates through the medium of music are in the grip of thrusting, driving motion. Indeed, when he catches sight of himself through that same medium, his own image presents itself to him as being in a state of unsatisfied feeling; his own willing, longing, groaning, and shouting for joy, is a symbolic likeness with which he interprets music. This is the phenomenon of the lyric poet: as an Apolline genius he interprets music through the image of the Will, while he himself, completely set free from the greed of the Will, is a pure, unclouded sun-eye” (35).
Described in that way, Apolline lyric poets are geniuses of musical interpretation. What is there not to strive for in that description? No matter how much Nietzsche stresses that lyrics do not equal music, but rather that music inspires and produces lyrics, the two go hand in hand on many occasions. And Nietzsche – as demonstrated above – also refers to the importance of lyricists. If the music of today is to be revived at all, lyricists must strive to be of the Apolline sort that Nietzsche describes. And although to a true musician, the lyrics will never quite be as important as the music itself, the lyrical content of Apolline nature will be regarded much more highly then the utter crap (excuse my lack of better description) that plays on the radio today. Nietzsche recognizes that both Apolline and Dionysian nature is at play in all forms of art, including music. Therefore, the lyrical side to music is at play. However he defines the boundary between the Dionysian aspects of music and the image-encompassing Apolline drive.
In conclusion, I believe that Nietzsche’s work makes clear the distinction between lyrics and music itself. He calls attention to the true Dionysian nature of music, where the essence of musicality and being a musician should lie. However, he also sheds light on the importance of Apolline nature in all art forms, including music, and illustrates how an Apolline musician should strive to appreciate and therefore reap the benefits of music’s full potential. Lyrics do not make the music, but a musician should recognize Nietzsche’s points on the nature of imagery in music and be able to appreciate that second drive within music. If we could all go back to the philosophical way of dissecting aesthetics, perhaps much of the entertainment we enjoy today could revive the essence behind its conception, therefore enhancing our experience and understanding of art and culture in the modern world.
Works Cited:
Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Birth of Tragedy And Other Writings. Edited/ translated by Raymond Guess and Ronald Speirs. Print. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
No comments:
Post a Comment