Roger Sessions "The Composer and His Message"

There are over 500 emotion words in the English language. I think this guy wanted to use them all. He speaks of music as a specific form of art which includes cognitive thought processes of a deeper emotion which harnesses the essence of the unknown that dwells inside us all. An emotion is defined sociologically as a mental state that arises subjectively, rather than through a conscious effort, and is often accompanied by psychological change. I can for sure see music as being a catalyst or a production of this definition. Emotions are affected and molded to an extent by societal standards, however, and can produce many unified feelings concerning the same situations. So when a piece of music plays a downtrodden tune, most people will be unified in feeling a sad or dark feeling since this is what we are expected to feel. This author speaks very passionately and soulfully and his views are ones I agree with mostly. Human beings do have a way to be “inspired” or struck with these “ideas” that can help us mold and shape them into concrete productions and that in itself is always awe inspiring. I also agree that we are in a primal way attached to and affected to sound and movement and seems to be something that is natural to comprehend. The author also says that he believes art to be the activity of the inner nature and not just the reproduction of it which I thought was profound and affecting. At the end was a quote from Beethoven which read “Emotion is fit only for women–for man, music must strike fire from his mind”. I just thought this was interesting from a sociological point of view and how it reinforces the idea that the inner nature and thought process can be hugely affected by societal standards and teachings. For women, expressing our emotions is considered natural although it also implies we are the weaker gender. For men, emotions are something to be harnessed and used for other means. This quote is mildly irksome to my feminine side, but Beethoven apparently couldn’t weep openly so he substituted tears for ink and drops for notes. Interesting stuff.