Critical Reading Review 10
Schafer, R. Murray. “Music for Wilderness Lake.” In On Canadian Music. Bancroft: Arcana Editions, 1984.
Summary:
Schafer opens up talking about how performance spaces are often what shape musical styles, and suggests that every major revolution in music was accompanied by a change in performance space. For example, during the time of concert halls, music was catered towards the "upper class" and made complex, but with the rise of the radio, music had to evolve into something geared towards aII people, and it therefore became a more "abbreviated" form of entertainment. After this introduction, Schafer discusses an experimental piece of music he was involved with called "Music for Wilderness Lake." The experimental aspect is not in the sound itself, but in the performance space (a wilderness lake). It was specifically composed to be played by a lake, preferably in the summer. I noticed that in his description of the piece Schafer once again expressed his bias towards natural soundscapes and dislike towards modern noise, a bias which is present in a lot of his work. He seemed regretful that the piece could not be performed on instruments derived from the landscape itself (wooden and animal based instruments as opposed to the "alien" instruments made from metal) and was quite adamant that the lake be very deep in the wilderness so as to eliminate traffic and city sounds.
Discussion Question:
Would a piece with similar ideas about performance space but set in an urban environment be less valuable than "Music for Wilderness Lake?" Why or why not?
Summary:
Schafer opens up talking about how performance spaces are often what shape musical styles, and suggests that every major revolution in music was accompanied by a change in performance space. For example, during the time of concert halls, music was catered towards the "upper class" and made complex, but with the rise of the radio, music had to evolve into something geared towards aII people, and it therefore became a more "abbreviated" form of entertainment. After this introduction, Schafer discusses an experimental piece of music he was involved with called "Music for Wilderness Lake." The experimental aspect is not in the sound itself, but in the performance space (a wilderness lake). It was specifically composed to be played by a lake, preferably in the summer. I noticed that in his description of the piece Schafer once again expressed his bias towards natural soundscapes and dislike towards modern noise, a bias which is present in a lot of his work. He seemed regretful that the piece could not be performed on instruments derived from the landscape itself (wooden and animal based instruments as opposed to the "alien" instruments made from metal) and was quite adamant that the lake be very deep in the wilderness so as to eliminate traffic and city sounds.
Discussion Question:
Would a piece with similar ideas about performance space but set in an urban environment be less valuable than "Music for Wilderness Lake?" Why or why not?
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