Musical topoi. The chosen perspectives of topos in music

Abstract

This article studies diverse approaches to topoi in music. For this end, the history of how the understanding of topos developed, as well as how it manifested itself, shall be presented. This term, one which originates from the Ancient Greek rhetoric, quickly gained acceptance in a broad cultural context. It is thanks to this growth that it was promptly incorporated into ars musica. During the Middle Ages, this concept from the Antique era was revived, notably influencing the illustrative nature of this era’s music. The concept continued throughout the Common era, when the role of affects in music was reinforced. The 20th century witnessed a parallel progression of many unique understandings of topos. The contemporary thought of this era has presented numerous propositions that oscillate between the fields of musicology, literature studies, and philosophy. It may be assumed that in the future defining topos in the field of music will be closely connected with the emerging “transcultural” perspective which appears to be the appropriate paradigm with which to observe the processes occurring in the European culture, such as globalization and orientalization.

Keywords

• philosophy of music
• history of music
• musical rhetoric
• topos in music
• transcultural topos