Music of other cultures

[Nerys Ghemor]

18 Musicians is a full, symphony-length work. If you can ever get your hands on the CD, it's well worth it. For me, I find it beautiful almost to the point of tears, as well as several other Steve Reich works.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

18 Musicians is a full, symphony-length work. If you can ever get your hands on the CD, it's well worth it. For me, I find it beautiful almost to the point of tears, as well as several other Steve Reich works.

I've just heard it for the first time. I found it very soothing; I can see how some people might, as you said in your ealier post, be driven nuts by it, but I agree it's a beauttiful and relaxing piece. And what you say about the tight frequenct range, the repetition, etc, as making it very "Cardassian" - I can totally see that.

 

[Myasishchev]

Other cultures...I'm not entirely sure what I think, and I'd be curious to hear what you think different cultures' music might sound like.

Unlistenable, not likely to be entirely audible. An alien's musical aesthetic will probably be about as compatible with human values and sense organs as their color aesthetic.

And going by historical reactions to new forms of music, even human music from that far in the future should present itself to us present-day squares as completely incomprehensible garbage. Music to murder yourself to, music that makes the Black Eyed Peas look palatable.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I don't agree with that about future human music. Certain parts of our aesthetic senses are inherent, I think, of what is and is not harmony. Which is why, despite those who like to make fun of foreign music, I find music from other parts of the world beautiful (especially Middle Eastern music) even though it doesn't fit all of the Western rules.

Given that we have a lot of humanoid aliens in Trekdom (and that's a whole other thread that I think you and I have participated in before! ), I imagine that some may have very different aesthetic senses, but that others come quite close to us.

Nonhumanoid aliens, though? Totally agree with you.

 

[Rush Limborg]

Frankly, "The Way To Eden" makes clear that The Oldies survive into the world of Trek.

And of course, TNG establishes the preservation of orchestral symphonies.

And Trek XI establishes that "hard rock" and "metal" survives.... *sigh*

But still...Myasishchev has a point, in that I'd shudder to think of what "new" Earth music styles would sound like....

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

For instance...for me, Cardassian music has become associated in my head with composers Reich (well, some of his later stuff, mainly 18 Musicians forward) and Glass--repetitive, pattern-driven, and probably with the greatest accomplishments being in abstracted stuff where artists don't have to worry about their music being construed as against the state. I know some would probably find maddening a lot of the Reich/Glass stuff I love, but to me, it just seems that a culture that has stuff like "repetitive epics" and "serialist" poets would thrive on this.

I like that idea! Philip Glass is my favorite composer of all time, and I think his music would fit Cardassia well.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Yeah, I can hear that too. Steve Reich speaks to me more, personally, but Glass would also fit.