Dr Edward Campbell

Dr Edward Campbell
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This is a past event

Music after Deleuze

Despite the multitude of musical references in the writings of French philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995), the explicit treatment of music in his work is arguably less important than how his concept-based philosophy can help with the articulation of a number of aspects of music. Deleuzian concepts offer interesting ways of thinking about repetition and variation in a range of musics including Western art music from the medieval period to the avant-garde, jazz improvisation, popular, folk and liturgical music. The concept of the ‘assemblage’ provides a productive way of thinking the specificity of any new musical work as the meeting of lines of flight and as part of a dynamic account of musical change. Deleuze’s work on space and time can be helpful in considering a range of music in terms of the parameters of pitch/timbre and tempo/rhythm/duration. Deleuzian philosophy, which rethinks the nature of signs and codes, offers valuable insights for musical semiotics, and the paper closes with reference to the work of a number of contemporary composers and music theorists for whom Deleuzian philosophy is an important reference. This talk, the starting point for a book project which I will be working on for the next twelve months, will not presume prior philosophical knowledge.