Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminaries
- Part II Atheisms in History
- Part III Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- Part IV Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
- Part V Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
- Part VI Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
- 32 Analytic Philosophy
- 33 Naturalism
- 34 Existentialism
- 35 Atheism and Postmodern Philosophies
- 36 Ayn Rand and Objectivism
- 37 Darwinism
- 38 Literature
- 39 Music
- 40 Visual Arts
- 41 Film and Television
- Part VII Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies
- Part VIII Emerging Atheisms in the Twenty-First Century
- Part IX Conclusion
- Index
- References
39 - Music
from Part VI - Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 September 2021
Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminaries
- Part II Atheisms in History
- Part III Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- Part IV Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
- Part V Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
- Part VI Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
- 32 Analytic Philosophy
- 33 Naturalism
- 34 Existentialism
- 35 Atheism and Postmodern Philosophies
- 36 Ayn Rand and Objectivism
- 37 Darwinism
- 38 Literature
- 39 Music
- 40 Visual Arts
- 41 Film and Television
- Part VII Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies
- Part VIII Emerging Atheisms in the Twenty-First Century
- Part IX Conclusion
- Index
- References
Summary
In many respects, music and atheism might seem to be strange bedfellows, given the religious – or at least metaphysical – language that often shapes accounts of musical experiences. For centuries, music has been attributed with the power to calm and restore order and equilibrium in times of trouble and turmoil. Shakespeare supposed music to be the food of love, while in the nineteenth century, Walter Pater (1919 [1873], 111) asserted that ‘all art constantly aspires towards the condition of music’. This condition of music – its ability to somehow lift spirits and provide a sense of well-being – is reflected in such metaphysical and spiritual language. Moreover, the church paid for a very large proportion of music written by western classical composers, until the late classical period, that once tied music squarely to religion. Masses, requiems, motets, cantatas, and oratorios served religious themes and liturgical purposes.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge History of Atheism , pp. 703 - 719Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
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