1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910300624503321

Autore

Brown David

Titolo

The Extravagance of Music [[electronic resource] /] / by David Brown, Gavin Hopps

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2018

ISBN

3-319-91818-4

Edizione

[1st ed. 2018.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (XXV, 325 p.)

Disciplina

210

Soggetti

Religion—Philosophy

Music—Philosophy and aesthetics

Music

Philosophy of Religion

Philosophy of Music

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Introduction: an art open to the divine -- 2. A generous excess -- 3. Types of extravagance -- 4. Discovering god in music’s excess -- 5. Cultured despisers -- 6. Spilt religion -- 7. Conclusion.

Sommario/riassunto

This book explores the ways in which music can engender religious experience, by virtue of its ability to evoke the ineffable and affect how the world is open to us. Arguing against approaches that limit the religious significance of music to an illustrative function, The Extravagance of Music sets out a more expansive and optimistic vision, which suggests that there is an ‘excess’ or ‘extravagance’ in both music and the divine that can open up revelatory and transformative possibilities. In Part I, David Brown argues that even in the absence of words, classical instrumental music can disclose something of the divine nature that allows us to speak of an experience analogous to contemplative prayer. In Part II, Gavin Hopps contends that, far from being a wasteland of mind-closing triviality, popular music frequently aspires to elicit the imaginative engagement of the listener and is capable of evoking intimations of transcendence. Filled with fresh and accessible discussions of diverse examples and forms of music, this



ground-breaking book affirms the disclosive and affective capacities of music, and shows how it can help to awaken, vivify, and sustain a sense of the divine in everyday life.