Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Stories of Tonality in the Age of François-Joseph Fétis by Thomas Christensen

2021; Music Library Association; Volume: 78; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/not.2021.0070

1534-150X

Michael Vitalino,

Diverse Musicological Studies

Reviewed by: Stories of Tonality in the Age of François-Joseph Fétis by Thomas Christensen Michael Vitalino Stories of Tonality in the Age of François-Joseph Fétis. By Thomas Christensen. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2019. [xvi, 359 p. ISBN 9780226626925 (hardcover), $55; ISBN 9780226627083 (e-book), price varies.] Music examples, illustrations, endnotes, bibliography, index. The concept of “tonality” underlies much of our musical perception as a pedagogical framework, analytic concept, and interpretive intuition. Though it is undeniably valuable today as a theoretical construct, Thomas Christensen expresses fascination over its swift adoption during the nineteenth century. He questions the historical appeal and applicability of tonality, seeking motivations for its exceptional popularity. Stories of Tonality in the Age of François-Joseph Fétis deepens our understanding of the term by tracing its origins and uses in discourse. As the title suggests, François-Joseph Fétis (1784– 1867) serves as a central figure among a host of contemporaries for his prolific writing and considerable influence on musical discourse. Christensen traces the philosophical turmoil among musicians of this period to reveal zealous ideological camps using conceptions of tonality as their defense. To begin his extensive discussion, Christensen briefly recounts modern topics about tonality in a prologue: its supposed death and rebirth in the twentieth century, its diverse appearances across genres and cultures, and its different manifestations in compositional practice. A disclaimer follows about Fétis’s arrogance, careless scholarship, and inability to take criticism—just to name a few of his flaws as a scholar (pp. xii–xiii). Fétis’s racist views are particularly galling, underscoring the importance of recent efforts to acknowledge entrenched racial bias in music theory. Christensen speaks to this dialogue about racism with reference to his book in “Fétis’s Racial Frame of Tonality,” a blog post on History of Music Theory, the website of the Society of Music Theory Interest Group and American Muscological Society Study Group, available at https://historyofmusictheory.wordpress.com/2020/09/29/fetiss-racial-frame-of-tonality-part-i (accessed 11 March 2021). The author presents Fétis without pretense, citing instances of nonsensical racist logic, methodological contradictions, and character flaws. Although Fétis regularly receives recognition for popularizing tonality as a concept, the term originates in the work of Alexandre Étienne Choron. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to Choron’s work and influence on Fétis. The “appellative” (summoning) force of the tritone, combining the leading tone and fourth scale degree, drives much of Choron’s view of tonality. A departure from ancient tonality (chant and modal practice) stems from composers using dominant seventh chords with unprepared chordal sevenths. Fétis adopts this framework in his subsequent publications but later alters a key notion by proposing that tonality is not an a priori fact of nature (inherent in the notes themselves) but a “metaphysical intuition of the mind” (p. 13). Christensen skillfully ties this conceptual shift to German idealist philosophy and guides readers through various manifestations in Fétis’s rationale. Because tonality is not governed by “deterministic” principles but is rather an “absolute idea” that transforms over time, Fétis perceives its incomplete manifestations across cultures and stylistic periods (pp. [End Page 88] 15–20). These pages summarize some of the most compelling and provocative aspects of his theory. Subsequent chapters follow a somewhat chronological trajectory from ancient tonality, through nineteenth-century practice, and end with Fétis’s predictions of the future. A concise summary does not do justice to the number of musicians and ideas Christensen incorporates within his discussion. Nevertheless, I present a few examples to acquaint readers with these dialogues. Heated debates over plainchant performance practice during the nineteenth-century reform movement appear in chapter 2. Observing reckless use of musica ficta, some musicians fear a loss of authenticity as modern tonality increasingly taints the repertoire. A purist camp arises that largely rejects adding accidentals that “denature” chant (pp. 35–39), a moderate camp allows them only when appropriate (pp. 39–48), and a progressive camp freely adapts material to modern practice (pp. 50–51). Rationales for these claims range from paleography, relationships between chant and polyphonic repertoires, and practices...