Die Rolle der Musik in der ästhetischen Diskussion der spanischen Aufklärung

• Published in: Archiv für Musikwissenschaft 2001-01, Vol.58 (3), p.181-200
• Main Author: Jacobs, Helmut C.
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; ger
• ISSN: 0003-9292
• DOI: 10.2307/931082

Observations and writings on music by eighteenth-century Spanish authors reveal the following developments. Until late into the second half of the century, a more conservative circle defined music as a science, in contrast to a group of more advanced writers who classified music within the recently formulated concept of the fine arts (bellas artes). It was not until the 1780's that the fine arts in Spain came to be emancipated from the sciences and, finally, established in their own right. Most writers attempted to upgrade the position of music, and the resulting increase in its social relevance can be seen in a growing preoccupation with the discipline in newspapers and other writings. Under the influence of empirical and sensualist trends, the effect of music on society received considerable attention, as seen in the writings of the Benedictine, Feijoo, who awarded music the highest place among the fine arts. In addition, the rapid development of opera caused many authors to launch an intensive discussion on the compatibility and synthesis of the various art forms involved in that genre.