Reflections of an American Harpsichordist Unpublished Memoirs, Essays, and Lectures of Ralph Kirkpatrick

106 ❧ chapter nine
an ability to speak and write the native language correctly; a knowledge of
grammar and of rules of written language; an ability to write simple expository
prose, to confront ideas and to organize them in terms of their relative impor-
tance or in terms of logical categories; an ability to reduce anything to a logical
and orderly outline.
Corresponding abilities may be demanded in music: literacy in reading and
writing of the basic orthodox forms of music, namely correct part-writing; bal-
anced and intelligible phrases, whether melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic; and
organization of thematic material. The analytical abilities should permit the
dissection of any piece of music into its component parts or tendencies, and its
reduction in terms of a hierarchy of essentials and subsidiaries. This parallels
the verbal techniques of outlining and grammatical analysis. Visual counter-
parts in design would also be easy to identify.
Composers should be aware of previous or alien musical styles, not in terms
of material for writing the history of music, but in terms of what is valid and
useful for them as part of their musical heritage, whether as an inspiration to
emulation or as a stimulus to reaction. Performers need likewise to be aware
of all that is common in the musical heritage that may illuminate the handling
of their chosen medium, or that may help to broaden and deepen comprehen-
sion of those musical styles in which they are working. Again, I fi nd a compre-
hensive historian’s view of the panorama of music totally unnecessary in any
of its aspects that do not directly contribute to a musician’s sensitivity, under-
standing, and skill. But, just as it is good for composers to have music to react
against, so for performers it can be a heightening of consciousness to confront
totally alien or obsolete styles.
The extent of cultural background outside the domain of music must neces-
sarily vary with the temperament and background of the individual. For those
musicians who are verbally and visually sensitive, the broadest possible back-
ground in literature and the visual arts cannot fail to be of benefi t, and the
cross-fertilization of disciplines through the confrontation of parallel problems
and constatations can become extremely productive. The usefulness of those
arts directly connected with music, such as poetry, drama, and dance, is self-
evident. For the light it throws on the principles of verbal and formal organiza-
tion, a command of one language other than the native tongue is to be highly
recommended. It is inexcusable, however, for singers to contemplate singing
in a language which they cannot speak.
The cultural requirements for musicians working in a presently fashionable
style and in a widely cultivated medium can often be met through the very
practice of their profession. I am thinking especially of singers, string players,
and such musicians who do not aspire to musical autonomy but who spend
most of their lives in subservience to composers and especially to conductors.
But those musicians who expect to become masters rather than slaves can well
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