Composição e racionalidade

Abstract

So-called ‘contemporary music’ (whatever that may mean today) is often accused of being excessively ‘rational’. But what does the adjective ‘rational’ mean when applied to music? In this article I wish to present an introduction to this topic. However, rather than determine the relative predominance of each term of the rational/irrational dichotomy when applied to musical composition, I shall attempt to reflect on the construction of a particular notion of rationality, one that still claims a dominant position in Western musical thought. This notion of musical rationality, of distant theological origins, subsists in many aspects of the legitimating discourse of composition, and it strongly conditions both the theory and the practice of musical education. With the demise of the simplistic dichotomies that have brought us to our present impasses, could it be the case that musical rationality is in need of a redefinition? Or rather of a courageous exposure to the other of itself?