The rhythm of thought : art, literature, and music after Merleau-Ponty

181 Pages·2013·1.95 MB·English

by  Cézanne

The Rhythm of Thought

The Rhythm
of Thought
Art, Literature, and Music after Merleau-Ponty
jessica wiskus
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago and London
Jessica Wiskus is associate professor of musicianship and chair of the Department of
Musicianship Studies at Duquesne University.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2013 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2013.
Printed in the United States of America
22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 1 2 3 4 5
isbn-13: 978-0-226-03092-0 (cloth)
isbn-13: 978-0-226-03108-8 (e-book)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wiskus, Jessica, 1976–
The rhythm of thought : art, literature, and music after Merleau-Ponty / Jessica
Wiskus.
pages : illustrations ; cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-226-03092-0 (cloth : alkaline paper) — isbn 978-0-226-03108-8
(e-book) 1. Philosophy, French—20th century. 2. Art and music. 3. Music and
literature. 4. Merleau-Ponty, Maurice, 1908–1961. 5. Cézanne, Paul, 1839–1906—
Criticism and interpretation. 6. Debussy, Claude, 1862–1918—Criticism and
interpretation. 7. Mallarmé, Stéphane, 1842–1898—Criticism and interpretation.
8. Proust, Marcel, 1871–1922—Criticism and interpretation. I. Title.
b2430.m3764w57 2013
194—dc23
2012037864
a This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (Permanence of
Paper).
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
1 Mallarmé and a Proffer of Silence 1
2 Cézanne: Depth in the World 13
3 Proust through the Fold of Memory 26
4 Debussy: Silence and Resonance 39
5 Cézanne and the Institution of Style 53
6 Proust: In Search of the True Albertine 66
7 Harmony and the Movement of Style in Debussy 77
8 On the Musical Idea of Proust 90
9 Debussy: The Form That Has Arrived at Itself 102
10 Synesthesia, Recollection, Resurrection 114
Notes 125
Bibliography 157
Index 163

Illustrations
Figures
2.1 Cézanne, Still Life with Apples and Peaches 19
2.2 Cézanne, Houses on a Hill, Provence 20
5.1 Cézanne, Four Bathers 54
5.2 Cézanne, Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit 55
5.3 Cézanne, Montagne Sainte-Victoire Seen from Les Lauves 62
7.1 Web of multidirectional relationships between harmonies derived from the
pitch collection built on B /A –E 84
 
7.2 Relationship of D major (from m. 55) to the harmonies derived from the pitch
collection built on B /A –E 87
 
9.1 Diagram of a basic interpretation of the musical form 103
Musical Examples
4.1 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, mm. 1–4, flute 42
4.2 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, mm. 4–11, orchestra 44–45
4.3 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, mm. 17–19, orchestra 47
4.4 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, mm. 21–25, orchestra 48–49
4.5 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, mm. 26–30, flutes and
strings only 50
4.6 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, mm. 107–10, orchestra 52
7.1 Relationships between the opening fully diminished seventh, A half-
diminished seventh, and B seventh chords 78 
7.2 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-m idi d’un faune, mm. 31–36, orchestra 80–81
7.3 Symmetrical harmonies folded out from the fully diminished
seventh chord 82
viii illustrations
7.4 Harmonic movement derived from the pitch collection built on B /A –E 83
7.5 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, mm. 55–62, orchestra 85–86
7.6 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, mm. 100–103, flute and
oboe only 88
9.1 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, oboe theme from mm. 37–39 104
9.2 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, mm. 79–82, flute 108
9.3 Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, mm. 83–84, oboe 108
Preface
In engaging with the philosophy of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, I take as inspi-
ration the work of Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne, Marcel Proust, and
Claude Debussy. Chapters 1–4 explore the notion of noncoincidence (as si-
lence, depth, mythical time, and rhythm), chapters 5–7 investigate the dy-
namic process of institution (through style, essence, and harmony), chapters
8–9 discuss the idea (as the “musical idea” and as form), and chapter 10 at-
tends to the notion of transcendence.
The material informing chapters 1–3 will be familiar to Merleau-Ponty
scholars, but chapter 4 (on Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune) ex-
plores new territory. Yet we see also that chapter 4 resonates with chapter 1
(through Mallarmé’s poem), and that this resonance therefore inaugurates
a certain depth: chapters 5, 6, and 7 relate, respectively, to chapters 2, 3, and
4 (through their focus upon the figures of Cézanne, Proust, and Debussy).
These middle chapters serve as noncoincident layers, opening up an addi-
tional fold within the structure of the work. Chapters 8 and 9 (on Proust and
Debussy) likewise intensify the explorations of chapters 3 and 6 and chapters
4 and 7, respectively. In chapter 10, prevalent themes of color, sound, move-
ment, and emotion cohere (through synesthesia), finally returning to the
question of dynamic expression from chapter 1.
Thus, the book has cast itself in a kind of musical form, where the indi-
vidual chapters proceed not only linearly but through depth.