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Philosophical reflection on the enticement and elusiveness of music, paying special attention to Richard Wagner.
The Endowment of Music is the final offering, published posthumously, of the illustrious American philosopher John Sallis. The book is a paean to the endowment of music—in the double sense: that which endows music and that which music endows. Sallis brings to this study a cultivated musical ear and a profound philosophical sensitivity. The result is a reflection far surpassing both mere musicology and prosaic philosophy. The first part of the book treats musical presence, which proves to be a ghostly, elusive presence held in play only by musical imagination. The second part is devoted to the musical dramas of Richard Wagner, especially the Ring cycle, where, under Sallis's baton, music becomes the language of the heart. The book is a must read for the many followers of Sallis's remarkable writings and for anyone seeking deeper insight into the mystery and consolation of music.
"With his final book—itself a tonal score of sorts, meticulously and beautifully arranged—Sallis endows us with a rich, original, and engaging meditation on music that includes penetrating analyses of a variety of thinkers, including Kant, Schelling, Nietzsche, and Wagner. Like a master conductor, Sallis brings these figures together in harmony without effacing their essential differences; the result is a stunning reflection on the nature of music, given to us by the field’s leading philosopher." — S. Montgomery Ewegen, author of The Great Detour: Heidegger and the Question of the Animal
"The Endowment of Music is a precious contribution to a very difficult field, the philosophy of music. Sallis relates music to poetry and painting, accounting for the enigmatic art of presence that defines music and differs it from any other kinds of presence. It is not a book about perspectives from where thought is meeting music, but rather about the emergence of 'spaces' between thought and music, between sound and silence, a book about the birth of rhythm, opening possibilities to engage in a dialogue with other musical and thought cultures." — Marcia Sá Cavalcante Schuback, author of Time in Exile: In Conversation with Heidegger, Blanchot, and Lispector
John Sallis was Frederick J. Adelmann Professor of Philosophy at Boston College. He is the author and editor of more than thirty books, including Plato's Statesman: Dialectic, Myth, and Politics, also published by SUNY Press. Lauren Sallis is a former lecturer at the university in Freiburg, Germany. She has an extensive background in music theory and languages and is the executor of the John Sallis literary estate.
Editor's Note
It Should Have Sung—and Not Spoken!
Part I. Musical Presence; or, On Beginning to Sing
1. Preludium
2. Musical Space
3. Voice
4. Traces of Music
Part II. Musical Drama; or, Artwork of the Future
5. Musical Inscription
6. Erotic Art
7. The Language of the Heart
8. Elements
9. Circlings
Notes
Bibliography
Index