• ARTICLES, Special Section, The Joint Construction of Personal Meanings in the Arts

Constructing music: Interweaving construals at concerts.

Kalekin-Fishman, D.

Keywords:
concerts, construing sound, music, musical composition, constructing a performance

Abstract:
A concert is a three-tiered construction in which construals and constructs of composer(s), performer(s), and audience(s) interweave. Composers' constructions (the compositions) are related to the sounds conceived as raw material. Constructions of the performers (the performance) embody construals of the music and of the instrumental technique. Construals which guide the audience include all of the above modified by the personal experience of each individual. The argument is illustrated by an analysis of the constructs at work in a concert where a Bach Cantata (17th Century) and Bloch's 'Holy Service' (20th Century) were performed. The dynamic is compared with that of a jazz concert.