Metaphors of Sound. Cognitive Aspects in the Theories of Pierre Schaeffer, R. Murray Schafer and Gérard Grisey

Abstract

According to the advocates of a cognitive theory of metaphor, such as George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, metaphor is the basic figure of thought, which enables us to think of one object in terms of another. This ability manifests itself in various areas of human activity and finds its expression in numerous verbal statements. Since the 1980s, the cognitive theory of metaphor has strongly influenced many branches of the humanities. In recent decades, it has also been applied to various forms of discourse about music. Interdisciplinary research into metaphor seems to enrich and modify musicological research. It alters our convictions about the nature of theoretical discourse and musical analysis. It enables us to rethink such divisions as analysis and interpretation, structure and expression, musical and extramusical. The analysis of metaphors used in discourse about music reveals the different spheres which influence musical concepts, and also their hierarchical structure and cognitive content. In the 20th century, many interesting and important musical ideas were conveyed by composers themselves. Consequently, the importance of such an interdisciplinary approach will be illustrated by analysis of the theoretical writings of selected twentieth-century composers (Pierre Schaeffer, R. Murray Schafer, Gérard Grisey) who, with the use of metaphorical language, express their different attitudes to the phenomenon of sound, treating it as an object, a living organism or part of an imaginary landscape. Each of these metaphors lies at the source of different musical currents; each of them has a different structure and different cognitive advantages.