Percussion sounds aggressive, possessive, because it sets boundaries and claims territory. In human relationship one could say thatpercussion is the masculine element and vowels the feminine element. For instance: military music uses a lot of percussion to mark the rhythmic sound of marching soldiers in boots. It is powerful and exhilarating--yet can also rather frightening I n its inherent aggressiveness. Harold Bloom refers to the Anxiety of Influence because he emphasizes differentaiton and individuation in the creative process. To be like others produces the anxiety of Influence, anathema to so many people who have a great need to be unique and individual. The opposite is true of meditational chanting, where the vowels predominate and are punctuated (if at all) with the more resonant consonants like m or n or even nasal sounds like ng as in singing In spiritual chanting there is no aggressiveness, rather, there is what Jonathan Lethem appropriately calls The Ecstasy of influence.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 18:25:59 +0000
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