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Is Musical Expression Ever Entirely Separate From The Political Or Cultural Context From Which It Emerged?

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Discuss the relationship between music and politics. Is musical expression ever entirely separate from the political or cultural context from which it originates?

Music and politics are inextricably linked and no matter how much one might believe that a piece of music was written purely for enjoyment, it is inevitably informed one way or another by the political and cultural context from which it originates. Music is a form of expression and by expressing an opinion you are instinctively making a decision based on your cultural upbringing and your political views. In saying this, it is possible to see that some music is written explicitly for one purpose meaning that the composer’s own expression should not be linked with the music he has written. However, this is counteracted by the fact that every composer has their own personal style which must have been influenced by the political and cultural context in which they developed as a composer.

When music is written for a purpose the expression of the composer becomes of secondary importance to the requirements of the role the music will play. This in turn suggests that any influence, political or otherwise, should be virtually non-existent. Trevor Herbert suggests that in earlier music history people viewed music as autonomous (Herbert, 2012). This indicates that …show more content…

Music is a language understood by all as there are no boundaries between cultures such as language and society, meaning it is simple to communicate ideas through music. These ideas, however ‘unpolitical’, are still based upon what the composer as a person has been through in their life. This means that whether they have picked up these ideas from their upbringing and own imagination, or have had them forced upon them like Shostakovich, they will inevitably put them into their

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