Musical Allusions as the (Un)Becoming of the Classical-Popular Chasm
By: Enci Liu
Tags: Music, Classical Music, Music Analysis, Rock

It’s almost an instinct for us to categorize a musical work we hear into either one of the two types: “popular” or “classical” music. For sure, Schubert’s lieder “Heidenröslein” would be thrown into the “classical” basket without hesitation, as opposed to Lady Gaga and BLACKPINK’s latest collaboration, “Sour Candy”.

While the division of music into two camps looks like a natural tendency that is hard to describe or standardize, this binary categorization is not unsupported by musical critiques. Theodor Adorno once pointed out in his famous thesis “On Popular Music” that “popular music” differs from “serious music” most in terms of its production process. According to Adorno, “the whole structure of popular music is standardized…[while] serious music…may be thus characterized: Every detail derives its musical sense from the concrete totality of the piece which, in turn, consists of the life relationship of the details and never of a mere enforcement of a musical scheme”.[1] While the point Adorno is trying to make here is more nuanced and complicated, this argument is frequently over-simplified to a mere distinction of “highbrow” and “lowbrow”.[2] The oversimplification of the situation results in the widening of the gap between “classical” and “popular” music, which eventually becomes an omnipresent chasm.

During the 20th century, the development in music production technology made it possible for the general public to access a wider range of music from the past. The Classical-Popular Chasm became a more frequently discussed topic, and it seems to be enlarged since the mid 20th century. From another perspective, however, the increasing accessibility also provided listeners with an unprecedented panorama of the musical landscape. Among all, the existence of a group of music that is in the “grey” area of the so-called “popular” and “classical” music points us to an entirely different way of looking at the Classical-Popular Chasm phenomenon.

While Adorno’s argument about “standardization” is a reasonable observation of the features of “popular music”, it overlooks the continuity behind music from the past to present. His argument gives away the perspective from which the point is made. Adorno argues from the point of view of a modern music critic who is unavoidably situated in and influenced by the modern musical style.

Rather than juxtaposing “classical” music from the past and “popular” music in the present, one alternative way is to study the inheritance of musical details from prior music in later works. In that way, one can soon see that the “chasm” between the two genres is essentially a continuity in disguise. Such inheritance of details could take place in any dimensions of music — form, trademark chords or sounds, range, text, etc. — and is more widely known as musical allusions.

Formally, musical allusion is the reference in musical work to another musical piece or style or convention.[3] Borrowing from or referring to prior musical works is not a new phenomenon; rather, there are a great number of classical music pieces that allude to their precedent classical examples. For example, Mahler, Elgar, and Stravinsky make allusions to prior composers’ work in their pieces. Among them, Brahms is especially well-known for his frequent use of this technique, which is manifested in his borrowing of Mozart’s orchestration, Beethoven’s structural designs, and Schubert’s harmony. For instance, the first theme of the first movement of his String Sextet №1 in B-flat major, Op. 18, follows a similar melodic shape as the theme of Beethoven’s Archduke Piano Trio. In addition to the relatively subtle similarity of melody lines, Brahms’s choice of meter seems more peculiar. While labeled as triple meter, the melody of the sextet, played by the first cello, sounds like duple meter. This sense of syncopation is created by his adoption of a hemiola rhythm. As one can also realize from the slurs and grouping of quarter notes, what’s underlying the triple meter is actually duple meter. Not coincidentally, Beethoven’s Archduke Trio is also in duple meter.

Brahms String Sextet №1 in B-flat major, Op. 18