Reading Assignment:
F. T. Marinetti, “The Futurist Manifesto” (1909)
http://www.english.upenn.edu/~jenglish/English104/marinetti.html (Links to an external site.)
Listening Assignments:
Erik Satie: Cinema Music from Relache (1924)
http://www.ubu.com/sound/satie_conceptual.html
Igor Stravinsky, “Symphonies of Wind Instruments” (1919)
(track 2)
Igor Stravinsky, “Les Noces” (1913-1923)
https://ucsd.nml3.naxosmusiclibrary.com/catalogue/603497126361 (Links to an external site.)
(tracks 4-7)
George Antheil, “Ballet Mécanique” (1924)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58H0hC96zDg (Links to an external site.)
Writing Prompt:
You have one reading, which is the provocative and perhaps somewhat ironic “Futurist Manifesto” (1909) of F. T. Marinetti, and four listenings. The “Manifesto” is one of the most famous documents in art history, and with it Marinetti is rallying like-minded artists to the cause of what he calls “Futurism.” The future envisioned by “Futurism” is stark and violent. The manifesto declares a commitment to this “future” through a rejection of history, the past, tradition, a cultural heritage, “our forebears.” Marinetti extolls the virtues of mechanization, mass production, war, speed, revolution. The four listening selections may or may not exemplify in music the concepts presented in the “Manifesto;” an argument could be made either way. Listen to all of the music, and choose two of the pieces to discuss.
In your writing, briefly summarize Marinetti’s intentions; then, propose how Marinetti’s ideas COULD BE applied to music, exercising your own imagination, and including forms of music-making or music technology that were not known to artists in 1909. Remember, a manifesto is a call to action, a statement of aims and objectives, and here you can postulate an artistic response. Then, show how the two pieces you have chosen from the listening examples either exemplify, or contradict, what the “Manifesto” seems to be calling for, in specifically musical ways. So you are writing about three musical pieces, one of them your own imaginary piece as a creative response to the Manifesto, and two from the listening assignments above, through the lens of the “Futurist Manifesto.”
Please make this a single continuous piece of writing, not short answers to each part of the prompt. As usual, aim for 300-500 words.
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