Chris Bonds wrote:

>Maybe "craft" is a profound understanding of the constraints of style
>under which a composer operates, and "art" is knowing how to break out
>of those constraints . . .

This gets very close to the bone of it all, although merely knowing how to
break out is not enough IMO to produce the greatest of music.

Actually, one need go no further than Webster's Dictionary to get the hang
of the difference between them:"craft," Webster says, may imply expertness
in workmanship, whereas "art" implies a personal, unanalyzable creative
power.

Surely there must be a reason why we say J.S.Bach was capable of creating
"art," whereas his contemporary Johann Molter, who wrote every bit as
much music (including 169 symphonies), and who was surely an expert
in workmanship, was not.  And then we wonder, did Bach, the expert in
workmanship, create art every time? And did he even know himself, when he
was creating "art" and not just "craft." Did Molter ever suspect he was
just "crafting" all those symphonies? Did he even care? Which brings up
the question, does the composer ever really know?"

Robert Schumann is a good case in point of a composer with "a profound
understanding of the constraints of style under which he operated," that is
to say, in his case, the limits achieved by Beethoven and Schubert before
him.  Schumann wrestled all his life to "break out of those constraints,"
but never really solved the problem, although he cleverly disguised the
fact.  Not until some of the things he wrote when he was considered non
compos mentis did he finally stumble onto a way.  Then Brahms picked it
up and ran with it, disguising the fact, in turn, that he rarely had the
necessary inspiration to write great music with it.

Chris Bonds brings up Mussorgsky.  Here is a composer almost universally
regarded as NOT an expert in workmanship, nor can we imagine his
understanding of the constraints of style particularly profound.  Yet,
here's a guy who is marvelously inspired and produces art.  There you go:
Webster's "personal, unanalyzable creative power."

I hope Chris Bonds kicks this around some more with his friend, because
there has to be more to understanding music than collecting records and
listening to sounds.

John Dalmas
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