"Grawlix" lyrics
But my main problem, now, is that there are still summaries to be made
Conclusions to be drawn
A present musical moment to be generalized upon
And the future to be guessed at
All of this is clearly impossible to achieve in the five minutes I've allotted myself at this farewell address
So I must take a shortcut
Let me condense my feelings into a sort of cradle
I believe that a great new era of eclecticism is at hand, eclecticism in the highest sense
And I believe that it has been made possible by the rediscovery, the re-acceptance of tonality
That universal earth out of which such diversity can spring
And no matter how serial, or stochastic, or otherwise intellectualized music may be
It can always qualify as poetry, as long as it is rooted in Earth
I believe that from that Earth emerges a musical poetry, which is by the nature of its sources tonal
I believe that these sources cause to exist a phonology of music
Which evolves from the universal known as the harmonic series
And that there is an equally universal musical syntax
Which can be codified and structured in terms of symmetry and repetition
And that by metaphorical operation, there can be devised particular musical languages that have surface structures noticeably remote from their basic origins
But which can be strikingly expressive as long as they retain their roots in Earth
I believe that our deepest affective responses to these languages are innate ones
But do not preclude additional responses
Which are conditioned or learned
And that all particular languages bear on one another and combine into always-new idioms perceptible to human beings
And that ultimately these idioms can all merge into a speech universal enough to be accessible to all mankind
And that the expressive distinctions among these idioms depend ultimately on the dignity and passion of the individual creative voice
And, finally, I believe that all these things are true
And that "unanswered question" has an answer
I'm no longer sure what the question is
But I do know the answer
And the answer is, "Yes."
Conclusions to be drawn
A present musical moment to be generalized upon
And the future to be guessed at
All of this is clearly impossible to achieve in the five minutes I've allotted myself at this farewell address
So I must take a shortcut
Let me condense my feelings into a sort of cradle
I believe that a great new era of eclecticism is at hand, eclecticism in the highest sense
And I believe that it has been made possible by the rediscovery, the re-acceptance of tonality
That universal earth out of which such diversity can spring
And no matter how serial, or stochastic, or otherwise intellectualized music may be
It can always qualify as poetry, as long as it is rooted in Earth
I believe that from that Earth emerges a musical poetry, which is by the nature of its sources tonal
I believe that these sources cause to exist a phonology of music
Which evolves from the universal known as the harmonic series
And that there is an equally universal musical syntax
Which can be codified and structured in terms of symmetry and repetition
And that by metaphorical operation, there can be devised particular musical languages that have surface structures noticeably remote from their basic origins
But which can be strikingly expressive as long as they retain their roots in Earth
I believe that our deepest affective responses to these languages are innate ones
But do not preclude additional responses
Which are conditioned or learned
And that all particular languages bear on one another and combine into always-new idioms perceptible to human beings
And that ultimately these idioms can all merge into a speech universal enough to be accessible to all mankind
And that the expressive distinctions among these idioms depend ultimately on the dignity and passion of the individual creative voice
And, finally, I believe that all these things are true
And that "unanswered question" has an answer
I'm no longer sure what the question is
But I do know the answer
And the answer is, "Yes."
