French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. de Schloezer, Introduction à J.S. Bach. Essai d'esthétique musicale
Art and Visual Culture
Review in Acta Fabula: Musicology and Philosophy: Schloezer’s Clear and Distinct Ideas on Music, by Jacques-Louis Lantoine.
Introduction à J.-S. Bach. Essai d'esthétique musicale.
Boris de Schloezer
Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, coll. "Aesthetica", 2009.
Format: 17 x 21 cm
Number of pages: 306 p.
EAN: 9782753507357
Price: 18.00 €
Publisher's overview:
“Could I engage in scholarly dissertations on Bach’s music when I did not even truly know what a musical work actually is? [...] Thus, circumstances inevitably led me to write this 'Essay on Musical Aesthetics', which is therefore not an abstract construction, but rather stems from a systematic reflection on Bach's compositions, striving to maintain a close and constant connection with them.” Published in 1947 and out of print for over 20 years, this essay is a masterpiece: a major work in the philosophy of music, but more fundamentally still, a major work in the philosophy of art.
Contents:
Introduction by Pierre-Henry Frangne
Author's Preface
The Concrete Idea
- Understanding the Work
- Knowledge of the Work
Form
- Prolegomena
- The Rhythmic Aspect
- The Harmonic Aspect
- The Melodic Aspect
The Myth
- Expressive Signs
- Psychological Meaning and Spiritual Meaning
- Psychological Meaning and Rational Meaning
- The Mythical Self
Afterword by Gaëtan Picon
Boris de Schloezer’s work emerged from an engagement with the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach, addressing problems concerning the nature, perception, and formal properties of artistic creation. The text includes examinations of melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic dimensions alongside broader questions of meaning, reflecting the structure indicated in the publisher's overview and table of contents.
This text occupies a place within twentieth-century writings on aesthetics, reflecting intellectual currents that sought to articulate the internal logic of artistic works. Readers interested in the philosophy of art and foundational texts in musicology may find this volume a relevant addition to their studies.