Music and pleasure. A recovery of Guy de Chabanon's philosophy of music

Abstract

The model of imitation of nature was central to art since the dawn of Modernity. Such a framework appears inadequate for understanding music. Or so considers the musician and philosopher Guy de Chabanon since the end of the 18th century. Music was also frequently understood through its relationship with emotions.  Prior to Hanslick and with a very specific perspective relatively peripheral to philosophy and the European world, Chabanon seeks to understand music in itself and not through imitation or emotions giving strong arguments to reject contrary attempts. However, he also proposes an explanation for the strong inclination to think about music in terms of moods. In this way, this text exposes the context and arguments that separate the music from the imitative principle and the expression of emotions, while seeking to give new guidelines on the philosophy of music in current debates based Chabanon’s thought. This musician and philosopher points out in music a state of general well-being that, according to him, always accompanies the musical phenomenon. Considering this elemental characteristic of music, Chabanon explains that imitations or expressions of emotions in music are due to vague analogies which are a secondary and inessential possibility in music hearing. This is only possible because music, as he understands it, is the universal language of pleasure.