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Full Idea
To describe a piece of music as expressive of melancholy is to give a reason for listening to it; to describe it as arousing or evoking melancholy is to give a reason for avoiding it.
Gist of Idea
Expressing melancholy is a good thing, but arousing it is a bad thing
Source
Roger Scruton (The Nature of Musical Expression [1981], p.49)
Book Ref
Scruton,Roger: 'The Aesthetic Understanding' [Methuen 1983], p.49
A Reaction
Expressing sexual desire, while avoiding arousing it, is the nice challenge for a particular type of art. Would Scruton say that expressing joy is a good thing, but arousing it is bad? It is a nice observation, though.
12164 | Expressing melancholy is a good thing, but arousing it is a bad thing [Scruton] |
12165 | Romantics say music expresses ideas, or the Will, or intuitions, or feelings [Scruton] |