The pillars of the repertoire

In the search for the bourgeois excesses of the term "canon", which came into fashion a few years ago, one quickly comes across the Canon of literature by Marcel Reich-Ranicki. The fact that so far (fortunately?) neither a critic nor a scholar has been found to present anything comparable in the field of music is not necessarily due to the subject matter or a general scruple. Rather, there is a lack of a delightfully offensive, knowledgeable and strong personality with a similar, publishable media presence.

Of course, with the publication of this handbook, there will be little need to worry about the theory and history of a "canon of music" (not to be confused with the canon in music). 34 texts by 35 authors cover a very broad spectrum here: from a definition of the subject matter to specific repertoire formations through the centuries to media and systematic aspects. In addition, there is a previously unpublished text by Ernst Ludwig Gerber from 1805: On the means of preserving the memory of deserving recording artists for posterity - an article that is still informative today, even (or especially) when a publisher quoted in it complains that "the musicians didn't buy historical works". Presumably little has changed. And this is precisely why it is necessary to place this handbook on the various private and public reading lists at universities and colleges - even if, for one reason or another, not all possible aspects could be taken into account and one can imagine a new edition expanded to include current contributions at some point in the future. In this case, however, the "handbook" really should become one: With its proud 950 pages, a total weight of 1,716 kg and the smooth surface of the photographic paper used, it is neither a handy read nor easy to work with.

The canon of music. Theory and history. A handbook, edited by Klaus Pietschmann and Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann, 950 p., € 79.00, edition text+kritk, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-86916-106-8