Harmony and Counterpoint: A New Venue for Performance

Abstract

Music is ingrained in every human society, to some extent, and is therefore uniquely part of being human. In recognition of this, we have historically constructed places for music, spaces where music is the purpose, the means or the result. The communal area is the original place of music, with a purpose of strengthening bonds and increasing community spirit, and can be traced back to the earliest humans. For the past 1000 years, spaces have been specially constructed with the purpose of performing music. Through celebration and religion, music became the means to an end, through self or communal expression, or worship for connection with a higher being. Today, spaces are built specifically for the creation of music, for example the recording studio. Here, music is the result. All of these spaces were influenced in their construction or use by the requirements for the music, and all had an effect on the music which was written or performed in these spaces. It is these facts which indicate a strong relationship between music and architecture. The design of spaces for musical performance or creation is an imperative factor for consideration in the evolution of music in our society. "Architecture is frozen music" is a quote many are familiar with, and one which has been attributed to many different architects. However, this quote by Elizabeth Martin more accurately describes the symbiotic relationship between music and architecture: "Architecture represents the art of design in space; music, the art of design in time...Without time and space, matter is inconceivable; it is a dead thing. Space gives form and proportion; time supplies it with life and measure." (Martin, 1994, p. 9) With this in mind, the following questions provide interesting avenues for discourse; What is the nature of the relationship between music and architecture, both historically and today? To what extent can this relationship affect the design and construction of modern day spaces for the performance of music?