British vocal artist’s performance

By Kai Hong

It is truly astounding to see the city of Seoul transform itself right before your eyes.

The city has become one of the most dynamic, prosperous and interesting cities of the world. There are many places in the huge metropolis of more than 10 million, which world travelers might find as graceful and comfortable as Paris or London or Tokyo.

The upgrading of Seoul’s cultural life is also evident ― from Peter Brooke’s theatrical production to the artistry of Ian Bostridge, the incomparable British vocal artist who sang one recent evening at Seoul’s LG Art Center.

What makes Bostridge’s performance remarkable is the suggestion he made in an interview a few years ago: ``I think when we look back at the classical music of this period, the early 21st century, it has become somehow detached from its cultural and political roots.”

In contrast to the canned offerings of contemporary classical music, Bostridge conscientiously builds on the forgotten cultural and political context of the vocal music he performs. His ability to shape tonality and emotional meaning, his delicate texturing rebuilds the forgotten cultural and political contexts of the great musical compositions of the past.

Bostridge sang mainly Baroque period vocal music by such composers as Handel, Scarlatti, and Vivaldi. Each song depends on its unique language. The words are essential to the texture, sonority and emotional mood of music, and are related intimately to the period of their origin. Bostridge succeeded in making the words he sang come to life ― to SPEAK to the audience ― a talent which contributes to making him a tenor of unmatched excellence.

I think there can be no question that Bostridge benefits from his unique preparation. He studied at both Cambridge and Oxford Universities, earning a first in history at Oxford, and going on to an M. Phil. and D. Phil., before becoming a British Academy post-doctoral fellow. Exposure to this vibrant culture preceded his embarking on a musical career. He is a scholar with a great depth of knowledge in classical music. He is capable of bringing something to the art which is of rare and lasting value.

A Bostridge could not have been produced by the different environment of elite American universities. Western (which is synonymous with Modern) civilization reflects a spiritual malaise, a nihilism which relies on technology in the futile pursuit of a consumerist utopia. The result infects all aspects of society, including education, which has become an industry that packages knowledge for mass consumption.

As Noam Chomsky’s ``American Power and the New Mandarins” so perspicaciously and prophetically pointed out in 1969, American academic culture, science, and scholarship became corrupted to train narrowly defined experts in nearly all academic fields. Market forces have corrupted the original purposes of liberal arts education so that they have become merely technical disciplines.

The resulting spiritual malaise affects Western classical music, too. American-style commercialism has created a mass consumption culture industry with products which are de-contextualized. Classical music is canned and mass-produced, just like fast food.

Instead of spiritual and honest emotional resonances, showmanship and theatricality rule the mass market for culture. Like junk food, such a culture is toxic in the long-run. It provides no spiritual, intellectual or emotional nourishment; it offers momentary diversion, but in the end, it is without soul, its effect is to degrade rather than uplift.

The pervasive influence of Western culture affects Korea, too. Koreans are influenced to believe children must develop musical talent in accordance with ready-made formulae, so that they might go on to study at Juilliard where Western musical culture is transmitted each year to hundreds of international students, including dozens of Koreans.

Nothing is more important to the future than a culture that inspires nobility, sensibility, and spiritual fulfillment. Ian Bostridge’s artistry, his spirituality, and provides a small glimmer of hope. In his excellence, we may see the value of intellectual depth, a traditional liberal education, and a refined sensibility. It is up to us all to learn.

The writer is a professor, who teaches Philosophy of Language at Department of English Linguistics, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He can be reached at kaihg2007@gmail.com.