Rhizomusicosmology Author(s): Ronald Bogue Source: SubStance, Vol. 20, No. 3,

http://www.jstor.org

RhizomusicosmologyAuthor(s): Ronald BogueSource:

SubStance,

Vol. 20, No. 3, Issue 66: Special Issue: Deleuze & Guattari, (1991), pp. 85-101Published by: University of Wisconsin PressStable URL:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3685181

Accessed: 18/04/2008 23:55

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Rhizomusicosmology

RonaldBogue

INAN

AFTERWORD

otheEnglishtranslation ofJacquesAttali'sNoise,SusanMcClaryaptlynotes that...it isquiteclear tomost listenershatmusic movesthem,thattheyresponddeeplyto musicnavarietyofways,eventhoughnoursocietytheyare toldthattheycannotknowanythingboutmusicwithouthavingabsorbed hewhole theoreticalpparatus ecessaryor musicspecializa-tion.Butto learnhisapparatussto learno renounce ne'sresponses,odiscover hat hemusicalphenomenons to be understoodmechanistically,mathematically.Thusnon-trainedistenersarepreventedromtalkingaboutsocialandexpressivedimensionsof music(fortheylack thevocabularyo referoitsparts)and so aretrainedmusiciansforheyhavebeentaught,nlearninghepropervocabulary,hatmusicsstrictlyelf-containedtructure).150)McClaryfindsinAttali'sstudya meansofescapingthis theoreticalim-passe,but anequallyengagingandsuggestiveline offlightfromthisdoublebind isindicated as wellinDeleuze andGuattari'sMilleplateaux,particularlyinthe eleventhplateau,"Delaritournelle""The Refrain").AlthoughDeleuze andGuattari do notproposea new technicalvocabularyformusicalanalysisperse,theydo offer a means ofconstruingmusicas anopenstructure thatpermeatesand ispermeatedbytheworld,areadingofthe cosmosandmusic not as mechanicalandmathematicalbutasmachinicandrhythmical-whatonemightcall,with acertainPanglossianbravura,a"rhizomusicosmology."Chiefamongthose whoinspireDeleuzeandGuattariin thisenterpriseis OlivierMessiaen,whoseremarks onrhythmandbirdsong provideseveralofthekeyconceptsin "De la ritournelle."Mypurposeinthisessayis tooutlinethebasicfeatures of DeleuzeandGuattari'srhizomusicosmology,andthentosuggestsomewaysinwhichMilleplateauxand themusicalandtheoretical worksofMessiaenmutuallyilluminate oneanother.Myobjectis nottoidentifysourcesor tracein-fluences,but todescribe theprocessof"becoming"thattakesplacebe-tweenDeleuze-GuattariandMessiaen-onethat isparadigmaticofthe

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86RonaldBogue"encounters" thatgeneratetheunpredictabletheoreticaldevelopmentsofMilleplateaux.MusicosmologyIfcontemporarymusictheoristsgenerallytreat music asaself-referen-tialsystemdivorced frompsychological,social and naturalconsiderations,theirWesternpredecessorsfrom ClassicalAntiquity throughtheRenais-sancetendtoregardmusicasintimatelytied to the orderofthemicrocosmandthemacrocosm. Thedisciplinesofarithmetic,geometry,astronomyandmusic-whichcomprisethemedievalquadrivium-arealreadycloselyalliedinmuch Ancientthought,and theconceptof the"harmonyof thespheres,"whichexplicitlylinksmusicandcosmology,isregularlyinvokedthroughoutAntiquity,the MiddleAgesand the Renaissance.1 The con-toursofthishistoryare wellknown andneednotbe reiteratedhere,butwhat isimportantfor ourpurposesistonote the extent to which theseideasareinformedbymanyofthe fundamental themes of Platonism.Pythagorasissaid to havebeen the firstinthe Westsystematicallytoestablishtheconnectionbetween musicalandcosmicorder.2Pythagorasand hisfollowersnoted that the relation between musicalpitchesmaybeexpressedinterms ofnumerical ratios-the octave as2:1,thefifth, 3:2,thefourth, 4:3,the wholetone,9:8-and that similarproportionalrelationsgovernthe structureofthecreated world.ThePythagoreansregardednumberas thegenerativeforce of allgeometricandphysicalforms,andtheyfound both musical and numerical consonanceinthe movement oftheplanets,which,theyclaimed,emitted a celestialmusic as eachspherefolloweditsperfectlyproportionedcourse.ForthePythagoreans,theworld ischaracterizedbythe twoprinciplesofperas,orlimit,andkosmos,aword "whichunites,asperhaps onlytheGreekspiritcould,the notion oforder,arrangementor structuralperfectionwiththatofbeauty"(Guthrie206).3InthePythagorean cosmogony,apeiron,ortheUnlimited,istheformless,boundless and chaoticfluxwhichprecedesthecosmos,andwhich,by beingsubmittedtotheforceoflimit(peras),stransformedintoauniverse thatpossessesform,order,proportionandwholeness.Apeiron,wemightnote,isalso thesourceoftime,but anunmeasuredtimewhichlimitconverts intochronos-timethatisnumbered,measuredandsub-mitted to thecyclicalrhythmsof thecosmos.4For thePythagoreans,then,musicmanifeststhe orderofnumber,andcosmicharmonyentails thecircumscriptionofspaceandthemensura-

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RonaldBogue