The theory of performativity was initially developed by the philosopher of language J. L.

Austin as a
linguistic theory that defines some sentences as “performative”. These sentences are “utterances
that can change the status of the world… they perform actions” (Austin, 1962). For exemple, a
performative sentence is pronouncing the words “I do” in front of the altar of marriage, or a war
declaration between nations. The concept of performativity was then further developed in the field
of gender theories by Judith Butler, defining gender performativity as a compelling fiction, the
continuous performance of the gender identity, which is not acknowledged as performance: it is
perceived as “solid”, socially and culturally. Every human behaviour can then be performed in this
sense: as the process in which a semiotic activity produces results in extra semiotic reality.

Even though Judith Butler speaks of behaviours not acknowledged as performance by the individual
performer, the process of performativity may be a conscious process too, a conscious performance
aimed to project an idea to the audience, through the symbols embedded into the performance
itself. In this sense it can be easily linked to the field of performing arts, theatre, dance, and music.

In these sense the American sociologist J. C. Alexander, defines a cultural performance is “… the
social process by which actors, individually or in concert, display for others the meaning of their
social situation.” Every performative art can then be potentially considered as a mean to spread a
meaning. And, still with Alexander’s words: “This meaning may or may not be one to which they
themselves subjectively adhere. It is the meaning that they, as social actors, consciously wish to have
others believe” (Alexander, 2004)

The theory of performativity explains how the reality is constituted both through languages and
other physical acts, and so every cultural performance (musical performances included) can have a
deep impact on the society in which it is being performed.

Music can perform various meanings. Music can be a performance of the artist’s selfhood; for
instance traditional music often performs ethnicity, identity, a sense of belonging to a place or
culture; in fact, it is a mean of cultural sustainability,

Since, as Jeffrey Alexander says, authority and power are strongly performative, every contrast with
the authority, as per social criticism, can be performative too, and they can be performed through
music.

In fact, music performance creates a space where a message can be constructed and delivered to a
perceptive audience.

Interestingly, music perform itself too, or better: music performs its meaning within the society in
each performance through interaction between performers and between performers and audience.

A musical performance is not made of the music-sound only. It is an interrelation between all the
factors that contribute and influence its realization, including the social and cultural context. All
these factors must be considered for a comprehensive study of the performance, for a sound or a
gesture in one cultural context may mean something completely different in another.

According to Margaret Kartomi (Australian ethnomusicologist), the musical performance research

includes four main aspects:

-- The actual music performed, including the cognitive process of repertoire choice. A piece of music
can be more relevant in one specific situation more than others, and the chosen music must be
relevant in the context of the performance.

- The execution of the music and factors that affect it (style, stage persona, competence, ensemble
skills and interaction among the performers...). The aim of the performer is always to move the
emotions and passions of the audience, all these factors are relevant to get the emotional result.

-The effects of the performance on the audience and vice versa. The audience is in fact part of the
performance.

-contribution of all stakeholders to the success of the event. Investigating on artists’ behaviour
before and after the performance, as well on the other people and factors that are relevant to the
performance (organization, settings) can give a larger insight on the performance..

In the context of the classical musicology, the study of the performance is focused on the
contribution of the performer, who works as a bridge between the composition and the audience.
He has the duty to deliver the emotional content included into the music. Performativity here allows
to overcome the written notation and to consider the music from a wider perspective, including its
performance. The interpretation of the piece covers some technical aspects and nuances that
usually are not included into the score, such subtle variations of dynamic and timbre, as well as
rhythmic elaborations and variations such as rubato. In this sense, the performer is as important as
the composer in delivering the aural and emotional message.

In ethnomusicology, considering music performativity means considering the “total context” of a

musical performance, including the life of the artists before and after the performance, as well
taking into consideration some non-musical aspects: the stage, the settings, the timing, the
organization. Performativity can help the scholar who might feel the need to experience the music
from inside; in this terms learning to perform a particular form of music means learning to
appreciate the social, emotional, and rational affects embedded in its practices. In this sense, might
be helpful to identify native performative concepts, as, for instance, peculiar way of musical
interaction between the performers, or the particular reaction that the audience might have in
response to a particular genre of music, and so determining the music importance in a cultural
context