What is a song? When do words function as sound and when do notes represent meaning? Is tradition closer to conservatism or progress? Does poetry die when it is sung? Why do religions have hymns? How is it, that when reading the written word, we may actually perceive a musical score? What is a product of its time, what is timeless, and what is just a waste of time? How many centuries can fit inside three minutes?

The song is the breath of humanity through the centuries.

 

We are going to look at its source, the course it follows, and where it leads – the obvious paths, its tools, but also its intangible elements, the way it engulfs us, and how it weaves its way in and all around us.

 

This lecture is for those interested in music, language, or sound. And, of course, it is for the lovers of song.