robison@eosp1.UUCP (Tobias D. Robison) (05/15/84)
References: I am commenting on some of Rich Rosen's useful contributions to this group. Knowing what scientists have discovered about humming birds can make an enormous difference in the appreciation of thier beauty. It is the choice of the human doing the viewing whether to integrate his scientific knowledge into the artistic experience. It doesn't HAVE to make a difference, but it can make a big difference. Rich gave us a mental experiemnt involving JS Bach's using a time machine to hear Debussy's music. One of the benefits of understanding musician's styles and how they are affected by their culture and circumstances, is being able to bet, at Billion to one odds, that Bach was not influenced by Debussy. It is much more interesting to see how Mozart was influenced by Handel. I would not want to make the same bet, had Rich proposed that Josquin Des Prez had used a time machine to hear Stravinsky. Now that's a possibility! - Toby Robison (not Robinson!) allegra!eosp1!robison decvax!ittvax!eosp1!robison princeton!eosp1!robison