Form and the musical psychological phenomenon in Mário de Andrade: A pre-conceptual experience of the cognizing subject

Abstract

By addressing the cognitive processes involved in understanding musical form, the article seeks to emphasize that in its beginnings, Brazilian musicology, through the writings of Mário de Andrade, addressed the issue directly and indirectly, still in the first half of the 20th century, without, however, have received due recognition. Suppose the musical form is no longer syntactically formulated by the contemporary composer, at least in classical-romantic terms; in that case, this demands the ability to form by interpreting from instrumental music performers. This contemporary performer is increasingly accustomed to consciously, discursively, and conceptually objectifying resources of pre-conceptual understanding of his music experience, which will provide the concretization of his interpretative projects. Hence, the challenge faced by Mário de Andrade when formulating his musical aesthetics seemed to include the presence of the unspeakable, the inexplicable, the imaginative in musical semantics. Mário de Andrade reveals himself to be extremely sensitive to issues that concern the field of musical cognition. His writings emphasize the participation of physiological, bodily movement, and metaphorical aspects in understanding and critical production of music. He appears more interested in the processes of synthesis than in those of analysis, concerned with getting rid of technical knowledge to indulge in the creative act.