Production, convention and power : constructing the sound of an early music orchestra - Sciences Po Access content directly
Journal Articles Sociologie du Travail Year : 2005

Production, convention and power : constructing the sound of an early music orchestra

Abstract

By explaining how an Early Music orchestra produces its sound, we can review Howard Becker’s concept of a convention. An orchestra’s sound depends on principles incorporated in things (musical instruments, scores) and bodies (musicians’ techniques). A common set of principles about interpret-ing a piece of music — principles acquired well before any rehearsal — do not suffice for coordinat-ing a group of musicians. As observations have shown, face-to-face interactions are decisive in this coordination. The conductor is not omniscient and does not impose his interpretation on musicians. Relations based on authority, being unstable, are redistributed among the conductor, soloist and first violin during rehearsals. Recognizing the importance of face-to-face interactions draws attention to the cogency of power relations, which, though omnipresent, are constantly reworked in the situation for producing an orchestra’s sound.

Domains

Sociology
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
2005-francois-production-convention-and-power-vauteur.pdf (197.35 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origin : Files produced by the author(s)

Dates and versions

hal-03217850 , version 1 (05-05-2021)

Identifiers

Cite

Pierre Francois. Production, convention and power : constructing the sound of an early music orchestra. Sociologie du Travail, 2005, 47 (Supplément 1), pp.57 - 70. ⟨10.1016/j.soctra.2005.08.002⟩. ⟨hal-03217850⟩
34 View
81 Download

Altmetric

Share

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More