Om den psykologiske realiteten av langstrakt musikalsk form: Et musikkfilosofisk forsøk

What is time? What is the relationship between music and time? Does time flow towards us from the future to the past, or do we move through time from the past to the future? Is there even such a thing as the “passage of time”, or is that a just another metaphorical construction? “The now” in human short-term memory lasts for approximately 3–5 seconds. In this article, the topic is how the consciousness can construct, experience and maintain coherence in longer-term occurrences, for example, a musical composition lasting 20–30 minutes. The article suggests that the form of these musical compositions is perhaps structured analogously with the long-term memory’s own hierarchical divisions and mode of operation in the human mind. The article discusses the connection between overview (hors-temps, meaning outside time) and process (durée, meaning duration) in the listening experience. To be able to follow a long-lasting musical form, be it in performance or in musical listening, one needs to be both “in” the time-flow and outside of it at the same time. Hence, since “presence” and “distance” are clearly different perspectives, they form a paradoxical relation of being both contradictory and mutually interdependent. The interplay between musical detail, overview and direction is relevant to the concept of Fernhören, coined by Heinrich Schenker and Wilhelm Furtwängler. Since music needs to unfold during time, a large-scale musical work cannot be seen merely as an object (Sein, or being) but is also a process of constant re-shaping and change (Werden, or becoming) in the workings of perception, memory and expectation in the listening experience.