Open AccessThe Phenomenology of the Pipe Organ
Author(s) -
Michael R. Kearney
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
phenomenology and practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1913-4711
DOI - 10.29173/pandpr29432
Subject(s) - phenomenology (philosophy) , intersubjectivity , embodied cognition , musical , consecration , perception , psychology , aesthetics , epistemology , philosophy , sociology , literature , art , theology
An extended illustration from Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception describes the interplay of habit, sedimentation, and intersubjectivity in the practice and performance of a skilled organist. This paper takes up Merleau-Ponty’s example in order to describe some of the phenomenological characteristics of embodied musical performance. These characteristics point toward an intersubjective event of “consecration,” as Merleau-Ponty describes it, in which the musician adopts the role of rhetor, inviting the audience into a shared dwelling place.