In the article “The Eighteenth-Century Origins of the Musical Canon,” William Weber discusses his school of thought regarding the origin of the musical canon, which he believes started with the repertory. He builds his case by examining the social, historical and intellectual foundations of this tradition. His is an article in response to Joseph Kerman’s, whose views he did not agree with completely and refutes them by saying that the musical canon has been shaped mostly by a number of forces, ideas and social norms present in the musical culture, which have all acted in their own unique way and led to the origins of the canon.
The canon, according to the author, emerged “quietly and inconspicuously”, out of the practices and customs of musical convention, and not from a literary movement or intellectual philosophy. And while the author accepts the musical importance of the Romantic Movement as having influenced the origins of the musical canon, he believes that the early Romantic musical commentators had themselves been influenced by the processes of the time and age prior to Romanticism.
The modern musical canon emerged out of customs such as the persistence of older music and the stature awarded to older musicians via various ways, the most important being the prestige awarded to them in church music and pedagogy. Old practices started becoming more common and more important in musical spheres, as they were understood and appreciated the way they had been conceived. There were also social, political and intellectual factors which influenced this extension of earlier practices- capital cities bloomed and concerts started becoming a welcome norm, the opera assumed bureaucratic tendencies, the Classical tradition in literature changed – all these and other factors facilitated the expansion of early music.
However, the author reiterates that he aims to simply discuss those processes which led to the expansion of early music. He specifies two sequential steps in the development of the musical canon: the first was when the conventional act of performing individual old works expanded to become repertories which were regularly performed, and second, when from these repertories, canon was identified intellectually and ritually.
Nevertheless, it would be unrealistic to expect a clear demarcation as to when the first stage started and when it evolved into the second. He cites the English cathedrals as an important example of the early times when canons were formed. Leading cathedrals such as the Chapel Royal had embarked on the activity of copying old anthems and services as they constructed an almost new repertory of church music.
The Civil War and Restoration also helped to change attitudes and instill a sense of sacredness in old works, which led to a more conscious effort to preserve them. Collections by the Rev. J. C. Clifford and Thomas Tomkins helped to revive anthems and services from the past in a systematic way. Both these socio political factors ensured that the music assumed a historical importance that it had not been attributed before.
Then, when the term ‘ancient music’ appeared at the turn of the eighteenth century, the transformation process of canon from repertory began. The musical canon became synonymous with a great age of music from the past, which transcended the limits imposed by political divisions, and assumed a national and artistic meaning. When the Academy of Vocal Music was founded in 1726 (which became the Academy of Ancient Music after five years), it furthered the shift from repertory to canon, as it shone the limelight on the sacred works of Marenzio, Palestrina and Byrd in particular, and other seventeenth century pieces in general.
The fact that it had the word ‘ancient’ in the name provided it with a canonic role which was uniquely its own, and one which other concerts could not imitate. Still, the true essence of the canon emerged with the acceptance of a larger public, something not possible with the Academy’s limited number of members. This occurred when the Concerts of Ancient
Music was formed in 1776. It popularized ‘ancient’ music as well as redefined it to include “any music more than two decades or so old.” The respect achieved by the Purcell Te deum is another important example of how by 1800, the reason for existence of festivals were the works themselves, which had by then, become canon. The festival tradition was very much responsible for providing the old repertory with a solid social foundation, and this way, provided the musical canon the wide social outreach it lacked.
In brief, the author proposes the above factors, in the light of which he believes the early stages in the evolution of the musical canon should be studied. He reiterates that one of the major determinants of the rise of the canon was the development of repertories of old works. The process took place slowly, quietly and in ways which were not as conspicuous as the Romantic movement. On the contrary, musical traditions, such as that of sacred music, cathedrals and the Chapel Royal were instrumental in the addition of canon to music.