ABSTRACT
What could be the final outcome of this history of the emergence of sound in music and, more generally, the future of music? Would conservatives be right in accusing musical modernity – which has borne this history of the emergence of sound – of having destroyed music in both spirit and letter? This book has shown that the emergence of sound in music does not necessarily represent the symptom of a triumphant materialism leading to fetishist consumption practices. 'Sound', which has been discussed, is not solely an inert matter to be venerated: it can be invaded by the forces of what is called art. Two moments of the history of emergence of sound, representing complementary poles, attest to this. The first focusses on sound to emphasise listening. Here, focus on sound is a way for us to (re)discover this powerful faculty: learning to listen. As for the other, it resides in the moment when one speaks about sound to designate constructed entities, made according to a compositional project: the musical work, in its entirety – from micro- to macrotime – is fully articulated in it.
