Repetition

Repetition is one of the most obvious universals. But its central role in music is only an exemplary case of a more general function. As Dagognet says, “the logic of the living is that of reiteration” (even if he fights against the very idea of nature). The genetic code that controls this logic is indeed a vast programme of reprography. On the other hand, the ontogeny of living beings depends closely on the repetition of their experiences. Music, in this context, appears as a symbolic image of the laws of life and of the time in which they unfold. If other chapters in this book concern the particular modes of repetition that are manifested in music in the fixed forms, the litany, the ostinato, the refrain, the strophe and the variation, this one is more of an attempt at a general reflection on this feature that appears to be essential and vital in music.