Angele Mihailovski, Milena Ristova-Mihajlovska
MUSIC AND LITERATURE – AN IDEAL FUSION FOR CATHARSIS
Shtip, Macedonia
The recipient have a special feeling after watching, reading or listening samo work of art. About that feeling Aristotle was speaking in his “Poetics" over centuries. All Aristotel’s thesis are as always current and therefore to this day we respect all his definitions and terms, including preferred term “catharsis”.
The Aristotel’s term "catharsis", with our words paraphrased, means spiritual purification such as a result of the artwork, which in modern conditions, practical, we can explain as a purging of negative emotions by the person (as a recipient) immediately after watching good movie, after following a top (or good!) music concert, after watching a good theater performance (whether it's comedy or tragedy), after reading a good book, etc. This result indicated a spiritual purification Aristotle called "catharsis". Aristotle was referring specifically to those emotions as a result provoked the tragedy, but in this paper we speak about "catharsis" on a global plan.
Whatever is the form of the work, "the content of the psychological art work always originated in the area of human experience and in the strongest emotional landscapes of experience" (Jung, 2007: 54) [2].
The recipient experiences the catharsis and that is the result to the process by passing the act because "the act allows the artist to be expressed as a master of the art. The artist is an expression of the work, and the work is an expression of the artist" (Heidegger, 2006: 9) [3]. One without the other can not exist! A recipient has the honor to experience catharsis at the end!
The power of catharsis we associate with the power of spiritual life in our society. That power has significance about the functioning of human society to positive stimuli and his optimistic view of the storm in his life. For children, the pupils and the students in R. Macedonia are no more mandatory obligations that can feel catharsis:
In this sense, the above mentioned target groups of people in our country are allowed to be a medium between art and its obligations. And it's good! As crucial groups in the society they live in the modern world, but through art, or more - through literature and music they fulfilled spiritually and in every moment they feel this spiritual pleasure, from one side, and spiritual purification on the other side.
Literature and music are a perfect mix. Poetry even in classical period was the basis about writing the most plays of world literature. Only afterwards followed by performances of dramatic works on stage. What is simple in poetry? It is packed with rhyme, rhythm, melody and musicality. This provides an this unbreakable link between literature and poetry. Poetry recipients brings their greatest pleasure if accompanied by music.
Above we mentioned only several target groups, whose spiritual lives are approaching by everyday activities mandatory. Against them, according to the concepts of lifelong learning, activating the cultural and artistic social environment, other groups of citizens of the Republic Macedonia, that belong to older generations finding out some new forms of association. Usually it is done to avoid loneliness because they feel safer when belong to a group.
Thus, they are members in various formal and informal groups and associations such as: Association of Pensioners, the Union of women, cultural associations, musical groups (such as "Singing citizens"), City Choir, Retirement choir, church choir, Literary club etc.
However, a nice blend of literature and music resulting in catharsis represent the church liturgy. In the East region of Macedonia, where we have conducted research exist several churches and church associations, which have in their basis: the text of Scripture (the Bible) as a literary segment and Byzantine and Church Slavic singing as a musical segment.
All these churches have in their basis "mystery of the virgin birth or homouzijata the Son with the Father or the Trinity that is not a triad. This for us is not a philosophical fantasy, and accept them as real objects of faith "(Jung, 2007: 12) [1]. Since we got our respondents to the survey result that even 98% of them experience catharsis after the the presence and participation of the Holy Divine Liturgy.
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