Letters: Silenced by Sound

Dear Editor,I was struck by the quality of Michael Cronin’s fascinating piece (‘Silenced by Sound’) in the November/December issue of the JMI. It brought home to me once more how all disciplines – be they literature, music, or science...

Dear Editor,

I was struck by the quality of Michael Cronin’s fascinating piece (‘Silenced by Sound’) in the November/December issue of the JMI. It brought home to me once more how all disciplines – be they literature, music, or science – seek to come to grips with the same fundamental issues. Also, when reading Benjamin Dwyer’s piece on new music criticism (‘The Eunuch’s Shadow’) in the last issue of the JMI, I felt very much at ease in spite of my having virtually no grounding in music. Because, in many instances, his comments would apply equally well to literary criticism – his references to George Steiner, among others, bear this out..

The fact that two such cutting edge articles should appear in the JMI in quick succession convinces me that there is something special at work here – I also heard a most favourable reference to the journal on Rattlebag recently. There is a lack of adequate outlets for intellectual debate (where people can genuinely engage with the issues) in Ireland. Much of what passes for debate is mere posturing – and poorly disguised posturing at that.

But to return to Michael Cronin’s piece – it is fascinating how he sees how the (ab)use of music in this country is designed to hinder communication. Music is being employed in many instances to prevent people from communicating with one another, as well as protecting them from a hostile external environment. As Cronin says: ‘music becomes both a barrier and a comforter.’ But his most pertinent point, in my view, is the one he makes in relation to how uncomfortable Irish people feel with any thought of death: ‘Silencing the sound of silence, a silence see as synonymous with death, becomes an imperative.’ How different this is from the approach portrayed by an author like John McGahern, whose recent novel, That They May Face the Rising Sun, contains one of the classic descriptions of the sacredness of the human corpse. Here, silence is of paramount importance as a means of conveying respect. Even the prayers that are recited during Johnny’s wake have a musical resonance and are not presented as a barrier to silence. There is an acceptance of the reality of death in this novel.

So I would like to commend all those involved in the JMI for providing a forum for debate and discussion – long may it continue.

Eamon Maher
Lecturer in Humanities
Tallaght Institute of Technology

Published on 1 March 2003

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