Revisiting Musical Semiotics: Returning to Greek Stoic Definitions

Abstract

Musical semiotics has been on the frontlines of interdisciplinary movement in musicology and music theory. Enough is to mention the names of Eero Tarasti, Robert Hatten, Gino Stephani, Michael Spitzer and Boris Asafiev. It is difficult to add much to this rich tradition. However, revisiting the ancient roots of this discipline in the teaching of Zeno of Chitteum and his students, Cleanthes and Chrysippos (found in Veterum stoicorum fragmenta), may shed light on some aspects of semiotics that were once abandoned and now can be restored. From this corpus of texts, we learn about the seme (the sign and grain), semainon (the signifier), semainomenon (the signified) and semeiotike (the study of signs). It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this discovery for philosophy, religion, arts and sciences. Zeno discussed being in terms of semiotics. In his view, it is not the object that is being signified; rather the sign, as an active cause, generates and constitutes the object. Thus, the dilemma of classical ontology looms in the background of the problem of the musical sign.

Keywords: musical semiotics, Greek Stoics, genre, chaconne, sign