Diether de la Motte avoids this limited and inflexible methodological
“dogmatism
”. He is interested in a pliable historical and analytical approach of the fundamental parameters of the phenomenon
“music
” and achieves to provide a panorama of their historical formation that specifies the contents of the otherwise abstract concepts, like Harmony, Counterpoint and Melody.
The review reports the content of the three volumes and makes special reference to de la
Motte
’s analytical approach, clarifying his contribution to these music-theoretical fields. It is emphasized that the broadness of the thought and the simplicity of the conception are accompanied by an unusual clarity of expression. These features provide a variety of analytical potentialities that seem to take off and to be determined by the
“thing itself
” (i.e. the work) rather than by some concrete and universally applicable analytical principle. Diether de la Motte did not reject in advance the known analytical methods by keeping a negativistic attitude. He chose the position that in his eyes corresponds better to the aesthetic and structural prerequisites of the concrete musical material, without – at the same time – introducing the limitations imposed by historical relativism. The analysis – as demonstrated by de la
Motte
’s attitude – must clearly be based upon contemporary musical experience and perception, without submitting to the extremities of a modern methodological relativism or dogmatism.