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Old 06-03-2008, 09:07 PM   #1
Morthoron
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Ibrīn, maybe Melkor was the first jazz musician in history, and was merely going for syncopation (which would have been disruptive to the rest of the Ainur's rigid pre-Stravinsky classicism).
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Old 06-04-2008, 01:33 AM   #2
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But, Morth, Melkor's discord plainly *angered* Eru, and was adjudged the Root of All Evil: so it must have been twelve-tone serialism.
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Old 06-04-2008, 09:01 AM   #3
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Ibrīn, maybe Melkor was the first jazz musician in history, and was merely
going for syncopation (which would have been disruptive to the rest of the Ainur's rigid pre-Stravinsky classicism).
LOL! Melkor as Scott Joplin, doing ragtime. What an image! Of course, if one looks back at some of the pre-classical forms of music into modality, one will find a lot of accepted forms that, to classical chromatic harmonic structure, are absolutely Right Out (i.e., parallel fifths). So which chicken or egg came first?

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But, Morth, Melkor's discord plainly *angered* Eru, and was adjudged the Root of All Evil: so it must have been twelve-tone serialism.
Or he just wasn't following the score, and anyone who's ever performed in any kind of ensemble knows how testy some conductors can get, especially when they're also the composer. I know I would be quite unbearable if I were to conduct one of the symphonies I've composed. I also know, as a songwriter, how I feel when I compose something that has great meaning for me, and other performers insist on placing what, to my mind, is an incorrect interpretation on the work -- and then go on to perform it so often that other people think that the "wrong" interpretation is the "correct" one. I'd get ticked off, too.

But then, trying to inject twelve-tone serialism into either traditional chromatic or modal music... one shudders to think of the sound! Although I seem to recall Melkor's music being described as loud and braying as if on one note, so maybe Melkor wasn't really being discordant as much as magnificently tone-deaf.

Okay, I digress from topic. Sorry about that. Somewhat more seriously, because of the way Tolkien wrote it, we do have to remember that events of the Ainulindale are presented through the lens of an Elf describing something that no Elf ever witnessed. From their viewpoint, Melkor was responsible for committing the first Act of Evil, and therefore must, to their minds, be the Root of All Evil. But if Eru had not expected or allowed for such a thing to happen, He would have simply started over or summarily erased Melkor and his deeds from the picture. That He didn't would, at least to me, seem to be an indication that Eru expected something like this to happen. Why He would be angered by something an omnipotent/omniscient being would have foreseen is, perhaps, an interpretation of the Elvish historians, who could not have imagined any other reaction. Just a possibility.

But if one considers Melkor himself as the personification of Evil, then perhaps it was necessary for him to personally enter Ea, in order to bring evil with him. If free choice itself presents the possibility of evil as a choice of all creatures who have that freedom, then perhaps it was not necessary for him to have come; evil likely would have happened sooner or later, without him. But since the one thing Melkor desired but could not have was the power of Creation on a par with Eru's, then the next best thing for him would be entering the world of Eru's creation to either subjugate it to his will or to destroy it utterly. What he sang in the Ainulindale was an attempt to make it his own, and to have that become reality, he had to enter Ea to see it done. IMHO, of course.
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Old 06-04-2008, 10:30 AM   #4
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That He didn't would, at least to me, seem to be an indication that Eru expected something like this to happen. Why He would be angered by something an omnipotent/omniscient being would have foreseen is, perhaps, an interpretation of the Elvish historians, who could not have imagined any other reaction. Just a possibility.
Or was Eru just a poor parent? Or did It want for Melkor to continue? I know that if one ignores tantrums in children, they (the tantrums, not the children) tend to go away. Some children want a reaction - any reaction, even a negative one - from a parent just so the child can feel noticed by the parent.

Melkor had self-esteem issues..."Look at me! Aren't I great! Eru gave me all of my siblings' powers and abilities, and I still feel inadequate...I need more creatures to tell me that I'm really great and wonderful."

As I've said previously, Melkor just needed a hug.

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But if one considers Melkor himself as the personification of Evil, then perhaps it was necessary for him to personally enter Ea, in order to bring evil with him. If free choice itself presents the possibility of evil as a choice of all creatures who have that freedom, then perhaps it was not necessary for him to have come; evil likely would have happened sooner or later, without him. But since the one thing Melkor desired but could not have was the power of Creation on a par with Eru's, then the next best thing for him would be entering the world of Eru's creation to either subjugate it to his will or to destroy it utterly. What he sang in the Ainulindale was an attempt to make it his own, and to have that become reality, he had to enter Ea to see it done. IMHO, of course.
I think that he had to enter as that's where all of the action was. He brought his poor attitude with him, and attacked his siblings' works as yet another attempt of attracting attention. "Stop me, please, Eru!" Maybe he was trying to recapture those moments when he'd felt so special, having all of the Music change then stop just because of him.

Kids...
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Old 06-04-2008, 10:42 AM   #5
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And then Joseph's brothers finally got fed up with the conceited little prat and mugged him.... whoops, wrong dysfunctional family.
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Old 06-04-2008, 02:05 PM   #6
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Hmmm...perhaps because Melkor's contribution was considered loud and braying by the Ainuric aficianados, a better comparison would be between Melkor and Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Bob whipped out his electric guitar, and rather than crooning an acoustic 'Blowin' in the Wind', he blared a loud version of 'Maggie's Farm'. The enraged folkies started screaming "HERESY!" and "TRAITOR!" in unison.

Melkor wasn't evil, he was merely a brooding, cerebal rock star.
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Old 06-04-2008, 02:13 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ibrīnišilpathānezel View Post
LOL! Melkor as Scott Joplin, doing ragtime. What an image!
Racist.

EDIT: I jest, of course.
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Old 06-04-2008, 02:30 PM   #8
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I imagine that the problem with Melkor's music was not that it was innovative (as you will recall that Melkor could only mimic and rearrange Eru's tunes, but could not create anything really new) or that it was different, but that it was a deviation apart from Eru's plan. Melkor was over-eager and impatient, and ultimately unwilling to follow Eru's established timeline for the development of the theme. He had an agenda and a will which he set above Eru's. That is called rebellion, and it is why Melkor's foray into musical composition was wrong. It was a timing issue.

(Have I missed the point? I don't to be redundant or preachy.)
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