One of the most noticeable trends in contemporary music is the inclusion of musics of other cultures. Composers have always borrowed music from other cultures, or other times within their own culture for use in their music, but since the 1960s this practice has become pervasive. Reasons for borrowing vary. Some composers use music from other cultures to make political statements, ranging from the global--world peace--to the local--racial harmony in South Africa, or democratic Socialism in the United Kingdom. Other musicians use music from other cultures in their own music for no other reason than their own attraction to that music.
The works considered in this study date from the 1960s and after and were created within a vortex of cultural and aesthetic issues; these compositions will help raise many questions, for any use of cultural forms from another culture involves transferring, silencing, or transforming meanings. When borrowings occur across borders of race, class, gender, ethnicity, or nationality, questions about ownership and intention arise. Such questions and possible answers are investigated in this dissertation. Issues addressed include the nature of the meanings of the borrowed material in its original culture and context and the meanings produced and used by European and American composers. And since many of these composers borrow music from former colonized nations (South Africa, Indonesia, India), questions of postcolonialism are also considered.
Composers studied include Kevin Volans (1949-), a white South African who quotes traditional African musics and styles in his music; Pauline Oliveros (1932-), who incorporates Native American beliefs and spiritual ideas from Tibetan Buddhism and Sufism; and Cornelius Cardew (1936-81) whose career shows a long interest in Chinese culture. The popular musicians studied are Paul Simon, the black South African men's chorus Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and the Indonesian popular musician Rhoma Irama.
The methods employed include approaches from Marxism, post-structuralism, feminism, and postmodern and postcolonial theory. These help explicate the practices underlying the works considered, and aided in the formulation of the conclusion, which argues for collaborative, cross-cultural music-making rather than the earlier model of appropriation.
