[Meta]polyphony in Cântico das crianças corrompidas

an expanded view of musical polyphony based on Mikhail Bakhtin's proposals

Abstract

Mikhail Bakhtin, at the early 20^th century, incorporated musical terminology to develop an analytical view of the novels of Russian writer Fiodor Dostoevsky. From this perspective, he coins the term polyphonic novel. This paper aims to bring Bakhtin's reflections on the notion of polyphony to the musical realm. This new look at polyphony is referred here as [meta]polyphony. Characteristics of this [meta]polyphony are observed in the electroacoustic work Cântico das crianças corrompidas (Song of the corrupted youths).