Sport, sounds, and gestures: a ludomusicological perspective on sport (with a special study on Benjamin Britten)

Journal article

This article attempts to expand the scope of ludomusicology through exploring the gestural relation between sport and sounds. Its philosophical approach is based on the works of Bernard Suits, especially his description of the overlapping notions of sport, game, and play. Having also disentangled notions of gesture, sonic gesture, and sport gesture, and consequently having established a typology of sounds related to sport gestures, the article then adopts a semiotic approach, considering analogical processes between sport gestures and music gestures (and their corresponding sounds). In particular, the concept of ‘transitional topic’ is developed. It argues that ‘sport’ does not act as a direct topic in music, but is mediated through various other topics, from the march, the fanfare, to the music exercise. Finally, a music-analytical perspective is given through a selection of examples from the works of Benjamin Britten, whose music is infused with a sport-like aesthetic and with gestural analogies to sport.

Authors: Leccia, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Journal: Journal of Sound and Music in Games
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 74–96
• Publication date: 2024-07-01
• Acceptance date: 2023-06-01
• DOI: 10.1525/jsmg.2024.5.3.74
• EISSN: 2578-3432
• Language: English
• Keywords: music topic; Benjamin Britten; gesture; sport; analogy