Research on relations between art and politics has its tradition. However, it mainly refers to literature, whose part, as far as its authors’ intentions are concerned, is of a political character, in a lesser degree – of a picture. Sound, especially if it is not linked to a text and/or a picture, is considerably more seldom analyzed from the point of view of its importance in politics. As long as a word and a picture happen to convey unequivocal political meaning, qualifi ed as such by most recipients, sound cannot be obviously considered a political message. It is questionable whether music can convey any meaning in whatever sense. If one can manage to suppress this doubt, it will result in a question how to construe the senses conveyed through the medium of melodic – rhythmic structures. However, the findings in the field of widely understood humanities affirm that music serves as a creator’s message directed to both individual and collective receivers. Political science studies often bring up a matter of communication between authorities and the subjects (in authoritarian regimes), and also between representatives of a nation or people claiming their role and electorate (in democratic regimes). At the end of the 1960s, American and Canadian scientists made room for music, one of the most widespread communicators, i. a. in political sphere. At that time, interdisciplinary teams including American sociologists, political scientists, culture and media experts undertook multi – faceted research, focused mainly on popular music.

The theatre of and for the nuns (Naples, 18th century)

Recent studies have focused on the musical environment and the theatre in female monasteries of many Italian cities between the 16th and 18th centuries. These art forms became famous as forms of entertainment in travel literature and in the chronicles of the time but were forbidden in the age of the Counter-Reformation. However, the theatrical performances, both in prose and in music, enjoyed enormous success and spread in male and female monasteries. As of the 17th century, if not even earlier, travellers from half of Europe arrived in Naples, attracted by the excellence of the musical and theatrical performances that they could enjoy in the monasteries of the city. This essay aims to reconstruct the times, the modalities, and the contents of the theatrical offerings in the female monasteries of Naples at the beginning of the 18th century, all of which are still unknown today. In particular, the case of the Franciscan monastery of St Chiara will be examined. Through the patronage of Queen Maria Amalia, musical and theatrical performances played an active leading role in the configuration of a specific theatrical type and taste and increased the education of the nuns and young women who were educated in the monastery, representing and legitimising new feelings and sensibilities. The religious women found a way to talk of their feelings and concerns together; they forged relationships even with the environments outside of the monastery and especially with the Queen’s court and with the courts of the aristocratic palaces of their families of origin.

Music can be widely involved in the teaching of foreign languages. It is a distinctive means of communication which makes use of listening materials and at the same time tries to analyse and interpret these materials. Both music and foreign languages should develop our receptivity of the world around us, and at the same time they should develop learners´ creativity. Furthermore, music can be a source of motivation, it can have relaxing impact, it can convey the reality of the countries in which the given languages are spoken and it can support a natural acquisition and fixation of the target language. Music can be successfully involved in the training and practicing of correct pronunciation of foreign languages. This kind of training should be applied from the very beginning of instruction. Music can be involved in developing learners’ emotional and aesthetic intelligence, it can form their personality and views. Music in any kind of its form should be an inseparable part of any stage of the process of foreign language teaching. Considering all the above mentioned issues, we may draw a conclusion that foreign language teachers should develop their positive approach to music and its application in the teaching process. Such a desired approach can indeed improve the results of the teaching and learning processes.

The purpose of this article is to examine the role and importance of music in society. In particular, attention is paid on the educational value of art sound and musical skills of Poles and their participation in the musical culture. The main question is the question of the quality of these skills and socialization processes of individuals to music. The aim of the paper is also to discuss the institutional problems and obstacles of music education as well as to focus on the problem of the reproduction of the non-sensitive to music generations. The text is composed of four main parts. In the first of them there are discussed the general issues related to the role of music in society, including the process of acquiring musical skills and aesthetic dispositions (in the sense of Pierre Bourdieu), allowing individuals to take an active part in the musical life of the community. The focal point of the discussion also concentrates on such topics, as integration and communication power of music in society within the meaning of Alfred Schütz. The second part of the text contains the reflections on the educational role of music, including its ability to connect people, and shaping them socially desirable traits. The third part of the article refers to the issue of the musical competences of Poles, based on available quantitative data. The latter are useful to discuss the problem of intergenerational inheritance of weak music competences, and therefore the phenomenon of the reproduction of musical “illiteracy”. The fourth section provides some reflection on the specific consequences of music education system in Poland. In particular, the attention is paid to the issues such as the low level of participation in musical culture, and the regression of listening in the sense of Theodor W. Adorno.

The politics of memory is a sociotechnical operation of altering collective memory through the redefinition or removal of issues relating to history and to the image of social components, existing within it, or through the consolidation of such issues as its new, vital parts. This type of politics involves the promotion of those sets of information and interpretations of facts which suit the vision of the state shared by the nation and the ruling elite. The goal of the politics of memory is the integration of the society around the values commonly considered supreme in a given country. The additional goal is the strengthening of the legitimization of power and a subsequent gain of as much acceptance of the existing political order as possible. The tools used in the politics of memory can be categorized into three groups: aural, verbal and visual tools. Sounds and words (written, spoken and sung) constitute symbols which are commonly used in the politics of memory. Symbols, as well as myths, serve as the basis for rituals which, in the politics of memory, serve as key tools aimed at shaping the collective emotions. As a result of sociotechnical operations, symbols become both signifiers of identification and markers of integrity of the social structure. Rituals integrate and mobilize the community, but also serve as means of demonstrating the ruling elite’s power and the enforced social and political order. Music has been emphasized as particularly influential on the general mood of different societies, as this particular tool of the politics of memory has a strong emotional impact on its recipients. In addition, music is highly abstract, which allows it to signify (symbolize) any given content. Th e natural qualities and influence of music, as well as the variety of its styles and genres, combined with the knowledge and experience of the ruling elite, makes it a highly effective tool of the politics of memory.