Computed Counterpoint: Discourses of Modernist Bach Reception and Technology in the Twentieth Century

Since the late nineteenth century, there has been a strand of reception that imagines J.S. Bach's music as proceeding,
objectively, from the rules of counterpoint. Bach's instrumental works specifically are regularly lauded in 'scientific' terms.
This mathematical reception has seen constant development throughout the twentieth century. Bach's association with
computer technology and artificial intelligence is an especially interesting young field of association. The recent
enthusiasm in machine learning for imitating Bach's compositional style shows that a form of this discourse still holds
cultural power. The purpose of this thesis is an evaluation of this reception of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach in
connection with modernism in Germany, the United Kingdom, and North America in the twentieth and twenty-first
centuries. Scholars have acknowledged the prevalence of Bach's music in contexts of science and technology, but so far
there is no overarching cultural history of this phenomenon. This thesis endeavours to provide the first step, through a
methodology that treats reception as discourse. As the prevalence of machine learning in the arts grows, the question
why Bach's music seems to resonate with it gives us insight into the cultural meanings of Bach, as well as the aesthetic
appeal of the hard sciences. Please refer to the full research proposal and OOCDTP form for a more detailed impression
of my project.