Abstract

The concept of the ineffable, employed by Vladimir Jankélévitch’s philosophy of music, seems to imply, besides a limit to verbal expression, the idea of immateriality. This article will initially consider the immaterial tenor of the ineffable in two strands which particularly influenced the philosopher: Christian mysticism and Neoplatonism. A second and larger section will be devoted to the investigation of the theme in Jankélévitchian philosophy of music. Firstly, some “immaterial” features of musical experience and auditory perception, such as its indivisible, non-locatable, non-storable and non-objectifiable character will be identified. Secondly, it will focus on the intentional search of immateriality by Debussy and Fauré, who enhance the immateriality of music through specific procedures, such as the choice of diaphanous motifs, the nocturnal setting, the absence of external references, the exploration of veiled timbers and of sonorities of minimal intensity, the special use of modality and modulation. These aspects will be summed up in the conclusion, which will also question the possibility of inferring the alleged essential immateriality of music from the poetics that cultivate intangible sonorous atmospheres.