Sport, Play, Games, and Sounds: A Ludomusicological Perspective on Sport (with a Special Focus on Benjamin Britten)

This article questions the interaction of sport, play, games, and sounds. Its philosophical approach is based on the works of Bernard Suits, especially his description of the ‘tricky triad’ (the overlapping notions of sport, game, and play), and investigates the relation of this triad to music. Subsequently, the notion of gesture is explored as a common denominator to these activities. Then, this article adopts a semiotic approach and considers analogical processes between sport gestures and music gestures (and their corresponding sounds). In addition, this study develops the concept of ‘transitional topic,’ which argues that ‘sport’ does not act as a direct topic in music but is mediated through various other topics (e.g., the march, the fanfare, or the music exercise). Each of these theoretical explorations is grounded in analyses of pieces by Benjamin Britten (“Playful Pizzicato,” Peter Grimes, “Early Morning Bathe,” and Three Divertimenti). Britten’s music is used as a counterpoint to explore the theoretical perspectives of this article, as his music showcases the crossover between sport-like, play-like, and game-like aesthetics.