MUSIC AS A TRANSITIVE MEDIUM OF CULTURAL MEMORY

Abstract

The purpose of the article to provide a theoretical conceptualization of music as a transitive medium of cultural
memory, to identify the specific mechanisms of its mnemonic action, and to analyze the transformations of its
functioning in the context of digital culture.
The research methodology. The study is based on an interdisciplinary approach that combines tools from cultural
studies, memory studies, sociology of music, and philosophy of culture. The theoretical framework includes the
concepts of communicative and cultural memory by Jan and Aleida Assmann, Maurice Halbwachs’ theory of collective
memory, Paul Connerton’s performative approach, Claude Lévi-Strauss’ structuralism, Tia DeNora’s sociology of
music, as well as the concept of deterritorialization developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. The research
applies methods of theoretical analysis, conceptual modeling, and interpretative analysis. The scientific novelty lies in
the conceptualization of music as a transitive medium of cultural memory that operates at the intersection of individual
and collective experience, as well as communicative and cultural forms of memory. The study identifies the key
mechanisms of musical mnemonic action, including its affective dimension, embodied nature, and capacity for semantic
recontextualization. The concept of mnemonic deterritorialization is introduced to describe the loss of music’s
connection to its original socio-cultural context in conditions of digital dissemination, along with outlining the
possibilities of its reterritorialization. This approach expands the theoretical framework of memory studies by
positioning music as an independent medium of preserving, actualizing, and reinterpreting cultural memory.
Conclusions. The article demonstrates that music functions as a dynamic medium of cultural memory that not only
preserves but continuously transforms the ways in which memory is experienced and transmitted. Its transitive nature
enables interaction between different forms of memory, while its affective and embodied dimensions allow it to operate
beyond verbal articulation. In the digital era, music simultaneously undergoes processes of deterritorialization and
reterritorialization, which reshape its mnemonic functions. The case of Jamala’s song «1944» illustrates how music can
reactivate suppressed collective memory and bring it into global cultural circulation.