G. Ph. Telemann’s Concertos for Four Violins withoutbassocontinuoin the aspect of onomatopoeic and figurative rhetoric

Statement of the problem. In musicology there has long been a tacit belief that Baroque music is the music of rhetoric, rhetorical figures and affects. In Baroque aesthetics, rhetoric, which is an important element of Baroque poetics, is perceived as an integral part of the content of a musical piece that together with form, harmony, counterpoint and musical expression form its integral substance. The study of Baroque music from the perspective of the rhetorical aspect gives a clearer comprehension of the work, understanding the context, and the competent interpretation of the composer’s idea. Analysis of recent research and publication. The theoretical assumptions of this article are based both on historical treatises (M. Praetorius, Ch. Bernhard, J. Mattheson) and authoritative works of researchers who studied theoretical issues of historically informed performance of the late XX – early XXI century (D. Bartel, L. Dreyfus), including relatively new works (M. Zgółka, P. Zawistowski, A. Mocek). M. Zgółka (2016) adopts a rather traditional approach to rhetoric, which operates with rhetorical figures and affects, and at the same time offers an innovative division of rhetoric into three varieties. Referring to the most important treatises L. Dreyfus (2004) makes us think about the relevance of making parallels between oratory and musical rhetoric highlighting common features and differences. A. Mocek’s (2019) view on musical rhetoric and on the studies devoted to it is quite critical. The main objective of the study is to examine G. Ph. Telemann’s Concertos for Four Violins without basso continuo from the perspective of figurative and onomatopoeic rhetoric. The scientific novelty. In this research for the first time, Telemann’s Concertos were analyzed from the perspective of onomatopoeic and figurative rhetoric. The concept of division of rhetoric into three categories (onomatopoeic, figurative, symbolically mystical) was proposed by the Polish violinist and theorist M. Zgółka (2016). The author uses the following methods in this research: historical, typological, comparative and structural-functional analysis. Results. The analysis of four concertos demonstrates that G. Ph. Telemann uses not only figurative type of rhetoric but also onomatopoeic, successfully combining these two categories. In comparison with, for example, A. Vivaldi or H. I. F. von Biber, the palette of sound imitative techniques in the concertos of G. Ph. Telemann is not so diverse and comprehensive, however, elements of onomatopoeic rhetoric can be found both in fast and slow movements: sound of organ or bells as well as sound images of nature. The composer does not refuse from the elements of figurative rhetoric. Like in his duo sonatas, these are mainly represented by figures that describe a melodic motion. Such techniques are often found in polyphonic quick movements. In the lyrical slow movements, similarly to the duo sonatas, harmony, polyphony and intervals are brought to the fore. Conclusions. G. Ph. Telemann’s cycle of Concertos for Four Violins without continuo is an interesting example of chamber music not only in terms of composition but also from the view point of the usage and combination of various types of musical rhetoric. Knowledge of the rhetorical component brings researchers and performers to a new, more comprehensive level of understanding of the composer’s music, allowing us to consider the emotional content not only of the work as a whole, but also of each single intonation.

Signs of music, intertextuality, and narrative strategy

The musical culture of modern Europe has produced numerous extra-linguistic elements which constitute a kind of code making transmission of content possible between sender and receiver. These elements also permit a kind of narrative strategy which organizes this communication. One of the codes most important for this field of European culture is musical rhetoric, made up of dozens of signs such as rhetorical figures or the symbolism of musical keys. I demonstrate the functioning of these elements on the example of funeral music, whose topoi, signs, and codes have developed in European culture for several centuries, along with characteristic musical and literary genres, and their mutual interactions. My methodological approach is mainly based on the tools of cultural and musical semiotics, and of narratology combined with analyses of musical rhetoric, supported by elements of literary analysis. I discuss this subject using the example of Karol Kurpiński’s Elegy on the Death of Tadeusz Kościuszko (1818), which perfectly illustrates the signs typical of European culture in the first half of the 19th-century and of nascent Romanticism, with its complex nationalisms and its quest for signs typical of a given nation or region, as well as for individual solutions. All of my analyses point to the power and versatility of cultural semiotics, which allows us to study human creativity in a highly comprehensive manner, exploring areas which are inaccessible to other research methodologies.

Sekwencja Stabat Mater we włoskich interpretacjach muzycznych doby XVIII wieku

The Stabat Mater sequence in Italian musical interpretations of the 18th-century The Stabat Mater poem, which describes the suffering of Blessed Virgin Mary under the cross on which Jesus – her Son – is dying, has become a universal theme which inspired composers of various ages and origins and found its expression in numerous musical interpretations. From among over 400 compositions which set the text of the sequence to music, a large proportion are 18th-century works (mostly – late baroque) of Italian provenience. Attempting to interpret a musical composition with text of the 18th century, one has to take into account the theory of affects and musical rhetoric, which make the text dependent on music both on the emotive and symbolic level. The paper will examine the Stabat Mater compositions in the rhetoric context, referring to three main levels: inventio, dispositio and decoratio. The common and individual tendencies will be articulated, evident by the appropriate choice of the key, tempo and rhetorical figures, as well as by some melodic and rhythmic motives or harmonic structure having function of the special illustrative-symbolic signs. The nodal points of the work will be presented as well as the requests of man directed at the Mother (the second part of the sequence) assuming varying intonations of supplication. The function and the message of the compositions are advisable. In contemporary times Stabat Mater of the great composers resound mainly as concert masterpieces in church and secular interiors. The vitality of these interpretations after three hundred years from their creation most certainly bears witness to the composers’ artistry in their works and proves their significance not only for the music of the 18th century but also for the culture and faith of today. Abstrakt Treść poematu Stabat Mater, opisującego postać Matki Bożej cierpiącej pod krzyżem, na którym umiera Jezus – Jej Syn, stała się jednym z uniwersalnych tematów sztuki, zainspirowała kompozytorów różnych wieków i ośrodków, co znalazło swój wyraz w bardzo licznych interpretacjach muzycznych. Spośród ponad 4000 kompozycji do tekstu sekwencji znaczna część to dzieła XVIII-wieczne (najczęściej późnobarokowe), pochodzące z kręgu włoskiego. Chcąc zinterpretować utwór słowno-muzyczny XVIII wieku, nie sposób czynić tego w oderwaniu od teorii afektów i retoryki muzycznej, które uzależniają tekst od muzyki zarówno na poziomie emotywnym, jak i symbolicznym. Referat stanowi próbę oglądu kompozycji Stabat Mater w kontekście retoryki na trzech odpowiadających jej poziomach: inventio, dispositio i decoratio. Wyartykułowane są tendencje wspólne oraz indywidualne, przejawiające się w odpowiednim doborze tonacji, tempa i figur retorycznych, a także pewnych motywów melodycznych, rytmicznych lub struktur harmonicznych funkcjonujących w roli znaku ilustracyjno-symbolicznego. Zaprezentowane zostają punkty węzłowe dzieł oraz prośby człowieka skierowane do Matki (druga część sekwencji) o różnorakiej intonacji błagalnej. Wskazana jest funkcja i przesłanie kompozycji. W czasach współczesnych Stabat Mater wielkich twórców rozbrzmiewają głównie jako dzieła koncertowe we wnętrzach kościelnych lub świeckich. Żywotność tych interpretacji 300 lat od ich powstania świadczy niewątpliwie o kompozytorskim kunszcie utworów oraz o ich znaczeniu nie tylko dla muzyki XVIII wieku, ale i dla dzisiejszej kultury i wiary.

Considerations on the Elements of Musical Language in ‘La casa di peste drum’ [At the House across the Road] by Tudor Jarda

When we speak about musical rhetoric, rhetorical figures, or elements related to musica poetica, we almost always automatically think about the Baroque and, why not, about Johann Sebastian Bach`s music. However, few of us realize that the roots of these notions trace back to the Renaissance, and even fewer will relate them to Martin Luther`s name and the Protestant Reformation. The principles of musical rhetoric developed mainly in the North German space, although they were also present in other countries such as Italy, France and England. It was Germany, however, that in those times most enthusiastically adopted and adapted the terminology, methods and structures of ancient rhetoric. In his Musica Poetica, the German musicologist Dietrich Bartel explains the rise of musical rhetoric in Germany as a consequence of Martin Luther`s view of music being embraced by the Christian believers. Over the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, musical rhetoric was continuously enriched and perfected, generating an extremely elaborate art whose focus was to find equivalences between rhetorical figures and musical intervals. Thus, music acquired a higher degree of accuracy of expression.

The Influence of Luther's View of Music on the Emergence of the Concepts of Musica poetica and Musical Rhetoric

La casa di peste drum [At the House across the Road] is, perhaps, Tudor Jarda`s most emblematic choral work, being the first composition of the 10 carols for mixed choir included in the volume Coruri [Choral Works] (1981). Dedicated to Maestro Dorin Pop and the Cappella Transylvanica choir, this work has been part of the ensemble`s repertoire since the publication of the collection, being also found in the repertoire of the most important Cluj and Transylvanian choirs. This paper aims to detail aspects of musical grammar in the choral work La casa di peste drum, highlighting the close connection between the text and music and its implications in the choral interpretation. The morphological and syntactic analysis also highlights certain characteristics of Tudor Jarda`s choral writing.

‘These Happy Effects on the Character of the British Sailor’

Songs about sailors were popular during the late Georgian period in Britain. Some were directed towards men in the navy or potential recruits, but they were also part of the musical repertoire of the middle-class drawing room. A common theme is the importance of family life. With large numbers of men needed to serve in the military in this time of war and colonial expansion, it was essential for the home front that their families remained cohesive, and ballads were sometimes written with the express purpose of promoting fidelity and patience on the part of both men and women. This chapter examines the varieties of family and conjugal relations presented in the verbal and musical rhetoric of a selection of these songs.

Earliest Traces

The earliest known document of Tallis’s music is the single voice part that survives from an otherwise lost manuscript collection of early-sixteenth-century devotional music. It contains only one work by Tallis (the large votive antiphon Salve intemerata) and many works by other composers, almost all of them older. Some of this music goes back to the generation that produced the Eton Choirbook at the turn of the sixteenth century. It gives us a rare chance to see where Tallis’s musical style came from. This chapter is a detailed exploration of Salve intemerata and the manuscript where it makes its earliest appearance. Topics include early Tudor voice types, musical rhetoric, and the tradition of large polyphonic works Tallis knew during his first years as a composer.

Songs of Sacrifice

Songs of Sacrifice argues that liturgical music—both texts and melodies—played a central role in the cultural renewal of early Medieval Iberia. Between the seventh and eleventh centuries, Christian worship on the Iberian Peninsula was structured by rituals of great theological and musical richness, known as the Old Hispanic (or Mozarabic) rite. Much of this liturgy was produced during the seventh century, as part of a cultural and educational program led by Isidore of Seville and other bishops. After the conversion of the Visigothic rulers from Arian to Nicene Christianity at the end of the sixth century, the bishops aimed to create a society unified in the Nicene faith, built on twin pillars of church and kingdom. They initiated a project of clerical education, facilitated through a distinctive culture of textual production. The chant repertory was carefully designed to promote these aims. The creators of the chant texts reworked scripture in ways designed to teach biblical exegesis, linking both to the theological works of Isidore and others, and to Visigothic anti-Jewish discourse. The notation reveals an intricate melodic grammar that is closely tied to textual syntax and sound. Through musical rhetoric, the melodies shaped the delivery of the texts to underline words and phrases of particular liturgical or doctrinal import. The chants thus worked toward the formation of individual Christian souls and a communal, Nicene identity. The final chapters turn to questions about the intersection between orality and writing and the relationships of the Old Hispanic chant to other Western plainsong traditions.