Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium, 198

Rusak, Helen Kathryn

Adelaide Research &amp; Scholarship

RHETORIC AI.¡D THE MOTET PASSTONHELEN IGTHRYN RUSAKThe E1der Conservatorium of MusLcThe University of AdelaideSubmitted for the Degree of Master of ArtsNovember, 1986íì-'.i;,,,ì r r:i ;)) lu 1"4 tSone years ago a great Gernan poet thought hehad made the unique discovery that nusic isalmost exactly the same in this regard asrhetoric. How amazing! Musical masters,especially those who want to and shouldinstruct others in composition, should reallybe ashamed that they have been so negligentwith these things: for though here and thereone or another of them nay have come uponsalutory thoughts, purely from common sense:the good gentlemen have as yet remained onlyon the periphery and have not been able topenetrate the central point, much less bringthe thing to its proper technical form,neither overtly nor covertly.J. Mattheson Der Vollkomnene Capellmeister(L739) z 2.9.2INTRODUCTION.. .i-iiiTABLE OF CONTENTSACKNOIIILEDGEII,IENTSPART I. MUSICA POETICA THEORY AND ITS BEIATIONSHIP TO RHETORICI. MUSICA & RHETORIC IN THE LUTTIERAN REFORMATIONII. MUSTCA THEORETICA, POETICA AND PRACTICA. .....81V1Musica Theoretica...Musica Poetica...Musica Practica..III. THE PARTS OF RHETORIC...Invention (Inventio)ArrangenentExordiumNarrativeExploitio or DefinitioPartitioConfutatio or RefutatioPeroratio or EpilogousoU.10.2224Musical Inventio272938Musical Arrangment... 46535B'-,StylePART II. RHETORIC AND THE LUTHERAN MOTET PASSIONI. INTRODUCTION TO PART 2II. THE MOTET PASSION.Background to the Motet PassionIII. THE MOTET PASSIONS OF RESINARIUS, BURCK, LECHNERAND DEMANTIUS.Division j-nto Rhetorical Parts: Arrangement.....Musical StyleStyle101104Use of Rhetorical Figures.....7r7113fl6IT719t1-95199206CONCLUSIONAPPENDIX IAPPENDIX IIBIBLIOGRAPHYILIST OF TABLESGlossary of Musical Rhetorical Figures...... 72This thesis contains no materialwhich has been accepted for the award ofany other degree or dlploma in anyUniversity and that, to the best of myknowledge and belief, the thesis containsno naterial previously published orwrÍtten by another person, except wheredue reference is nade in the text of thethesis.I also consent to the thesis beingmade available for photocopyíng and loanfor the purpose of private research solong as any reference to the thesis isproperly acknowledged by the user asbeing the work of this author.He1en K. RusakINTRODUCTIONIn this thesis I will make a fu11 investigation of nusicapoetica theory. This branch of musical thought, whích had its genesisin the late 16th century and continued in the writings of Uth and IBthcenLury theorists, drew comparisons between rhetoric and music. Thefirst known use of the term musica poetica was in the treatise ofNicolas Listenius titled Rudimentia nusica published at Wittenberg inL533. He provided the following vague definition: "nusic which leavessomething after the labour of performance"(]). Subsequent discussionsof nusica poetica nake specific reference to rhetorical tecbnique anddraw an analogy between the art of rhetoric and nusical composition byborrowing terminology and nethodology from rhetoric.Musica poetica theory had its main focus in Germany at the tineof the Luthel'an Reformation, but although the Gernans h,ere the nostprolific in their writings on the relationship between musj-c andrhetoric, there were significant discussions of the sâme topic intheoretical tracts fron other areas of the Continent and in England.The main focus of this work will be upon musica poetica theory l_nGermany, although some reference will be made to other theorists. Ttrethesis, in the first instance, attenpts to deternine why there was agreater proliferation of tracts of this nature in Germany at, the timethan in other European musical centres. I will examine how closelynusical rhetoric draws for its sources on the authors of classicalrhetoric. For this, it is necessary to outline the main concepts inclassical rhetoric and make a comparison between these and musicapoetica defirjtions. The purpose of this is to comprehend üusicapoetica in its context.l-l_.I will then attempt to define the main principles of musicapoetica theory. An effort will be made to deternine whether nusicalrhetoric, or musica poetica theory is a useful tool for analysis byanalysing music of the period in terns of rhetoric. This is based onthe premise that music theory is historically relevant to nusic of theperiod. The purpose of the analysis will be to demonstrate that arhetorical approach to nusic provides certain insights into that musicand an understanding which other forns of analysis may not provide. Ifthis is the case, then such an analysis may be considered indiscussing a broader range of music fron the períod of the Renaissanceand the Baroque and nay perhaps have relevance beyond this.The thesis has been divided into two sections. Part I is adiscussion of the nusica poetica tracts It opens with a discussion ofthe intellectual climate in Lutheran Germany and the main features ofLuther's educational doctrines. The focus is on the Saxony region andin particular Wittenberg, the centre of Lutheran theology.A discussion of the musica poetica tracts is preceded by a briefoutline of the principles of classical rhetoric and discusses itsseminal authors. The musica poetica tracts are conpared. with theirsources to ascertain how closely the nusical theorists relied upon theteachings of the classical authors. As a part of this comparison aglossary of terms is constructed which includes a listing of terns anddefinitions found in nusica poetica tracts, set alongside theiroriginal rhetorical neaning.iii.Part II of the thesis provides an analysis of .I-,utheran motetpassions focussing specifically upon representative examples of thegenre. These have been chosen by the author for a number of reasonswhich will be outlined at the beginning of Part II. This section ofthe thesís also provides a historical perspective of the motet passionand includes illustrative musical exanples.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1V.Fo: this thesís I an indebted to the guidance of my supervisorProfessor Andrew Mc0redie, also for the contributions of andchallenging discussions with ny colleagues in nusicology at theUniversity of Adelaide. Mr Dene Barnett fron the School of Humanítiesof Flinders University of South Australia provided valuable insightinto rhetoric. I would also like to thank Professor Fennel fron theSchool of Huma¡ritíes at Flinders University for his assistance in thetranscription and translation of the Latin texts and Sue Griffithswhose assistance !{as invaluable regarding Gernan translations and proofreading in the final stages of the thesis. Special tha¡ks to Krys andStuart Main who committed nany hours of their ol,rln time seeing throughthe completion of thís thesis. Their patience and generosity has beengreatly appreciated and for this I am greatly indebted to them.

Rhetoric and the motet passion

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Rhetoric and the motet passion

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Rhetoric and the motet passion

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