Anthony Marini MUSIC AND RHETORIC - TWO POINTS OF VIEW

While the link between oratorical rhetoric and music (especially vocal music) may seem to be an obvious one, the amount of influence that these treatises on rhetoric had on musical composition and performance is a point of much contention. As pointed out by Don Harrn in his paper Toward a Rhetorical Code of Early Music Performance, most of the writing about the use of rhetoric in music has been restricted to the field of composition. In part, this leaves the question of how to apply rhetoric to music performance up to the speculation of scholars, including Harrn and the authors of the Grove article Rhetoric and Music (up to 1750), jointly authored by Blake Wilson and George J. Buelow. While these authors are at odds of the scope of rhetorics influence on music, they often seem to be describing similar ideas for how rhetoric can be applied to music, albeit with different terminology. In addition to discussing the similarities and differences between these two sources, this paper will examine an instrumental musical example from one of Bachs cantatas and show how the understanding of oratorical rhetoric can inform and affect the performance of such music. When examining the time period before 1600, it is hard to compare these two sources due to the fact that Harrn almost completely ignores earlier music when he writes notationally, the early repertory is the most uncertain in its content and therefore the most needing of specific guidelines for its performance (22). In contrast, however, Blake Wilson refers to Quintilians writing, which states that a well-trained orator must have knowledge of the principles of music, which have power to excite or assuage the emotions of mankind. Although Wilson writes at length regarding rhetoric and music in the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, most of the discussion of rhetoric in the music of the Middle Ages acknowledges that the basis for any performance-related argument is shaky at best, although a more firm correlation can be drawn between more theoretical aspects of medieval music and classic oratorical rhetoric. For example, Wilson writes that it would be possible to argue that the rhetorical technique of argument based on examples could be manifested in music as musical quotations found in plainchant-based polyphony, certain Ars Subtilior works and 15th-century imitation masses, although this would not be a conclusive link between the two ideas. It is much easier, however, to find the correlation between memoria (used to enhance pronuntiatio, or delivery) and mnemonic aids like the Guidonian hand and early notational practices such as neumes. Even Harrn acknowledges the role of rhetoric and music to this end in the medieval cathedral schools, where elementary reading and musical skills were needed for the performance fo the

liturgy, the curriculum was geared to language and music (along with arithmetic) as core studies (24). Wilson writes that medieval rhetoric tended to favor eloquence, which emphasized the technical and structural aspects of form (dispositio) and style (elocutio), noting later that many of the things that many scholars would point to as evidence of rhetorical influence of music (such as text underlay, accentuation, and syntactical alignment), are in fact more grammatical issues, and not having so much to do with the actual composition or performance of the music. When the advent of the mid-16th century rejection of the inflexible medieval precompositional structures, like the formes fixes in the secular chanson and cantus firmus techniques in the motet came about, the new-found freedom exercised by composers such as Josquin des Prez allowed a more profound effect of humanist rhetoric on music to emerge (Wilson). At this point in time, both articles begin to address the matter of rhetoric and its use in music composition and performance, but in different ways. Harrns paper, which is primarily dedicated to performance (or pronuntiatio), breaks down the relationship between rhetoric and music into four categories: accuracy, clarity, elegance, and compatibility (28). The Grove article, on the other hand, approaches the discussion by comparing the differing involvement of rhetoric and music in each time period (Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque), and subsequently discussing two of the major manifestations of rhetoric in music: musical figures and affects. While it may appear that these two approaches are incompatible for analysis, in fact they can be compared in the following fashion: the discussion of rhetoric in music from late Renaissance to Baroque and musical figures can be compared to the first three categories from Harrns paper (accuracy, clarity, and elegance), while the Grove articles section on affects can be compared to parts of Harrns writing about compatibility. Accuracy, in Harrns usage, is essentially the absence of defects and distractions. He breaks it down into three categories: the condition of the voice, pronunciation, and breathing. For the first category, as many other places in his paper, he describes in detail how [t]he voice should be free of speech defects, especially taking care that the qualities of the voice do not interfere with the accurate delivery for which the speaker should strive (28). In order to maintain this desired accuracy, the second category of pronunciation should be kept in mind, that all traces of a rustic or foreign accent are removed (28). The final category of breathing is especially interesting in that it must be more of a balance of multiple factors than ensuring that the breathing is neither too short in relation to the text nor too long (28). Such specifics are not addressed in Wilsons writing about medieval music, however he does point out situations in which maintaining the highest quality in these aspects of oration (or singing) would be of the utmost importance. In this context, he

discusses how the advent of novae poetriae created a new junction between rhetoric and poetry, and how these textual rhetorical devices were incorporated into the musical settings. Some specific compositional tools that he mentions include the alignment of cadence and rhyme, the coordination of tenor repetitions with significant words, and the alignment of matching vowels in polytextual works. It stands to reason then that, since the composer went to such great lengths to manage details as minute as the alignment of vowels in polytextual works, that it would require the three qualities of vocal condition, breathing, and especially pronunciation (in this example) in order to make these details apparent to the audience. Clarity, or the enunciation and punctuation of spoken language, are the second main point that Harrn discusses. According to him, this is composed of enunciation and punctuation, and in many ways bears a close resemblance to his writing about accuracy. He writes that the purpose of learning correct diction is to ensure that the words [are] articulated and each of their letters fully enunciated (29). One could easily imagine that this particular point maps very clearly to the category under accuracy regarding pronunciation. Wilson, unfortunately does not delve this deeply into the actual act of performance, but rather illustrates the rhetorical-musical bridge that existed in Renaissance music through vocal music. For example, when Wilson describes Josquins motet Ave Maria, virgo serena, he highlights the fact that it contains word-generated rhythms and melodic phrases, making the enunciation that Harrn describes a necessary part in the performance, if the audience is to understand the role of the text on the compositional process. In talking about punctuation, Harrn writes that [t]he speaker should clarify the syntactic structure through proper breathing and articulation (29). Again, this has a direct correlation to his writing in accuracy regarding breathing. He seems to expand on this idea of the frequency of breathing to signal that the speaker (and presumably musician) should also be aware of the length of the pauses, and decide on their length depending on whether they mark the conclusion of longer or shorter speech units (29). This is to not only clarify the words spoken, but also the idea being conveyed, since creating units that are easier to grasp may help structure a persuasive speech (or musical work) in such a way that an unfamiliar listener can understand and be moved. Interestingly, on both this point of clarity and the previous one of accuracy, Wilson bridges the gap between Quintilians writing about oratorical rhetoric and musical performance through the paraphrasing of the singing manuals of Coclico and Finck, in which accuracy (recte loquendum) was reinterpreted as rected cantandum (using proper accentuation, pronunciation, and text placement) and elegant speech was reinterpreted as florid singing (or cantus ornatus employing coloraturae). According to Harrn, elegance is composed of two pieces: the quality of sound and

the use of the voice. The former part belongs more, in some ways, to the previous two concepts of accuracy and clarity than this point of elegance, due to the continued goal of eliminating distractions for the listener by maintaining the most ideal voice. In this case, the ideal voice quality has a balance of three components: volume, stability, and suppleness. Volume, what he calls a gift of nature, is tied (for obvious reasons) to the art of breathing. In order to maintain the stability of this gift, one must take care of the voice by not forcing the voice, producing a screeching or shrieking sound, or keeping [the voice] at a uniformly loud level (30-31). Through careful practice, not only is this stability maintained, but flexibility is also gained. This latter piece specifically talks about variety in the way that the voice is used, in order to take advantage of its full range of tones and colors. This is not only for the benefit of the speaker (who can regain his strength by varying dynamics and style of production), but also for the refreshing of the ear of the listener (31). Although Harrn claims that the performance of music before 1600 cannot be examined from a rhetorical standpoint, his writing actually supports Wilsons article regarding Renaissance music. Despite the fact that Wilson writes Renaissance rhetoric favoured persuasion, when he goes on to discuss the manifestation of rhetoric in music of the mid- to late-Renaissance, the content seems to focus much more on this idea of elegance than the actual act of persuading the listener. For example, he quotes Tinctoris eighth rule of counterpoint (from his 15th century text Liber de arte contrapuncti), which he claims can be heard in Josquins music: As variety in the art of speaking most delights the hearer, so also in music a diversity of harmonies vehemently provokes the soul of listeners into delight... Returning to Harrn, he writes about how Quintilian not only directly describes variety as the essence of good delivery (in dynamic level, sound quality, presentation style, etc.), but also directly ties it to music when he writes that any voice that covers the full range of inflexions and modulations is like an instrument equipped with every stop (31-32). Cicero also compares the use of the voice to the way of playing a string instrument, specifically likening the musical ideas of legato and staccato, as well as diminuendo and crescendo, to the various ways of producing an interesting speech (32). Wilson also points out an equally obvious equating of oration to musical performance when he quotes Vicentinos text Lantica musica ridotta alla moderna prattica from the 16th century, in which he writes: Now [the orator] speaks loudly, now softly, and more slowly, and more rapidly, and with this he moves the listeners very much The same ought to be in music. While this supports Harrns premise that variety in the voice contributes to elegance, it directly opposes his claim that one is unable to examine rhetorical influence on musical performance for music written before 1600. The fourth and final category belonging to Harrns breakdown of pronuntiatio is compatibility. This category begins with three sub-categories from Aristotle that strongly

resemble his first three points, all describing in detail how to give the most perfect oration using very quantifiable characteristics, but continues on to discuss a more fluidly-defined sub-category of Harrns own making: mood. Aristotles three sub-categories are volume, harmony and rhythm. In essence, all of these items have been covered before. Volume refers to dynamics, harmony to the quality (and variety) of sound, and rhythm to the tempo and pacing of speech (33). What makes this different from similar mentions earlier in Harrns paper is that now, the underlying principle being examined is that the delivery should be adapted to the subjects of the speech (32). Using this new point-of-view, one can further examine what Quintilian writes about dynamics and sound quality. For example, when the words are expressing violence or calm, the volume of sound of the voice should increase or decrease respectively. In a similar way, the timbre and overall quality of the voice should be modified in accordance with the continual development of the oration. The author of Rhetorica ad Herennium (who is unknown), also writes about sound quality when he describes the different tones of conversation, and even considers it reasonable to add a modest and good-natured laugh at the end of a passage in the facetious tone (3334). This anonymous author also writes that tempo is subject to similar consideration. In addition, he discusses tempo on both a broad and granular level, mentioning that [t]empo concerns the pacing of larger portions of material as well as the smaller agogic changes that occur within sentences or their component clauses (34). While it is important to discuss (and less often written about) how rhetoric influences musical performance, it is also useful to consider the influence on composition. In discussing how the subject of the speech affects the oration, one can easily see how, in almost every type of music, the content of the text affects the composition. For example, Buelow writes in the Grove articles section on musical figures: word-painting occurs in music as early as medieval plainchant and continues unabated in the music of today. This technique, also known as madrigalisms due to its frequent appearance in Italian madrigals from the 16th century and later, is the epitome of writing music based on the meaning of the underlying text. For example, if the text is speaking of hell, the music may be very low, or if it is speaking of something trembling, perhaps the music would contain a figure like a trill to signify this idea of shaking. The final part of Harrns dissection of compatibility departs from the more quantitative aspects of oration discussed previously and forges into a more subjective concept: mood. He acknowledges that [m]ood would seem to subsume all other aspects of performance in that it colors all of the different aspects of oration mentioned earlier, however he claims that it can be considered separately because of its effect on the general character of the delivery (34). Harrn tries later in his paper to explain how this general character (or as he calls it later, general expression) is manifest in the act of speaking. In

paraphrasing Cicero, Harrn writes, To each emotion there is its own natural expression, which... should be reflected in the voice, the body, and the face (35). To make a connection to the musical realm, he also quotes Cicero directly, writing that the emotions are like the strings of a lyre, sounding as they are struck by the affections of the soul (35). Wilson writes about the compositional application of such thought as it is discussed in Gaffurius Practica musice from 1496, in when he insists that a composer of a song should take care that words are set in an appropriate way to music, and that the mode should be selected to that end. This leads into the discussion of the affects. In fact, Harrn disregards the affects, or Affektenlehre, as those that belong less to rhetoric than to poetics, in its ancient sense as verbal, or in this case, musical composition (21-22). However, if one is to examine Harrns discussion of mood next to Buelows writing about affects, some parallels can be drawn in addition to the expected differences, at least from a compositional standpoint. For example, Buelow writes that All the elements of music - scales, rhythm, harmonic structure, tonality, melodic range, forms, instrumental colour and so on - were interpreted affectively. While it can not be directly applied to Harrns text since he does not address the influence of mood on composition, one can infer from his paraphrase from Cicero above that a composer reflecting the emotion (or mood) in all the elements of music (as Buelow writes) would be synonymous to an orator reflecting the same in all aspects of their own natural expression. However, this is where the similarities end. Since Harrn rejects the idea of affects having a rhetorical influence on composition, this means that he also categorically rejects all of Buelows writing about the use of the affects in Baroque music. Buelow writes that the composer was obliged, like the orator, to arouse in the listener idealized emotional states, and that to compose music with a stylistic and expressive unity based on an affect was a rational, objective concept, not the spontaneous emotional creativity and responses from the 19th century. Harrn, on the other hand, places the burden of transmitting the intended emotion (or affect) not on the composer, but on the performer when he writes that [a]ll these moods have their own dynamics, tones of voice, tempi, and general expression (35). He further strengthens the role of the orator (instead of the oration itself) in writing that only when the orator is emotionally involved can he expect to awaken the emotions of his audience, and that the emotional speech must derive from the speakers identification with the emotions (27). Despite Harrns exclusion of affects from the involvement of rhetoric in music, Buelow compliments Wilsons paraphrasing of Gaffurius (quoted above) when he reminds of an idea far preceding the baroque, the idea of four temperaments or humours. He writes, The connection with the ancient concept of the four temperaments or humours should not be overlooked, and the ancient Greeks wrote at great length about the control of human emotions. they believed that music possessed an ethical force, or ethos, that was

bound together with the modes. Eventually, this joining of ethos with modes created theories of affects being associated with keys, such as in Matthesons Neu-erffnete Orchestre of 1713, as well as a theory of intervals as related to the Affects. While it seems like there is almost no common ground between Harrn and Buelow, in the end Buelow speaks of the influence of the concept of affects on the performer where one can see that both authors are simply striving to find a way to explain the role of the performer in moving the audience, be it through manipulating affects or allowing mood to color performance. Buelow paraphrases Caccini, who writes that the musical goal of the singer became the moving of the affects of the soul, as well as paraphrasing Michael Praetorius: a singer must not simply sing but must perform in an artful and graceful manner so as to move the heart of the listener and to move the affects. While looking at these different approaches to the involvement of rhetoric in music is important to understand the concepts at work, one must also be reasonable and consider the practical application of said concepts, especially when considering instrumentalists, who lack the rhetorical driver of text. Buelow writes that, [w]hile it was easier to appreciate [the affective purpose] in music associated with a text, the aim in instrumental music was the same. Harrn also acknowledges the conflict by noting Ganassis remark that the ideal instrumental performer is one who looks to the singer for a model, but also mentioning that the instrumental repertory, to the extent that it deprives us of textual aids as a directive to its performance, poses special semantic problems with noticeable ramifications on the way the music is executed (40). Taking into account the difficulty of applying rhetoric in a categorical way to text-less music, it only makes sense to then apply it to instrumental music that contains text, such as an aria with an obbligato violin line. Before this, though, it is useful to return to Harrns paper, where he distills his paper into six general conclusions that he has derived from the previously-discussed rhetorical directives: (1) The performer must be gifted, well trained, and totally involved; (2) The performer must observe all instructions understood from the musical notation; (3) He must bring his own interpretation; (4) He must perform in a way that suits his own abilities; (5) He must self-identify with the content and emotion of the work; and (6) Each performance must be a new and exciting learning experience (42). These conclusions are relatively vague and apply only to the actual act of performing and not the thought that goes into making musical choices, so one must compliment Harrns distillation with Buelows writing regarding word-painting, discussed above. The example that will be analyzed in this paper is the bass aria from Bachs cantata for Palm Sunday, Himmelsknig, sei willkommen (BWV 182) including the violin obbligato line. The first thing that can be noticed on a broad scale is the concept of three types of

rhetorical roles that the violin plays in relation to the solo bass part: that of text foreshadowing, dialogue with the soloist, and accompaniment of the soloist. In the first bars of the aria, as in many arias by Bach and other composers of his day, the main musical ideas used by the vocalist are introduced by the instrumentalists, in this case, by the violin. Then, upon the entrance of the bass soloist, the violin switches roles to a more conversational one, trading the opening motive with the soloist. In this aria, the soloist and violin are both equally important throughout most of the aria, with the exception of the final statement of Das dich, groer Gottessohn, von dem Thron deiner Herrlichkeit getrieben, which is the only spot where the violinist assumes an accompaniment role in this aria. Analyzing now only the solo violin part (and in doing so, acknowledging the harmonies of the continuo part), the word-painting through mode choices is exceedingly obvious: when the singers text is describing the powerful love and glory of the Son of God the music is in a major mode, and when the text describes the sacrifice of the Son of God, the music changes to a major mode. On a more granular level, one can even identify the whole arias structure in the opening statement of the violin line (seen below), which recurs several times in various keys throughout the piece.

(violin part from bass aria of BWV 182) If one looks at the text of the piece, it starts by describing the Son of Gods powerful love and glory, continues by describing His sacrifice, and closes by restating His powerful love and glory. When this form is compared with the overall mode-scheme of the aria, one sees a similar three-section breakdown: major mode - minor mode - major mode. And on the final level, one can even see in this opening statement that the same mode-scheme is applied: from bar 1 beat 2 until the end of bar 2 beat 1 is in the major mode, continuing until the end of the first eighth note in bar 4 is in the minor mode, and the remainder returns to the same major mode as the very beginning. Moving beyond the word-painting and mode-scheme, one can already look at this section of the violin part and compare it to the opening of the vocal line in order to understand better how to articulate and shape the phrase. For example, if one did not understand the correlation of the singers text with this violin line, he or she might add the same kind of articulation after every slur, especially since the two-note slur occurs so much in this aria. However, knowing the word placement in the vocal line allows

the violinist to know that there should be very little articulation between the first two slurs since these are all part of one word, starkes, and that the goal of the first idea (in the major key) is the third quarter note of the first measure, not coincidentally where the word lieben, or love falls in the text of the vocal line. By aligning this important word with the place of a natural accent (for music of the baroque), Bach emphasizes the powerful nature of the Son of Gods love. The issue of rhetoric and music is a perplexing one, when one understands the plethora of perspectives that this discussion can be viewed from, breaking down into the two categories of composition and performance. These two papers, while both presenting very well-informed and carefully constructed arguments, maintain fundamentally different perspectives on the same issue, meaning that at times they say the same thing in different ways, and at other times, they discuss a similar subject in such drastically different ways that it is almost impossible to compare them. In this way, one can see that Harrns paper, primarily concerned with the rhetoric as it applies to musical performance, is very detailed about the pronuntiatio division of musical and verbal discourse, but lacks the overall explanation of how rhetoric might apply to other divisions. The Grove article, on the other hand, is missing the detail of each of the divisions, but offers a composition-focused view of the overall concept of applying rhetoric to all parts of understanding music from the baroque period and earlier.