Type of Submission
Podium Presentation
Keywords
Baroque Music, affections, Doctrine of Affections, passions, key, intervals, tempo
Abstract
This paper attempts to prove that throughout the Baroque period, the Doctrine of Affections governed musical composition through the musical elements of intervals, key, and tempo. This Baroque practice of relating music with various emotions dates back to ancient Greece and the teachings of the four temperaments, which were each associated with specific affections. Music allegedly had the ability to arouse these affections within the individual to produce an intended emotional response. Through the careful examination of the works of prominent Baroque composers and philosophers such as Johann Mattheson, J. S. Bach, and Antonio Vivaldi, this paper demonstrates how the Doctrine of Affections had an undeniable influence upon the overwhelming majority of Baroque music. Specifically, intervals, depending on their size and direction, can evoke emotions ranging from fear and sorrow to joy and excitement. Likewise, certain key signatures suggest gloom and darkness, while others impart feelings of elation and security. The Baroque philosophers, Johann Mattheson and Johann Joachim Quantz even completed comprehensive guides that outline the various musical elements and their affective uses. Although the examples cited in the paper only represent a minuscule sample out of the overwhelming breadth of Baroque music, they offer a useful framework for understanding Baroque works as a whole.
Campus Venue
Stevens Student Center, Room 241
Location
Cedarville, OH
Start Date
4-12-2017 1:30 PM
End Date
4-12-2017 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
PowerPoint
Baroque Music and the Doctrine of Affections Handout.pdf (322 kB)
Handout
Baroque Music and the Doctrine of Affections: Putting the Affections into Effect
Cedarville, OH
This paper attempts to prove that throughout the Baroque period, the Doctrine of Affections governed musical composition through the musical elements of intervals, key, and tempo. This Baroque practice of relating music with various emotions dates back to ancient Greece and the teachings of the four temperaments, which were each associated with specific affections. Music allegedly had the ability to arouse these affections within the individual to produce an intended emotional response. Through the careful examination of the works of prominent Baroque composers and philosophers such as Johann Mattheson, J. S. Bach, and Antonio Vivaldi, this paper demonstrates how the Doctrine of Affections had an undeniable influence upon the overwhelming majority of Baroque music. Specifically, intervals, depending on their size and direction, can evoke emotions ranging from fear and sorrow to joy and excitement. Likewise, certain key signatures suggest gloom and darkness, while others impart feelings of elation and security. The Baroque philosophers, Johann Mattheson and Johann Joachim Quantz even completed comprehensive guides that outline the various musical elements and their affective uses. Although the examples cited in the paper only represent a minuscule sample out of the overwhelming breadth of Baroque music, they offer a useful framework for understanding Baroque works as a whole.
