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From my archives: a paper on rhetoric and music

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From my archives: a paper on rhetoric and music

PostMon Oct 26, 2015 12:23 pm

RHETORICAL PARTS OF SPEECHES, SERMONS AND MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS

A Historical Overview
By Adri de Groot, Ph.D.

PREFACE
This present study is concerned with one particular facet of the way in which rhetorical principles were applied to music. Already many studies have been undertaken in recent years which focus on the rhetorical figures, which form the smallest units of any given speech, sermon or composition. However, little has been done to discover the more global structures of such works.
It was customary in the past to divide a speech, sermon and in many cases a musical composition, into several parts. One could call it a layout in modern terms. Although the rhetorical figures stand independent (at least, this is ascertained at the moment by most scholars) of the layout, an adequate understanding of the layout in music will be very helpful in coming to grips with many musical works. If these rhetorical principles are fully known, we may even be able to determine if a musical work was ever finished or not, whether later editions reversed the order of the movements (this has happened!) and to determine the possible reasons why the work was composed as such.
The purpose behind this study is to get more acquainted with this so-called layout, to which too little attention has been paid in recent studios. In Appendices I and II, I have provided some more detailed information of the differences between rhetoricians of the past in designing this layout, and information on the possible complexity of such layout.
As can easily be deduced from Appendix I, in the discussion of the parts in the actual body of this paper, many of the names an d parts may have been skipped. This has been merely done for two reasons: either the rhetoricians only mentioned the parts but never discussed them, or their books were simply not available to me for study. Hence, this study is far from complete, since the area of rhetorical studies treads much virgin territory. It tries to be just one step into the right direction; more it cannot claim.
Whenever the name of Harald Vogel is mentioned, it refers to the notes I took during a lecture at Old West Church, Boston on November 18, 1978, entitled :"The concept of musical rhetoric in Baroque organ music." Although these notes needed expansion through research, they yet formed the basic object of interest and basic source of information.
© Adri de Groot, 2012

CHAPTER ONE: HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

Until deep into the eighteenth century, rhetoric was a common part of one's education, in Lyceums and Universities throughout western Europe.
It is difficult to determine when this teaching of rhetoric started, but many scholars credit it to the rediscovery of Marcus Fabius Quintilian's Institutio Oratoria in 1416. However, other classics on rhetoric were at hand from Aristotle's and Cicero's oevre, to mention only a few major writers.
In the Middle Ages, one distinguished between so-called pagan and Christian rhetoric. Pagan rhetoric was centered on man and secular matters, obeying the law of secular history, promoting the values, promises and rewards that one could enjoy in this world.
Christian rhetoric, on the other hand, was a God-centered, spiritual concern, governed by the laws of salvation-history (Heilsgschichte), promising not the temporal enjoyments of pagan rhetoric, but the eternal rewards of the life to come. In other words "Christian rhetoric is concerned not only with sounds but particularly with the hidden meaning of words, for it presumes that there is some aspect of divine mystery in the res significance, and it thus seeks those invisiblia Dei. By finding a higher significance, a spiritual level, under the veil of the word, man can communicate with God." 1
This may well explain why rhetoric stayed alive so long in European Christian civilization and found its rooting in other disciplines. What originally, in Greek classical circles had been used for legal and political purposes, now became the tool for preachers, dramatists, authors of literature and poetry and even composers of music.
The German Reformation provided the link of music and rhetoric. This synthesis was usually called Musica Poetica, which became the title of several books by different authors. As a German Reformation phenomenon, it was directly linked with Martin Luther's thoughts on music. Ho believed it to be a gift of God, a donum Dei. As such, music was an expression of one's faith, a vehicle for prayer and praise. Music stood thus next to theology in its role to proclaim the Gospel; to give it weight, grandeur, importance, etc.
Whereas music before the Renaissance had been taught as a part of the Quadrivium (and thus considered to belong among geometry, arithmetic and astronomy), during the Renaissance it became closely allied with the disciples of the Trivium, which were grammar, rhetoric and dialectics (philosophy).
The Wittenberg schoolmaster Nicolaus Listenius (fl. 1530) was the first to start the argument that music could express-in sounds what rhetoric could do in words. His book Musica became one of the many textbooks for lessons in musical composition, now taught in German classrooms. The Musica Poetica or Ars Compositionis was something totally new on the educational scene, since music was now taught more as a communicative activity than as a numerical science. In Protestant Germany, where music was to communicate Scripture, the need to teach it as a communicative art was automatically created and hence, the integration of rhetoric and music quickly developed to maturity in the Baroque era.2
In other countries, especially in England, rhetoric was readily applied to music as well since the late 16th century.3
The French Revolution may well be "blamed" for the decline of rhetoric with all its integrations in other disciplines. Somehow the roots for such a revolution are found since the mid-l8th century. The spirit of the times was to start something new, to therefore break off from the past and from past rules and regulations. One wanted to be more free in one's expressions, and not follow such predictable schemes, such as rhetoric, among other things, would dictate. To make a long story short, the consequences of this spirit of freedom of self-expression were enormous. Its effects were felt everywhere, from politics to the performing arts.
In the area of rhetoric, we see the old principles disappearing quickly or becoming enormously simplified to even naive levels. Most books on rhetoric no longer made mention of the old ideas and eventually were forgotten. It is therefore not surprising that in some dictionaries on music, the term rhetoric was no longer listed at all.
Our time has seen a renewed academic and also popular interest in the past, e.g. today we listen to classical music, read literature, drama and visit museums, or even collect antiques.
Part of reviving and "reliving" the past can only be done through the performing arts. However, this re-creation through these arts is useless if the past is not understood correctly or in depth. Too many superficial representations and recreations take place, which somehow have not been able to attract a larger audience. For example, the sale of classical music CDs in the United States is only about 5% or less of total music sales. The reason for this is two-fold. First, according to Guenther Schueller-, the American people do not have a real democratic choice (i.e., they are not equally exposed to all the different kinds of musics (his terminology) that exist in this world, whether modern or classical) and are largely ignorant of classical music; and secondly, in my opinion, the majority of classical music performances are frankly boring, due to the ignorance of the rhetorical principles of the past, which made music so alive, for these principles dictated its every aspect: emotion, phrasing, breathing, articulation, tempo, making of effects such as surprise and humor, etc. Linked with these rather dull performances today is the fact that many ensembles (some of which are too dominant) never play the music on old or copied instruments (popularly called "original instruments"), which should truly be requirement numero uno. The change of timbre, through the use of modern instruments is so drastic that it completely bypasses the original composition. Furthermore, classical music concerts lack humor for the most part. Yet, many compositions of the past did not take music making all that serious, i.e., they performed to entertain people, not to stimulate their intellectual knowledge of the music.
Despite those modern shortcomings, many good attempts are being made today to revive the old principles and stop the trend of boredom and ignorance and misrepresentation.
Both in the field of performance, where more and more people turn into so-called "purists", and in the field of research, where more and more people are investigating these principles, efforts are thus made to represent the past as much as possible as past. Needless to say, it can only be done by approximation, keeping yet in mind that in the past no two performances of the same piece of music, or poems, or whatever, were ever the same.
As my friend Stef Tuinstra, a musicologist-organist, once told me: "The right performance does not in the first place depend on the right technique, right instrument -although they are primary requirements - but on a. different way of thinking and approaching the material. It is this thinking and approaching that we have forgotten in history, but which is clearly laid out in so many available treatises of the past."
It can thus be my only hope that we can come to understand these past thoughts and approaches, and help our age to come to a fuller understanding and appreciation of the past; and if we are involved in the performing arts of music, preaching, poetry reading or acting in a play, come to inspiring, at times very humorous and even spiritually elevating performances.
Since, in our pluralistic society, we can never copy the past, I believe that the principle of approximation-as-sincerest effort is indeed the best; a statement I feel more than I intellectually accept after exposure to such good approximations.

CHAPTER TWO: GENERAL RHETORICAL PRINCIPLES
Rhetoricians, preachers, composers and all those who used rhetoric in part or in whole, wore confronted with several tasks. One had to invent, develop, decorate and deliver an idea/creation (or have it delivered by performers who were professionally trained to do so, as in the case of drama and music). These tasks were, in their Latin names, and which were most commonly used:
Inventio
Dispositio , or Elaboratio
Elocutio, or Decoratio
Memoria (mostly optional)
Pronunciatio, or Elocutio or Actio
As we see, some different tasks had the same name, yet meaning different things or similar things, as we shall see below.
Johann Mattheson (1681-1764), a very influential music theorist from Hamburg, described these tasks for the music composer to be:
Dispositio (Einrichtung = Layout, Plan, Outline), Elaboratio (Ausarbeitung = Layout, Body), and Decoratio (Zierde = Decorations). 6
Leonard Cox, a 16th century English rhetorician, inserted a "judgement" between the Inventio and the Dispositio.
Keeping in mind the crossovers in meaning, let us now examine what these Latin terms actually mean.
Inventio
"The fyrste (task) is called Invencyon, for he must fyrste of al imagyne or inuent in his mynde what he shall saye." 8 These words are Leonard Cox's. More specifically, the invention pertains to the discovery and invention of ideas, arguments and other contents which can be used for forensic purposes. The common places of inventions were often called by their Latin names the topoi or loci topoci.
In music we would be inclined more to talk about inspiration and creativity, although these elements are not absent from oratorical creations. An excellent description of how the invention relates to music is found in Johann Mattheson's Der Volkommene Kapelmeister.9
Judgment
"The .ii. is named iudgement for he muste haue wyt to discerne and iudge whether tho thinges that he hathe founde in his mynde be convenient to the purpose or not for often tymes yf a man lake thys propriete he may as well tell that that is agynste hym as with him as experience doth dayly shew. "10
These words are again Cox's. His basic concern is to check whether these things that one has found are usable for forensic purposes, in order to prevent making foolish remarks; something that Cox assures was frequently the case with orators in his day.
Dispositio or Elaboratio
"Inuencion helpeth to finde matter, and Disposicion serueth to place arguments."11
The words are Thomas Wilson's, an English rhetorician of the 16th century. In other words, the disposition is the due arrangement of the parts of a speech or argument or sermon. In musical composition, the creator must find the best way to put his ideas together in a coherent, pleasing and musical way. Actually such tasks apply to all, in Cox's words: "The . iii. is dysposycyon wherby he maye knowe how to ordre and set everythy thynges in his due place..."12
There are several parts to the disposition, prescribed by the rhetorical rules. This layout plan will be discussed below as the main concern of research of this study.
Elocutio
"Elocuion is an appliying of apte wordes and sentences to the matter founds out to confirme the cause."13
These words are again Wilson's. Elocution is similar to eloquence, for it deals with oratorical expression (form) of the thoughts; the verbalization of the material at hand. It deals with the style and genre, not with the matter or content. Included are such considerations as appropriate and effective expression, use of figures of speech, tropes, grammatical construction, sentence formation, etc.
The term "style" applies vary well to music as well. As it deals with the "beautiful placing of words", in music it deals with the "beautiful placing of notes." Some scholars place musical figures under this heading, but others place it under Pronunciatio.
In the "beginning of the development of rhetoric in the Renaissance, the elocution was often called dispositio, but later the only terms used were elocutio or decoratio.
Memoria
"The memorie therefore must "be sherished, the which is a fast holdyng, bothe of matter and woordes couched together, to confirme any cause."14
The remark is by the Renaissance rhetorician Thomas Wilson and the memoria is the only heading not dealt with by Baroque rhetoricians on music. Since the musicians played from notes (the idea of playing from memory is a 19th century phenomenon), memoria naturally did not apply to music.
Pronunciatio, Elocutio, or Actio
"Pronunciation is an apte orderinge both of the voyce, countenaunce, and all the whole bodye, accordyinge to the worthines of such woordes and mator as by speache are declared……Pronunciation, being that which either makes or mars the most excellent speech….The .iiii. and is such thynges Iaste as he hathe Inuentid and by uidgement knowen apte to his purpose when they ar set in theyr ordre so to speke them that it maye be pleasant and delectable to the audience....And this laste propriete is called amonge lernyd men eloquence." 17
"By Pronunciation, the Ancients understood both Elocution and Action; and comprehended in it the right Management of Voice, Looks and Gesture."18
Hence, Pronunciatio is oratorical utterance, elocution, eloquence, delivery, specifically elegant and well-pronounced delivery. It included such things as proper dress, gestures, body language, facial expressions and any other imaginable factors which would ameliorate the performance. And clearly, these prescriptions equally apply to the spoken, and the sung word, as well as to instrumental musical performances.
In recent studies, least attention has "been paid to the Dispositio, and the majority of literary or musical performers are also ignorant of the rhetorical figures of the elocutio. We will now examine them both in the next two chapters.
CHAPTER THREE: THE DISPOSITIO
In most texts the divisions of a speech or musical work are listed as "being under the Dispositio, although in some texts they are listed under the Inventio. Since there is no basic difference in meaning and in the divisions as such, such difference in subhead placement is not threatening at all, but may well indicate a creative process.
The Dispositio/Inventio, then lists all the parts of a speech or composition. In modern terms we could well speak of a layout, a certain plan to follow, one that follows a certain sequence. This sequence was not, however, to be done according to the whim of the rhetorician, but according to set rules.
The parts of a speech were set in a, what I would like to call, psycho-logical order with the purpose of making the speech a successful event, one that could be followed by others and which would be convincing as well. This psycho-logical sequence tries to follow the reasoning mind of the audience and thus bind them with the speaker in an inseparable fashion. In preaching this was of course most important, so that the preacher could not only tell and convey God's truth, the Gospel, but moreover, would be able to convert, or "indoctrinate" the flock and hence, save souls. In music a certain logic was also necessary, in order to make musical sense, and also to bind the audience to the music in a non-separable fashion. Because of rhetoric, at least in part, we have grown accustomed to certain cadences and typical modulations in music of the Renaissance through the Baroque era. It is my contention that, when these rhetorical principles started to rapidly disappear in the early 19th century, music became a far more personal expression of the composers, with less emphasis on trying to convince one's audience, in order to please them in totally new ways. A giant like Beethoven is a perfect example of a pioneer of this new approach, which was truly revolutionary. No wonder that the audiences became more and more violent in performance halls and even walked out or booed when they disliked a new composition. However, it must be added here that the emergence of symphonies and public concert halls, to which the middle and even lower classes could eventually attend contributed to such developments.
Among the rhetoricians, there was no complete agreement about into how many parts exactly the layout should be divided. Some differences were caused because some rhetoricians subdivided some elements, which others treated independently. In short, there is again an underlying unity of ideas, especially as far as the psycho-logical substructure is concerned. Differences were also caused by the purpose for which the rhetorical principles wore going to used.
Let us now summarize how the main rhetoricians divided their dispositio/inventio Aristotle's division was fourfold: prooimion, prosthesis, pistis and epilogos. When rhetoric was introduced to Europe, Latin terms were used, relying therefore on Cicero and Quintillian, who respectively divided the dispositio into: Exordium, Narratio, Divisio or Partitio, Confirmatio, Confutatio or Reprehensio, and Peroratio or Conclusio, and : Exordium, Narratio, Probatio, Refutatio and Peroratio. 20
In most writings we can discern up to seven parts (i.e. I have not discovered in any text more than seven, only less): Exordium, Narratio, Propositio, Divisio, Confirmatio, Confutatio, and Peroratio. The already mentioned great rhetorician and musician Johann Mattheson prescribed six parts to the Divisio: Exordium, Narratio, Propositio, Confirmatio, Confutatio and Peroratio. Gregory Butler, who has studied rhetorical principles in music, sees the historically most occurring situation of the rhetorical application as follows: Exordium, Medium and Finis, whereby the Medium has these five subparts: Narratio, Propositio, Divisio, Confirmatio and Confutatio.22
The advantage of this model is that it teaches us that the narratio through the confutatio can be parts of a medium, i.e., a greater whole, rather than, as in Mattheson's model, equally important to the Exordium and Finis (Peroratio). However, nothing is fixed rigidly in these rhetorical handbooks, and both models and many more variants on the theme are possible without conflict.
On this non-rigidity, Hugh Blair (I7l8-l800) wrote: "I do not mean that each of those [Blair lists six parts: exordium or introduction, the state and the division of the subject, narration or explication, the reasoning or arguments, the pathetic part and the conclusion] must enter always in this order. There is no reason for being so formal on every occasion; nay, it would often be a fault, and would render a discourse pedantic or stiff."23
Although Blair may primarily be warning new students of rhetoric against stiffness, it may also be an indication of a reaction against then existing legalistic trends, for common sense would tell us that such dual reading of rules most likely was present.
These parts can be subdivided many times, but for reasons of space we will limit them to the most prevailing ones. All the many parts used in the Greek and Roman classical literature did not survive their time in full detail anyway. (see Appendix I for more information.)
A. The Exordium
1. In Rhetoric
a. Definitions
Other names used for exordium are: promiom, prooemium, prologue, principium and introduction.
Aristotle gives a good, basic definition: "The prooimion is the Beginning of a speech, like a prologue in poetry, and a prelude in flute playing; for all these are beginnings, and pave the way, as it were, for what follows."24
Thomas Wilson added to this statement that the introduction is not just a preparation, but also should bind the audience to the speaker with great interest.25

b. Direct Approaches
i) Principium.
Cicero describes the principium as follows: "The prlncipium is a speech which immediately and in plain language makes the listener benevolent, receptive, or attentive."26
These three tasks, also called benevolos, attentos and dociles were very important, especially the last one, since during the Renaissance and Baroque period the didactic, moralizing role of the arts was very prevalent. This was of course also very true for the preachers, who not only wanted their flock to be inclined to learn, but also to be converted and saved by the Word of God.
Although the texts on rhetoric give many ideas of how one could produce a direct exordium, much always depended on the kind of audience at hand, and the purpose for which they gathered or were gathered.
ii) Exordium ex Abrupto
This "impassioned outburst of indignation, grief, joy or other strong feeling"27 can form a powerful opening statement. It should be limited, Feeney advices, to exceptional circumstances, such as local or national events which have great emotional impact. Since under other circumstances a. wild introduction followed by a calm speech would not attract people's attention.28
c. Indirect Approaches
i) Insinuatio
According to Thomas Wilkins, this method is employed in three different situations. First, "when our case is much as to prejudice the mind of the hearer against us;" second, "when he seems to have been won over already by our opponent"; and, third, "when he [i.e., the opponent] has already been wearied by him." 29
The theme, therefore, should run counter to natural feeling or acquired antipathies, Feeney advices.30 Furthermore, this method is useful for less confident or loss popular speakers.
The insinuation is constructed in such a way, that by means of a clever psychological method (insinuation, subordination, surprise, sudden attack, dissimilation, indirection, unobtrusiveness, and even a joke) the sub-consciousness of the audience is influenced in a, for the speaker favorable, way, so that slowly the basis for sympathy gaining is prepared. Thus, much .attention is paid to developing benevolos in the process.
d. Other Kinds of Exordia
i) The Grand Introduction
According to Feeney, this kind of introduction starts on an elevated plane of thought. "In terse, inspiring, original language it enunciates some sublime truth which is made the background or setting for the special view given of it in the development of the theme"31 Feeney further comments that preachers rarely use this method out of fear that they cannot continue in the same vain, or out of fear that the audience will not be .able to give continued attention to such kind of preaching. Rather than starting big and then becoming smaller, he suggests that it is done the other way .around, as Cicero suggested in his maxim "Semper crescat augeatureque oratio." 32
ii) Logical Introduction
Although the general idea is clear from the adjective, the main principle behind it is that all teaching should advance from the unknown to the known.33 Feeney suggests that this kind of introduction should contain an incident, example, and/or parable which suggests the theme to be expanded. Thus, a contrast should exist between this introduction and the main body of a speech.34
iii) Popular Type of Introduction
This approach consists of allowing the audience to have a brief insight into the main body of the speech by means of deduction. One can either tell the subject to which the theme belongs, tell the theme itself or a special point of view, or give a brief outline of the mode of treatment. It is like showing a painting in dim light. The rest of the speech consist then of making this light brighter and brighter.
The advantage of this approach is clarity, but the obvious drawback is that for some people the introduction will reveal too much too soon, .and for the duration of the speech or sermon their attention will be lost; they already have the conclusions drawn up which they can and will hear at the end. 35
c. Dual Exordia
According to Quintillian, a second exordium could be inserted before the argumentatio,parallel to the above described types of exordia which take place before the narratio. Such a second exordium was called an insinuatio by Cicero, while he called the opening a principium. However, the insinuatio could also serve at the beginning. Hence, some rhetoricians use a Principium at the beginning and an insinuatio before the argumentation, also called confirmatio.36 In the older Roman rhetoric schemes, this would mean that the second exordium, or insinunatio, would follow actually after the narratio.

2. In Music
a. Definitions
According to Joachim Burmeister, a prominent rhetorician and musician, "The Exordium is the first section or affective period of the composition, for the most part embellished with a fuga, by which the ears and mind of the listener are rendered attentive to the music and his sympathy is captured."37
Johann Mattheson, another prominent music theoretician wrote: "Exordium is the introduction and beginning of a melody in which its purpose and intention are shown in order to prepare the listener and to arouse his attention.38
According to Harald Vogel, the opening statement is like the raising of the curtain in the theatre; everyone is full of anticipation of what will happen once it goes up. There may even be some acrobatic activity by some clowns; for example, there may be shouting of words. People are made to laugh or put at ease or under suspense. Musically, the same kind of thing can take place.
As with the pure rhetoric application, the exordium in music also exists for the purpose of creating benevolence and attention. The didactic purpose was easily present in the texts of vocal music, but is naturally less apparent, not necessarily absent, in instrumental works.
b. "Plenum" and "Nudum"
"But the exordium of musical compositions is twofold, viz. full and bare (i.e. principium and insinuatio). "Full" (plenum) is when all the voices begin at the same time...In such exordia certain voices sometimes consist of imperfect consonances. We call an exordium "bare" (nudum) when all voices do .not break at the same time, but procede one after the other in series. Such exordia are generally formed from imitations (fugis)…39
These words are Gallus Dressler's (fl. 1560). The insinuatio or nudum type could and would often be constructed as an unnotated crescendo, i.e., more and more voices are added to the melodic line. This crescendo building was sometimes also considered as a going from nudum to plenum . This process is especially helpful in the building up of fugues, which were to follow the first opening statements of the music. The nudum is thus like the insinuatio of pure rhetoric, because the music is introduced indirectly and does not hear the direct introduction of all the voices at once.40
Although Cicero prescribed the exordium to be grave and dignified, to which J.A. Herbst and Kircher agreed, this is not always the case with all exordia in music. This "grave" did not only ask for a slow tempo, but also for low dynamics, low pitch and a stilus antiqua (old style). Such rhetoric rule is applied when the exordium goes from nudum to plenum, by means of a "poco a poco crescendo (gradual increase of volume).41 Hence, the fugues were often composed in the older style of the past. Thus, the grave types seem to belong exclusively to the insinuato types, although some works open with single melodic lines on low pitch, but are not necessarily slow or soft; instead, they can be very loud and in bravura style (e.g. an opening pedal solo for the organ).
The fugues also traditionally exemplified the "learned style", i.e., it expressed the didactic, docile, element as one of the three purposes described above.42
c. When does the Exordium end?
According to Burmeister, the exordium is mostly embellished with a fugue (actually a very general notion, which application is found in many compositions). This fugue extends "to that point where the fugal state ceases completely at the introduction of a true cadence or of a harmonic progression having a kind of cadence. This is perceived to happen there and a new state completely foreign to the fugal state appears introduced. However, that all pieces always begin with the ornament of a fugue, this is not proven with examples….Sometimes the noema takes place in the exordium."43
Burmeister helps us to remind ourselves about the warning of Feeney above, that rhetoric principles are not to be applied rigidly but are very flexible. Therefore it is also that Johann Mattheson remarks that the next part, the Narratio, is related to the Exordium by means of a clever (fitting, musically right, -and/or related) connection.44
d. Dual Exordia
See the above for description.
B. The Narratio
1. In Rhetoric
a. Definitions
In 1553, Thomas Wilkins described the narratio: "The Narracion, is a plain and manifest poynctyng of the matter, and an evident settyng furtho of p.ll thynges, that belong unto the same, with a brief rehorsall, grounded upon some reason..."45
As the word "narration" indicates, this part is the story telling part of the speech. The story could be about anything, in those days in secular themes often about a heroic type man, king, prince or soldier, who is trying to steal the heart of a beautiful maiden. In sacred themes, for preaching purposes, the narration would mostly be based on the Bible. At this point, however, all this telling is done objectively, without any explanation. And these descriptions are historical in type. It reminds us of the stories that open with "Once upon a time...".
b. Aspects of the Narratio
According to Greek and Roman rhetoric, the narratio could be of three kinds: first, it could just state the case; second, it could be introduced in order to gain credit, to disparage the opponent or for similar purposes; third, it could be used to illustrate either mythological, historical or fictitious narratives.
Furthermore, narrations had to be brief, clear and plausible.. However, Aristotle disagreed with the briefness requirement.
c. Narratio brevis and Narratio longa
It is -therefore perhaps not surprising that Quintilian suggested that the narratio could either be brief or long (brevis or longa) .He says that the narratio longa, which always comes after the narratio brevis, is called the repetitio narrratio. The purpose of this longer narration is simple: "...to enable the facts to be set forth at greater length and with more ornament".47 He adds that this type of narration perhaps belongs more to declamation than to forensic oratory, but we have to interpret its use as a way to solve the old requirement that the narration should be brief. Ouintilian also divides the narratio longa into five types (or qualities, virtues): naturalness, mimicry, simplicity, magnificence, and palpability.48
2. In Music
a. Definition
Johann Mattheson wrote in 1739: "The Narratio is, so to speak, a message, a story, through which the meaning and properties of the contents of the delivery [i.e., the performance or recital] is indicated. It is found in the beginning or entrance of the vocal or most important instrumental voice, and is related to the Exordium, which preceded it, by means of a suitable [fitting, clear] connection [musical-thematic association].49
b. Characteristics
According to Harald Vogel, the narration is mostly in the form of a fugue, for it has that telling-like nature..How? Simply because a fugue introduces the theme first with one voice, then in the other voices in a very orderly, objective fashion, without real excitement, and is composed in the old style, i.e., a style reminiscent of an earlier period.
C. The Propositio
1. In Rhetoric
a. Definition
Thomas Wilson writes: "Proposicion is a pithie sentence, comprehendyng; in a smale roume, the some of the whole matter."50. Bernard Feeney writes: "The Proposition is simply the theme expressed in clear, concise, and popular form. It tells the particular view we intend to take of the subject; and, as a sermon is essentially practical in its aim or purpose, the proposition suggests or implies the distinct spiritual good we endeavor to produce in the audience."51
b. Characteristics
It was traditionally the case that whore the Narratio would be treated with little emphasis, or where it-would be totally absent, the rhetorician would pay more attention to the Propositio. In some cases, the rules for the Narratio and Propositio are very similar for that reason. According to scholar Gregory G. Butler, the narratio's function "is taken over to some extent by the propositio, which involves a formal statement or enunciation of the principal argument(s) at issue."52
The characteristics of such well-framed proposition, are, according to Feeney: first, it should consist of one statement and a sum of several ones. One point of view should be maintained. This unity allows however for a variety of constituent elements; second, it should be definite, not vague or ambiguous, and be definite, i.e., not go beyond the actual exposition; third, it should be weighty with suggestive, stimulating thought (gravis); and fourth, its subject matter should be adapted to the preacher, audience, time, place and circumstance.53
In summary, Feeney has four things in mind: unity, definiteness, weightiness and adaptability.
Although I have placed Wilson's and Feeney's definitions above below one another, Wilson always includes a narratio, while Feeney talks about the Proposition in such a way that it follows the Exordium.54 This difference must be kept in mind.
2. In Music
a. Definitions
Johann Mattheson writes: "The Propositio, or the actual performance (execution, recital) contains briefly the contents or purpose of the speech and consists of two kinds: simple or compound, to which also belong the colorful [richness in variety] or ornamented [verbrämte] proposition in musical composition, which are not mentioned in Rhetoric. Such an execution has its place directly after the first pause [stop, paragraph, Absatz] in the melody, when namely the bass, so to speak, leads the word, and presents the whole thing as short as simple. Above it the singing-voice [leading melodic part] starts its propositionem variatam, unites with the bass. and fulfills [creates ] the compound presentation.55
According to Harald Vogel, after we have heard the story (narratio), we want to know the possible ablution to the issues presented. The propositio gives a hint or possible foretaste of a possible solution, hence drawing the audience's attention once more. This outcome may be happy (e.g., a marriage) or sad (e.g., a death, or worse, a murder) .
b. Characteristics
According to Harald Vogel, in music the propositio is also rather organized like the narratio and is often executed in the fugal style as well. Although the proposed solutions are presented, it may well be that these arguments are not enough developed and hence the following confutatio may well be the cause of an often found irregular ending to the propositio. It is as if doubts suddenly arise in the mind of the artist/musician, which more likely are faked doubts, in order to confuse the people once more and draw their attention anew.
In music, then, this irregular ending was often found in the form of distortions in the counterpoint or in other aspects, such as the melody or the rhythm. In paintings this idea often found its expression in curving lines where they should have been straight or in distortions of perspective.
c. Note
Some rhetoricians want to break down the propositio into particulars, i.e., aspects of the .argument for improvement of the explanation. Actually, this breakdown is more the function of the following confirmatio, where arguments are brought back and forth in order to give strength to the overall goal of convincing the audience.56 Perhaps where there is no confirmatio, or where little attention is paid to it (for whatever reason), rhetoricians will pay more attention to the propositio and break it up into particulars.
D. Divisio
1. In Rhetoric
a. Note
Many rhetoricians either called the divisio the propositio or placed them after one another. Hence, in some respects this section must be read as an addition to the previous section of the propositio, and must also be considered in its own right.
b. Definitions and Characteristics
In Roman rhetoric (e.g. Cicero's) the divisio included first a statement of the facts of the case as admitted by both sides and secondly the distribution, i.e., the enumeration of the points to be established plus the brief exposition of these points.57
Thomas Wilson describes the divisio as follows: "The Division is an oponyn of the thynges, wherein we sticke, and stande in trauerle thewyng what we have to saie, in our awne behalfe."58 Wilson places this division after the proposition as an independent unit.
According to scholar Gregory G. Butler, the divisio is sometimes employed to break down the propositio into the particulars relovant to a specific aspect of the argument in order to better explain the exact nature of the matter. Yet, this breakdown was often considered more properly a function of the following confirmatio, of which it would form an integral introductory element.59
When we read Feeney, we receive the notion of subdividing the Propositio into divisions. Since he understands the Propositio to be a unity, division only takes place "when we enumerate the particular propositions which it comprises….for example, in the proposition scandal is spiritual murder, analysis takes each of the three words, scandal, murder, and spiritual, and explains its meaning. Division, on the other hand, confines itself to the subject scandal, and enumerates its different kinds -scandal in word, in act, or in omission, diabolical scandal, simply direct scandal... scandal of the weak, pharisaical scandal. With each of these forms, except the last, it connects the predicate spiritual murder, thus breaking up the general proposition into the particular propositions contained in it."60
What is the principle on which proposition must be divided? Feeney answers that it is determined by the attainment of the definite object, the definite goal (in a sermon it would be conversion). Like the rules for the propositio, Feeney requires of a good division to be brief ("a few members only"); simple (without metaphysical paradoxes), adequate (precise), and adapted to attaining the goal of the sermon.
2. In Music
I have not found examples in musical rhetorical books, describing the Divisio.
F. The Confirmatio
1. In Rhetoric
a. Definitions
Thomas Wilson describes the confirmatio. in these simple terms: "Confirmacion is a declaracion of our awne reasons .with assured and constant profes."62 Wilson places the confirmation after the divisio
b. Characteristics
In Roman classical rhetoric the confirmatio was the establishment of the orator's case and thus the most important part. Thus, the socalled constitutio causae has to bo ascertained, i.e., the determination of the point at issue. This constitutio causae could be of three kinds: first, the constitutio coniecturalis, i.e., a. question of fact. Such questions were put under six headings: probabile, collatio, signum, argumentum, consecutio, and approbatio.63 Second, the constitutio legitima,i.e., a question as to the interpretation of the law. These questions were also put under six different headings: scriptum et sententia, contrariae leges, ambiguum, definitio, translatio and ratiocinatio.64 And third, the constitutio iuridicialis, i.e., when the acts are admitted and the only question is whether they are right or wrong. these were of two kinds: absoluta or assumptiva.65
Such complex subdivisions were very helpful in law cases, but were later simplified for normal speeches and sermons, although keeping most of the psycho-logical values intact.
2. In Music
a. Definition
The only definition that I could find by a music rhetorician is one by Johann Mattheson. However, with Mattheson there is a problem. Although he lists the parts of a composition in the order of classical rhetoric: the confutatio comes after the confirmatio. Yet, when he describes the individual parts in detail, he reverses the order and describes the confirmatio before the confutatio. Whether he made a mistake or did so on purpose for whichever reason, is as yet unsolved by scholars. Whether Mattheson followed musical examples which he knew had been composed according to rhetorical principles can at best hopefully be checked with compositions which originated geographically close to Mattheson. Likewise, it has to be verfied against compositions after Mattheson, to see if his reversed order was followed by composers.
He gives the following definition of the confirmatio: "The confirmatio is an artful [artistic, künstlich] enforcement [stronghtening] of the execution [Vortrag; proposition] and is usually found in the melodies at well invented and surprisingly constructed repetitions; under which we do not include the usual reprises (i.e. repetition of an entire section). The often, with all kinds of artful (artistic; künstlich) variations decorated introduction of certain pleasant melodic dips (Stim-Falle) is what is meant here.…66
b. Characteristics
Harald Vogel, who was not aware of this reversal, gives the following description of the confirmatio à la Mattheson: it is related to the narratio and is logical by nature. Therefore it is often also developed as a fugue. However, since the confirmatio is confirming something, such fugues are often composed in a more perfected style, especially symbolised by a triple meter. In a sermon the preacher may alter his tone of voice and his speed of talking. In a book, the sentences could be made shorter.
The themes for such fugues may well be borrowed from the propositional or narrative fugue. This perfected form is, says Vogel, yet independent of the final outcome of the story or composition, whether it be happy or sad.
Actually, if the reversal by Mattheson was a conscious one, it was certainly a rather psycho-logical decision. It mr.kes sense to reverse the order. After the propositions, one could immediately proceed to do away with all the opposing views and thus start the confutatio (refutatio) and then enter into an affirmative confirmation of ideas. It is, however, equally logical to do it in the original rhetorical order of first confirming the ideas, and then startling the audience with sudden counter arguments, refuting them and then ending with the peroratio. The latter method would certainly keep the audience in suspense and surprise at all times and would guarantee the constant attention. Mattheson's method (if it is one) could endanger this, because, if the arguments are already refuted, the-audience could by deduction figure out many things for themselves and attention would diminish through the confirmation and. the peroration, Yet, as already indicated before, some composers using Matttheson's textbook may have reversed the original rhetorical order neverheless, despite its supposed drawbacks.
G. The Confutatio
1. In Rhetoric
a. Definitions
While we saw differing views concerning the divisio and confirmatio, the theoretical notion of the confutatio is seemingly one and the same. It can easily be summed up in Thomas Wilson's brief definition: "The confutacion, is a dissoluyng or wipyng awaie, of all suche reasons as make against us."67 Wilson places the confutation after the confirmatio.
b. Characteristics
Since the confutatio is the resolving of all conflicting arguments the orator must do this in such a way that his audience is absolutely convinced that he win over these arguments, which he brings in himself. For further characteristics, see below under its musical application.
2. In Music
a. Definitions
Again, Johann Mattheson is our best spokesman: "The Confutation is a resolution of the objections and may be expressed in the melody again through bindings (links), or also through introduction and rejection of strong-seeming downward intervals; then even through comparative contrasts, when they are well fixed, the ear will be strenghtened in its pleasure, and everything, which may go against it by means of dissonants and shocks [? the German Rückungen is now obsolete], is smoothed out and resolved. In the meanwhile, one does not find this part of the arrangement of melodies as often as in the others, although it is truly one of the msot beautiful (ones)."68
According to Harald Vogel, the confutatio is not a friendly undertaking and does not take place quietly. Musically it means a sudden interruption of the general flow of music and the emergence of confusion. Many things seem suddenly to go wrong; and the tension and suspense are both increased. The audience at this point will really want to know the outcome of the whole melodic story, for suddenly they are not so sure anymore (the confirmatio made them sure in the old order, while in Mattheson's order it would be a certainty induced through the previous parts). Many dreams are shattered and even fears may enter into the scene. It is now up to the peroratio, in Mattheson's order, to undo all this uncertainty.
H. The Peroratio
1. In Rhetoric
a. Definitions
The Peroratio is simply the ending of a speech or sermon. It has to be a "convincing, artistic close...usually involving a forceful conclusive statement of the argument", Gregory Butler espouses.69 Thomas Wilson's archaic sounding English is almost humoristic: "The conclusion is a clarkely gatheryng of the matter, spoken before, and a lappyng up of it altogether."70
b. Characteristics
Just as there are many ways to start the exordium, so there are also many possibilities of of how to end a speech. Just to mention a few examples: 1) the ending can be a peroratio in adfectibus, i.e., an emotional ending; 2) a peroratio in rebus, i.e., a factual ending. The ending can be logical, satisfying, normal, to-be-expected, or it can be abrupt (ex abrupto), leaving the audience bepuzzled. It can be harsh, soft, loud, provoking, disturbing, almost anything imaginable, depending on the rest of the oratory. In a love story, e.g., a lover may die or there may be a marriage and a "they lived happily ever after...". In a sermon it can either be the wages of sin, or the grace of God and the promises of a better life to come. In line with the didactic spirit, a sermon could also be an exhortation, an admonishment.
2. In Music
a. Definitions
Johann Mattheson is our best spokesman once again: "The Peroratio, finally, is the end or conclusion of our sound-speech, which must, more than the other sections, cause an extraordinary effect. And this is not found only in the course or development of the melody, but even more so in the postlude, i.e., in the foundation (bass) or in a stronger accompaniment; (whether or not) one has heard this ritornello before. It has become the custom that in the arias we often end with one of the motions and sounds, in which we had begun; which after our Exordiurn also substitutes as the place of a Peroratio."71
b. Characteristics
As said under the rhetorical characteristics above, the musical peroration can also be of many kinds, ranging between very loud to very soft, from very slow to very fast, etc. Mattheson is especially keen in especially suggesting the ex abrupto ending, which he feels is a very useful means to arouse emotions.72 However, these emotions do not have to be serious all the time. Although I have said little about the humorous aspects of rhetoric, the strange and unexpected endings, both in speech and in music, were often done in this spirit of making the people laugh and go home in a happy mood. However, humor was absent in the sermons and religious music of Protestant Europe, where those rhetorical principles were used so widely.
When a musical story would end, e.g. in a murder, the stabbing movements would be imitated by the music by means of rapid downward intervals at dotted and syncopated rhythms. In those days it was otherwise ravther usual to tone paint texts set to music. If the text indicated something high, the melodic line would go up, etc. Happy or sad endings could be expressed by means of ending the piece either in :major or minor. A sad story with a happy ending could be composed in minor with the famous Piccardy third (major third) at the end. And vice versa.

APPENDIX II:
Differences between rhetoricians of the past, concerning how many parts the Divisio should have. The order is alphabetical, not chronological.
In Rhetoric
Alcuin Exordium, Narratio, Partitio, Confirmatio, Reprehensio, Conclusio
Aristotle protesis, pisitis,
Aristotle prooimion, prosthmius, pistis, etilogos
Hugh Blair Exordium (Introduction), State and Division, Narration or Explication, Reasoning or Arguments, Pathetic part, Conclusion
Boethius Introduction or Exordium, Argument (Ratio), Partition, Proof, Refutation, Peroration
Cassiodorus Exordium, Narratio, Partitio, Confirmatio, Reprehensio, Conclusio
Cicero Exordium, Narratio, Partitio, Confirmatio, Reprehensio, Conclusio
Coll y Vehi Exordio, Proposicion y Division, Narracion, Confirmacio y Refutacion, Peroracion
Cornificius Exordium, Narrationem, Divisionem, Confirmationem, Confutationem, Conclusionem
L. Cox Preamble or Exorden, Tale or Narracion, Provinge of the matter or Contencion, Conclusion
Dy Cygne Exordium, Narratio, Contontione (is Propositio, Confirmatio, and Confutatio), Peroratione
Fortunatus Principia, Narratio, Argumentatio, Peroratio
Gervasius Proverbium, Exordium, Narratio, Exhortatio, Conclusio
Gosson Exordium, Narratio, Propositio, Partitio, Confirmatio, Reprehensio (is Refutatio), Peroratio
Isidorus Exordium, Narratio, Argumentatio, Conclusio
Brunetto Prologue, Fait, Devisement, Confermement, Deffermement, Conclusion
Melanchton Exordium, Narratio, Propositio (Ubi et Divisio), Confirmation et Refutatio, Feroratio
Melanchton Exordium, Narratio, Contentio, Peroratio
Minneus Principium, Narratio, Digressio, Propositio, Partitio, Argurmentatio (is Confirmatio et Reprehensio), Epilogus
Quintilian Exordium, Narratio, Probatio, Refutatio, Peroratio
Isidore de Seville Introductio (Exordium), Narratio, Refutatio, Peroratio
Trapezuntius Exordio, Narratio, Divisio, Confirmatio, Confutatio
Victorinus Exordium, Narrratio, Questiones, Epilogos
Th. Wilson Enterance or Begiinyng, Narrracion, Proposicion, Division or several partyng of thynges [or in reverse order with the proposition], Confirmation, Confutation, Conclusion

In Music
Forkel Exordium, Thema, Nebensätze [subclauses], Gegensätze [oppositions], Zergliederungen [dismemberments], Widerlegungen [refutations], Bekräftigungen [affirmations], Conclusion
Mattheson Exordium, Narratio, Propositio, Confirmatio, Confutatio (or in reverse order with Confirmatio), Peroratio
Mersenne Präludium, Initium, Fuga., Inflexiones, Medium, Siggilum, Epilogos
Schmidt Propositio (dux), Aetiologia (comes), Oppositum (inversion), Similia (alteration in duration), Exempla (transposition, augmentation, diminution) (the Iast three parts come together), Confirmatio (stretto), Conclusion (closer stretto over pedal)
Weissenborn Protasis, Aetiologia (Probatio), Amplificatio (a contrario, a comparato, ab exemplo et a testimonio), Conclusio

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources
Aristotle, Ars Rhetorica, ed. by Rudolf Kassel. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1976.
Blair, Hugh, Lectures on Rhetoric and Bellos Lettres. Philadelphia: James Kay, Jun. and Brother, 1839.
Burmeister, Joachim, Music Poetica. Rostock 1606, Facsimile reprint by Barenreiter, Kassel, 1955.
Butler, Charles, The Principles of Musik (1636). Facsimile reprint with introduction by Gilbert Reaney. New York: Da Capo Press, 1970.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius, De Oratore, Libri Tres. with introduction and notes by Augustus S. Wilkins. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1892.
Coll y Vehi, José, Elementos do Literatura. Madrid, 1589 (?).
Cox, Leonard, The Arto or Crafte of Rhetoryke, ed. by Fredric Ives Carpenter. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1899; reprint by A.M.S. Press, New York, 1973.
Cygne, R.P, Martino du, Ars Rhetorica. Baltimore: Joh. Murphy and Co., 1899.
Peeney, Bernard, Manual of Sacred Rhetoric; or, How to Prepare a Sermon. St. Louis: B. Herder, 1901.
Forkel, J.N., Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik, Band I. Leipzig, 1788. Reprinted and edited by Othmar Wessely. Graz: Alzademische Druck und Vorlagsanstelt, 1967 (facsimile reprint).
Herbst, Johann Andream, Musica Poetica, Sive Compendium Melopoëticum, Das ist: Eine kurze Anleitung…etc., Nürnberg: Jeremiae Dümlers, 1643.
Lippius, Johannes, Synopsis Musicae. Strassburg, 1612. Transl.by Benito V. Rivera. Colorado Springs: Colorado College Music Press, 1977.
Mattheson, Johann, Der Volkommene Capellmeister, Hamburg, 1739. Facsimile reprint edited by Margarate Reinmann. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1954.
-----, Critica Musica. Hamburg, 1722-1725- This was a magazine, edited and wirtten mostly by Mattheson.
Morley, Thomas, A Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical Music, 1597. Reprint edited by R. Alec Harman. New York: W.W. Norton, 1952.
Paris, Albert de, La Veritable Manière de Prescher Selon L'Esprit de L'Evangile ou après avoir supposé La Rhétorique ordinaire, etc. Paris: Jean Couterot et Louis Guerin, 1621.
Peacham the Elder, Henry, The Gardon of Eloquence. London, 1593. Facsimile reprint, ed. by Wm. G. Crane. Gainesville, 1954.
Puttenham, George, The Arte of English Poesy (1589). Facsimile reprint ed. by Alice Walker and Gladys Doidge Willcock. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1936.
Quintillian, Marcus Fabius, Institutio Oratoria. Transl. by H.E. Butler. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1936.
Scheibe, Johann Adolph, Critischer Musikus. Leipzig: Berhard Christoph Breitkopf, 1745. Facsimile reprint. New York: George Olms Verlag, and Wiesbaden: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1970.
Walther, Johann Gottfried, Musikalisches Lexicon oder musikalische Bibliothek (1732). Facsimile reprint, ed. by Richard Schaal. Kassel: Bärenreiter Verlag, 1953.
Wilson, Thomas, The Arte of Rhetorique (1553). Facsinile reprint, ed. by Robert Hood Bowers. Gainesville: Scholars' Facsimiles and Reprints, 1962.
Secondary Sources
Albrecht, Timothy, "Musical Rhetoric in J.S. Bach's Organ Toccata BWV 565", The Organ Yearbook, Vol. XI, 1980, pp. 84-94.
Buelow, George, "Music, Rhetoric, and the Concept of the Affections: A Selective Bibliography", Notes, Vol. 30, No. 2, Dec. 1973, pp. 250-259.
-----, "Rhetoric and Music", in: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. by Stanley Sadie, Vol. 15. London: Macmillan Publications, 1980, pp. 793-803.
Butler, G.G., "Fugue and Rhetoric", Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 21, No. 1, Spring 1977, pp. 49-109.
-----, "Music and Rhetoric in Early Seventeenth-Century English Sources", Music Quarterly, Vol. 66, 1980, pp. 53-64.
Charland, T.M., Artes Praedicand: Contribution à I'-Histoire de la Rhétorique au Moyen Age. Ottawa: Institute d'Etudes Médievales, 1936.
Jacobson, Lena, "Musical Figures in BWV 131" , The Organ Yearbook, Vol. XI, 1980, pp. 60-83.
Kirkendale, Ursula, "The Source for Bach's Musical Offering; The Institutio Oratorio of Quintilian", Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 32, No. 2, Summer 1979, pp. 89-141.
Kirkendale, Warren, "Ciceronians versus Aristotelians on the Ricercar as Exordium from Bembo to Bach", Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 32, No. 1, Spring 1979, pp.1-44.
Lausberg, H. , Handbuch der literarischen Rhetorik. Eine Grundlegung der Literaturwissenschaft. München: Max Huber Verlag, 1960. This volume is accompanied by a Registerband, under the same title.
Lenneberg, Hans, "Johann Mattheson on Affect and Rhetoric in Music," Parts I, II, Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1957, pp. 47-84,. and Vol. 2, No. 1, 1958, pp. 193-206.
Miller, Joseph M., Prosser, Michael H. , and Benson, Thomas W., eds., Readings in Medieval Rhetoric. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1973.
Morier, Henri, Dictionnaire de Poétique et de Rhétorique. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 2nd. rev. ed., 1975.
Portoman, K. , "Van poëten en predikanten. Beschouwingen over het belang van de Artes Praedicandi voor het onderzoek van de Middelnederlandse letterkunde", in Liber Alumnorum Prof. Dr. E. Rombauts. Leuven: Universiteitsbibliotheek, 1968, pp. 79-94.
Ruhnke, Martin, Joachim Burmeister. Ein Beitrag zur Musiklehre um 1600. Kassel und Basel: Bärenreiter Verlag, 1955.
Snyder, Kerala J., "Dietrich Buxtehude's Studies in Learned Counterpoint", Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 33, No. 3, Fall 1980, pp. 54-564.
Sonnino, Lee A., A Handbook to Sixteenth Century Rhetoric. New Barnes and Noble, 1968.
Unger, Hans-Heinrich, Bio Beziehungen zwishen Musik und Rhetorik im 16. - 18. Jahrhundert. Würzburg: Konrad Triltsch Verlag, 1941. Facsimile reprint: Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag, 1969.
Zink, Michel, La Predication en Langue Romane avant 1300 Paris: Editions Honoré Champuon, 1976.
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Re: From my archives: a paper on rhetoric and music

PostMon Oct 26, 2015 10:11 pm

Interesting lecture, Adrian. I like the subject and I learned new things when reading it. It only seems to me that "rethoric" in music has to deal also with the dynamics of the composition and the particular interpretation (performance) in order to get an impact (convincing or moving effect) on the audience (auditorium), which is the main purpose of the art of rethoric (I migth be wrong, of course)
Regards,
Luis
Luis

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