Wordless Rhetoric: Musical Form and the Metaphor of the Oration (STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF MUSIC)

Although “form” is one of the most commonly used terms in music interpretation, it remains one of the most ambiguous. This penetrating study explores evolving ideas of musical form from a historical perspective and sheds new light on current conceptualizations of music. Mark Evan Bonds examines the image—dominant among eighteenth-century composers and analysts—of music as a language, a kind of wordless discourse, which could move audiences. In the Baroque and Classical periods an instrumental composition was viewed as analogous to an oration, its form the intelligible elaboration of a central thematic idea. The predominant emphasis, therefore, was on the perspective of the listener. This rhetorical metaphor is shown giving way in the nineteenth century to the idea of a musical work as an organic entity, an image that emphasizes the autonomy of the work. The listener, in effect, becomes merely an interested third party. In his account of these changing perspectives, Bonds draws on the writing of a broad range of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century theorists. His analyses focus on specific sonata form movements by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven and are informed by the theoretical premises that characterize the composers’ own times. In a final synthesis, the eighteenth-century rhetorical model—with its focus on the structural function of musical ideas and the role of the listener—emerges as a forerunner of today’s listener-oriented and plot theories about musical form. In __Wordless Rhetoric__, Bonds makes fruitful use of literary theory to develop his innovative evaluation of musical form. This book will be invaluable to anyone who studies music or seeks to understand music analysis. The Paradox Of Musical Form. Generative And Conformational Approaches To Form ; Sonata Form And Limits Of Definition -- Rhetoric And The Concept Of Musical Form In The Eighteenth Century. Rhetoric And The Pragmatic Orientation Of Eighteenth-century Aethetics ; Music As A Language ; Musical Grammar And Musical Rhetoric ; Rhetoric And The Theory Of The Compositional Process ; Melody And The Thematic Basis Of Form ; Genre, Formal Convention, And Individual Genius -- Continuity And Change In Later Metaphors Of Form. The Continuity Of Rhetorical Imagery In The Nineteenth Century ; The Metaphor Of The Organism And The Emerging Paradox Of Musical Form ; Three Case Studies : Reicha, Marx, Schoenberg -- Rhetoric And The Autonomy Of Instrumental Music. Rhetoric And The Musical Idea ; Rhetoric And Analysis In The Late Eighteenth And Early Ninteenth Centuries -- Rhetoric And The Role Of The Listener In The Analysis Of Large-scale Form. Listener-oriented Theories Of Form ; Listening For The Plot : The Rhetoric Of Formal Archetypes ; Analyzing The Musical Oration : The First Movement Of Haydn's Symphony No. 46 In B Major. Mark Evan Bonds. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This study explores evolving ideas of musical form from a historical perspective and sheds light on current conceptualizations of music. Evan Bonds examines the image - dominant among 18th-century composers and analysts - of music as a language, a kind of wordless discourse, which could move audiences. In his account of these changing perspectives, Bonds draws on the writings of a broad range of 18th- and 19th-century theorists. His analyses focus on specific sonata form movements by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven and are informed by the theoretical premises that characterize the composers' own times. In a final synthesis, the 18th-century rhetorical model - with its focus on the structural function of musical ideas and the role of the listener - emerges as a forerunner of today's listener-orientated and plot theories about musical form. In "Wordless Rhetoric" Bonds makes use of literary theory to develop his innovative evaluation of musical form. In addition to the text, there are several musical examples included. Acknowledgments Contents Abbreviations INTRODUCTION. Musical Form and Metaphor CHAPTER 1. The Paradox of Musical Form CHAPTER 2. Rhetoric and the Concept of Musical Form in the Eighteenth Century CHAPTER 3. Continuity and Change in Later Metaphors of Form CHAPTER 4. Rhetoric and the Autonomy of Instrumental Music CHAPTER 5. Rhetoric and the Role of the Listener in the Analysis of Large-Scale Form Originals of Quotations Given in Translation Index Explores evolving ideas of musical form from a historical perspective and sheds light on current conceptualizations of music. Bonds traces the 18th-century image of music as a language which could move audiences, through to the 19th century when the listener was merely an interested third party.