Musica Poetica provides an unprecedented examination of the development of Baroque musical thought.

 

The initial chapters, which serve as an introduction to the concept and teachings of musical-rhetorical figures, explore Martin Luther€s theology of music, the development of the Baroque concept of musica poetica, the idea of the affections in German Baroque music, and that music€s use of the principles and devices of rhetoric. Dietrich Bartel then turns to more detailed considerations of the musical-rhetorical figures that were developed in Baroque treatises and publications. After brief biographical sketches of the major theorists, Bartel examines those theorists€ interpretation and classification of the figures. The book concludes with a detailed presentation of the musical-rhetorical figures, in which each theorist€s definitions are presented in the original language and in parallel English translations.

 

Bartel€s clear, detailed analysis of German Baroque musical-rhetorical figures, combined with his careful translations of interpretations of those figures from a wide range of sources, make this book an indispensable introduction and resource for all students of Baroque music.