MUSICAL RHETORIC: AN AGENCY OF EXPRESSION IN HEINRICH SCHÜTZ’S MATTHÄUS-PASSION

Abstract

This is an analysis of the ways in which the German Baroque composer Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) incorporated musical rhetoric into his Matthäus-Passion (St. Matthew Passion). The utilization of musical rhetoric in compositions developed out of the musica poetica tradition, linked especially to North German Lutheran composers. Musica poetica thrived among composers of this religious sect primarily because of three principles: (1) what Lutheran’s perceived as music’s divine nature; (2) the concept of the affections; and (3) the development of rhetoric from speech. This study looks at all three of these aspects as well as the development of the Passion genre, and the major Italian influences that Schütz incorporated into his Matthäus-Passion that resulted in a work steeped in textual expression and dramatic presentation. Schütz regularly employed musical devices rooted in the musica poetica tradition immersed in the affections and understanding his use of affections and rhetoric provides insight into how he composed, his approach to narrative texts, and his commitment to textual expression through musical-rhetorical figures.