Abstract
WI HILE THE GREAT CHANGES in musical style that took place in the 18th century may be viewed in many different ways, of fundamental importance was the decline of the Italian vocal art, chiefly represented by the opera seria, and the rise of a new art of instrumental music under the aegis of German composers. A subordinate but nonetheless important element in the new prominence of German music was the attempt to establish a proper national form for German opera. In this the r61le played by literary figures was a significant one: Lessing, Klopstock, Wieland, Herder, and Goethe, to name only the most prominent, all participated. Their activity took several forms: aesthetic writings on the relations between music and poetry (and drama), which included essays on the inherent susceptibility of the various languages for musical composition; critical discussions of contemporary operas; and the writing of operatic libretti.
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