The Rhetoric of the North German Organ School

Abstract

The music of the north German organ school makes up a significant portion of the corpus of German music of the seventeenth century. It grew largely out of the liturgical traditions of the Lutheran churches, and produced a rich tradition of music. Two of the forms that are distinctive to the north German organ school style are the chorale fantasia and the multi-sectional prelude (sometimes called a praeambulum).In the seventeenth century, the art of music was regarded as closely allied to the art of classical rhetoric. Musical-rhetorical figures, the analogues of figures of speech, were used in vocal compositions as structural elements, and decorative and affective devices. Secondary studies have confirmed this, although there are differing views regarding the extent to which rhetoric was used in the construction of a composition, and whether musical-rhetorical figures were used in instrumental works. This thesis seeks to analyse selected works of composers of the north German organ school with regard to their use of rhetoric.Three successive generations of composers were selected for analysis, beginning with those who had been pupils of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, the Dutch organist and teacher. This generation initiated the stylistic changes now recognised as distinctive to the north German tradition. Four composers from each generation were chosen, the selection criteria reflecting a diversity of geographical locations within northern Germany. A selection of vocal and organ works was made, with an emphasis on chorale-based vocal works, chorale-based organ works (chorale variation, chorale motet and chorale fantasia) and free organ works (toccata and prelude). When no chorale-based works were extant, selections from the extant motets or cantatas of the composer were made.To facilitate analysis of selected works, a new, schematic method of presenting the rhetorical analysis was developed, with the position of each figure shown, and its function expressed in colour. Not only did this method greatly reduce the need for descriptive prose, but the reduction of each work to such a schema permitted comparative analysis of vocal works or vocal and instrumental works to be made with relative ease. A style of rhetorical usage was developed for each composer, and an overall pattern of usage for each generation was discussed. Stylistic changes within the school from one generation to the next could then be observed.