"To sigh and to be sad" : an examination of sorrow as a Topos in the passionate ayres of Robert Jones
Date
1993
Authors
Szeker-Madden, Maria Anne Lisa
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Abstract
Robert Jones (fl. 1597-1615) represents one of the most admired and productive English composers of the early seventeenth century. Indeed, his music regularly formed part of state occasions and public theatrical performances. Modern scholarship, however, has sanctioned neglect of this important composer by perpetuating the belief that Jones' music lacks the passion of other Elizabethan works.
In order to rectify the derision which has undermined serious consideration of Robert Jones, I will undertake a cultural/contextual examination of one category of his works, the passionate ayres. The methodology and terminology for the study, therefore, will be drawn predominantly from late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century oratorical, poetic, and musical treatises.
The first chapter provides the background for the ensuing study by establishing sorrow as the topic, or topos, of the passionate ayre and by disclosing the elements necessary to define this topos. These criteria are then applied to the texts of Jones' works in order to verify the use of sorrow as the topos of his settings. In addition, my analysis reveals that the elements which define the topos of Jones' chosen texts are enhanced with only the most persuasive textual rhetorical figures.
The second chapter considers the cadences, or musical distinctiones, which Jones uses in his settings . Examination of contemporary musical and grammatical treatises reveals that cadences should establish both the completion of and relationship between successive lines or sentences. Analysis of Jones' ayres confirms his keen perception of the function and power of cadences, since his musical distinctiones invariably enhance the syntax of his texts by demarcating the elements which define sorrow as a topos.
The enhancement of this topos in Jones' works is explored further in the third chapter, which examines the composer's manipulation of elocutio, or musical-rhetorical figures. Consideration of contemporary musical treatises demonstrates the necessity for these devices in a musical composition. Moreover, my analysis of Jones' passionate ayres reveals that his application of musical figures surpasses mere conformance with convention and instead elevates the passion of his texts by intensifying the elements which define their topos.
I have included complete vers i ons of the poems examined in this study in APPENDIX II, since they are not presented in their entirety within the body of the thesis. Furthermore, for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with the vocabulary of Renaissance logic and rhetoric, I have included a glossary of all logical and rhetorical terms employed in this study. In addition, I have provided a table in APPENDIX I which divides the textual figures among three levels of intensity.
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