Musique, rhétorique et passions : fondements socio-anthropologiques de la musique du premier baroque : Florence et Mantoue, 1580-1620

Music, rhetorics and passions. Socio-anthropological foundation of music during the first baroque period (firenze and mantova, 1580-1620)

• Auteur / Autrice : Joël Heuillon
• Direction : Jean-Paul Olive
• Type : Thèse de doctorat
• Discipline(s) : Musique
• Date : Soutenance en 1999
• Etablissement(s) : Paris 8

Mots clés

Mots clés contrôlés

Passions

Rhétorique

Italie (nord)

Cour et courtisans

Mots clés libres

Rhetorique

Passions

Madrigal polyphonique

Résumé

Nous avons entrepris une exploration socio-historico-anthropologique de la periode d'elaboration des langages artistiques ''baroques'', recourant aux metalangues et aux textes de l'epoque. L'homme baroque (le courtisan), en pleine contre reforme, etait en ''representation'' sous le regard du prince, des clercs et de ses pairs. Il devait maitriser son affectivite par une connaissance de lui-meme (de son ''ame''). Il etait tiraille entre une raison propre a lui assurer le salut, et une imagination capable de dechainer en lui des passions (concupiscibles, faibles et tolerees, ou irascibles, menant a la perdition). Le prince poursuivait au travers des representations artistiques un projet ''civilisateur'', destine a amender les murs. Dans le souci de preserver son pouvoir et sa dynastie, la paix civile et l'harmonie sociale, il proposait a ses sujets des ''fetes'' ludiques et ''purgatives'', et a ses courtisans (ses ''rivaux'' en puissance), des representations artistiques visant une ''domestication'' de leurs ''pulsions''. Les arts ont su repondre a ses attentes. Prenant en compte l'homme dans toutes les composantes de son ame, ils ont fait uvrer en lui, alors reconciliees, les passions et la raison, temoignant d'une haute pensee de l'homme. Le ''madrigale'' polyphonique, poursuivant ces objectifs dans une ''langue'' mathematique (''l'harmonie universelle'') etait disqualifie quant a l'expression ''convenante'' des passions. Le modele monodique ''grec'' s'etait impose donnant naissance a la ''monodie accompagnee par une basse continue''. La musique s'etait donnee les moyens de realiser les fins du prince et ses fins propres par la ''mimesis'' des processus cognitifs et pathetiques, la mise en uvre de la ''sprezzatura'' et le statut nouveau accorde a l'interprete. Elle a su alors exprimer les ''grandes passions'' et a pu ''penser'' les grandes formes. Giulio caccini et claudio monteverdi furent les createurs les plus marquants du temps tant sur le plan langagier que formel.

We have undertaken to explore, from a social, historical and anthropological point of view, the period of time in which the ''baroque'' languages of the arts were elaborated by resorting to the metalanguages and the texts of the time. In the very middle of counter reformation, the baroque man -the courtier- was ''performing an act'' under the eyes of the prince, the clerics and his peers. He had to control his affectivity by knowing himself, i. E. His ''soul''. He was torn between a reason able to ensure his salvation and an imagination capable of unleashing passions within him -be they concupiscible, weak and as such admitted, or irascible and leading to perdition. By dint of artistic presentations, the prince carried on a civilizing purpose, meant for reforming the manners. With a view to preserving his power and his dynasty, civil peace and social harmony, he offered his subjects diverting and purgative ''entertainments'' and his courtiers -his potential rivalsartistic presentations aiming at domesticating their pulsions. Arts were then able to achieve his goals. Taking man into account, with all the parts of his soul, they had passions and reason working together, reconciled in the process and showing a noble view of man. The polyphonic ''madrigale'', pursuing these objectives in a ''mathematic language'' -''universal harmony''-, was not qualified to express passions in a convenient way. The ''greek'' monodic model had imposed itself, giving birth to ''monody on a thorough bass''. Music had given itself the means to achieve the prince's and its own goals, through the ''mimesis'' of cognitive and pathetic processes, the working out of the ''sprezzatura'' and the new status attributed to the interpreter. Music was then able to express ''great passions'' and ''conceive'' great forms. Giulio caccini and claudio monteverdi were the most prominent creative composers of the time, from both the point of view of language and of form.