Doctrine of the affections
Encyclopedia
The doctrine of the affections, also known as the doctrine of affects, doctrine of the passions, theory of the affects, or by the German term Affektenlehre (after the German Affekt; plural Affekte) was a theory in musical aesthetics
popular in the Baroque era
(1600–1750). It derived from ancient theories of rhetoric
and oratory
(Buelow 2001), and was widely accepted by late-Baroque theorists and composers. The essential idea is that just one unified and "rationalized" Affekt should be aimed at by any single piece or movement of music, and that to attempt more was to risk confusion and disorder.
According to one version of the theory there are three pairs of opposing emotions that make six "affects" all together: love/hate, joy/sorrow, wonder/desire. Another authority also mentions sadness, anger, and jealousy (Buelow 2001).
Lorenzo Giacomini (1552–1598) in his Orationi e discorsi (1597) defined an affection as "a spiritual movement or operation of the mind in which it is attracted or repelled by an object it has come to know as a result of an imbalance in the animal spirits and vapours that flow continually throughout the body" (Giacomini 1597).
The doctrine fell out of use in the Classical era
, when composers and theorists began to find it excessively mechanical and unnatural.
"Affections are not the same as emotions; however, they are a spiritual movement of the mind" (Palisca 1991, 3).
A prominent Baroque proponent of the Doctrine of the Affections was Johann Mattheson
(Poultney 1996, 107).
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
popular in the Baroque era
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
(1600–1750). It derived from ancient theories of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
and oratory
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
(Buelow 2001), and was widely accepted by late-Baroque theorists and composers. The essential idea is that just one unified and "rationalized" Affekt should be aimed at by any single piece or movement of music, and that to attempt more was to risk confusion and disorder.
According to one version of the theory there are three pairs of opposing emotions that make six "affects" all together: love/hate, joy/sorrow, wonder/desire. Another authority also mentions sadness, anger, and jealousy (Buelow 2001).
Lorenzo Giacomini (1552–1598) in his Orationi e discorsi (1597) defined an affection as "a spiritual movement or operation of the mind in which it is attracted or repelled by an object it has come to know as a result of an imbalance in the animal spirits and vapours that flow continually throughout the body" (Giacomini 1597).
The doctrine fell out of use in the Classical era
Classical period (music)
The dates of the Classical Period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1830. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or...
, when composers and theorists began to find it excessively mechanical and unnatural.
"Affections are not the same as emotions; however, they are a spiritual movement of the mind" (Palisca 1991, 3).
A prominent Baroque proponent of the Doctrine of the Affections was Johann Mattheson
Johann Mattheson
Johann Mattheson was a German composer, writer, lexicographer, diplomat and music theorist.Mattheson was born and died in Hamburg. He was a close friend of George Frideric Handel, although he nearly killed him in a sudden quarrel, during a performance of Mattheson's opera Cleopatra in 1704...
(Poultney 1996, 107).
See also
- AffectAffect (psychology)Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Affect is a key part of the process of an organism's interaction with stimuli. The word also refers sometimes to affect display, which is "a facial, vocal, or gestural behavior that serves as an indicator of affect" .The affective domain...
[for links to articles dealing with related applications of the same general notion]
Further reading
- Eusterschulte, Anne. 1999. "'Effetti maravigliosi': Ethos und Affektenlehre in Musiktraktaten des 16. Jahrhunderts". Musiktheorie 14, no. 3:195–212.
- Manika, Jügen. 1989. "Anthanasius Kirchers Exemplifizierungen zur Affektenlehre: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Musikpsychologie". Beiträge zur Musikwissenschaft 31, no. 1:81–94.
- Mattheson, Johann. 1981. Johann Mattheson's Der vollkommene Capellmeister, a revised translation with critical commentary by Ernest Charles Harriss. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press. ISBN 083571134X.
- Thieme, Ulrich. 1984. Die Affektenlehre im philosophischen und musikalischen Denken des Barock: Vorgeschichte, Ästhetik, Physiologie. Celle: Moeck Verlag. ISBN 3875490215.
- Watts, Isaac. 1770. The Doctrine of the Passions Explain'd and Improv'd or, a Brief and Comprehensive Scheme of the Natural Affections of Mankind; With an Account of Their Names, Nature, Appearances, Effects, and Different Uses in Human Life; To Which Are Subjoin'd Moral and Divine Rules, fifth edition, corrected and enlarged. London: Printed for J. Buckland, and T. Longman; E. and C. Dilly; and T. Field.
- Wiegmann, Hermann. 1987. Die Ästhetische Leidenschaft: Texte zur Affektenlehre im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert. Germanistische Texte und Studien 27. Hildesheim and New York: G. Olms. ISBN 3487078406.