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Doctrine of the affections


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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 the aesthetics of
painting, music, and theatre, widely used in the Baroque era (1600–1750) (Harnoncourt 1983; Harnoncourt 1988).
Literary theorists of that age, by contrast, rarely discussed the details of what was called "pathetic composition",
taking it for granted that a poet should be required to "wake the soul by tender strokes of art" (Rogerson 1953, p. 68).
The doctrine was derived from ancient theories of rhetoric and oratory (Buelow 2001), and was used as pattern
language in Baroque music by late-Baroque theorists and composers. Some pieces or movements of music express
one Affekt throughout; however, a skillful composer like Johann Sebastian Bach could express different affects within
a movement (Boetticher 2010) .

Contents
History and definition
Examples for affects and corresponding musical figures
References
Further reading

History and definition


The doctrine of the affections was an elaborate theory based on the idea that the passions could be represented by
their outward visible or audible signs. It drew largely on elements with a long previous history, but first came to
general prominence in the mid-seventeenth century, amongst the French scholar-critics associated with the Court of
Versailles, helping to place it at the centre of artistic activity for all of Europe (Rogerson 1953, p. 70).

René Descartes held that there were six basic affects, which can be combined together into numerous intermediate
forms (Descartes 1649, p. 94):

1. Admiration (admiration)
2. Amour (love)
3. Haine (hatred)
4. Désir (desire)
5. Joie (joy)
6. Tristesse (sorrow)
Another authority also mentions sadness, anger, and jealousy (Buelow 2001).

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Lorenzo Giacomini (1552–1598) in his Orationi e discorsi 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 Tebalducci Malespini 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, p. 3).

A prominent Baroque proponent of the Doctrine of the Affections was Johann Mattheson (Poultney 1996, p. 107).

Examples for affects and corresponding musical figures


This section uses inline links to YouTube and may require a browser extension for viewing.

In the following table, the left column cites instructions from (Mattheson 1739) how to express affects. The right
column cites baroque compositions expressing the same affects with, where available, moving musical scores.

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J. S. Bach, Kunst der Fuge, (BWV 1080), Contrapunctus


IX (https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=XXQY2dS1Srk#t=28m11s) on YouTube;
J. S. Bach, Mass in B minor, (BWV 232), Symbolum
"Since for example joy is an expansion of our soul, thus
it follows reasonably and naturally that I could best Nicenum, Et resurrexit (https://www.youtube.com
express this affect by large and expanded intervals" /watch?v=EH6wdRVqoXQ#t=1h8m39s) on YouTube;
(Mattheson 1981, part 1, chapter 3, section 56). J. S. Bach, Weihnachtsoratorium (BWV 248), part 6:
Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen (https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=dkt592CqvbI) on YouTube.

Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, Dido's Lament


(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fraubogbQkc) on
YouTube;
"Whereas if one knows that sadness is a contraction of J. S. Bach, Mass in B minor (BWV 232), Symbolum
these subtle parts of our body,then it is easy to see that Nicenum, Crucifixus (https://www.youtube.com
the small and smallest intervals are the most suitable
for this passion" (Mattheson 1981, part 1, chapter 3, /watch?v=EH6wdRVqoXQ#t=1h5m38s) on YouTube;
section 57). J. S. Bach, St Matthew Passion (BWV 244), 54. O
Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=2YdYBy5oi0E#t=52m26s) on YouTube.

"Hope is an elevation of the soul or spirits; but despair is


a depression of this: all of which are things which can
very natuarlly be represented with sound, especially J. S. Bach, Cantata: Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich
when the other circumscances (tempo in particular) (BWV 150), 7. Ciaconna: Meine Tage in dem Leide
contribute their part. And in this way one can form a (https://www.youtube.com
sensitive concept of all the emotions and compose /watch?v=LzT4APqCqRY#t=12m46s) on YouTube.
accordingly" (Mattheson 1981, part 1, chapter 3, section
59).

"Pride, haughtiness, arrogance, and the like, are also


usually depicted or expressed with their special colors in
notes and sounds, for which purpose the composer
usually draws upon a bold, pompous style. He thus has Henry Purcell, King Arthur (opera), 9. Come if you dare
the opportunity to use all sorts of majestic musical (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-WTCwYYXoc) on
figures which require a special seriousness and YouTube.
grandiloquent motion; but he must never permit a musical
line that is fleeting and falling, but always ascending"
(Mattheson 1981, part 1, chapter 3, section 72).

"Anger, ardor, vengeance, rage, fury, and all other such


violent affections, are actually far better at making
available all sorts of musical inventions than the gentle
and pleasant passions which are handled with much
more refinement. Yet it is also not enough with the
J. S. Bach, St Matthew Passion (BWV 244), 27 b. Sind
former if one only rumbles along strongly, makes a lot of
Blitze, sind Donner in Wolken verschwunden?
noise and boldly rages: notes with many tails will simply
(https://www.youtube.com
not suffice, as many think; but each of these violent
/watch?v=9PMeYCqG52c#t=1h5m54s) on YouTube.
qualities requires its own particular characteristics, and,
despite forceful expression, must still have a becoming
singing quality: as our general principle, which we must
not lose sight of, expressly demands" (Mattheson 1981,
part 1, chapter 3, section 75).

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"That which is to a certain degree placed in opposition to


Henry Purcell, King Arthur (opera), 20. What Power art
hope and consequently gives rise to a contrasting
thou, who from below... (https://www.youtube.com
arrangement of sounds is called fear, dejection, failure,
/watch?v=ospt12EfW-w) on YouTube
etc. Fright and horror also belong here, which, if one
thinks of them rightly and has a good mental picture of — Nikolaus Harnoncourt's interpretation
their natural character, yield very suitable musical (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkiuPAWrY74) on
passages corresponding with the condition of the
YouTube.
affections" (Mattheson 1981, part 1, chapter 3, section
78).

References
Boetticher, Jörg-Andreas Bötticher (2010), Einführung in die Kantaten vom 14. März 2010 Einführung in die
Kantaten vom 14. März 2010 (http://www.bachkantaten.ch/Daten10/03/Einfuehrung.htm) Check |url= value (help),
Basel: Bachkantaten in der Predigerkirche: Dokumentation zur Aufführung sämtlicher geistlicher Kantaten Johann
Sebastian Bachs in der Basler Predigerkirche, 2004–2012, retrieved 3 June 2014.
Buelow, George J. (2001), "Affects, Theory of the", in Stanley Sadie; John Tyrrell, The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians, (editors) (second ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers.
Descartes, René (1649), Les passions de l'âme, Paris: Henry Le Gras.
Giacomini Tebalducci Malespini, Lorenzo (1597), Orationi e discorsi, Florence: Ne le case de Sermartelli.
Harnoncourt, Nikolaus (1983), Musik als Klangrede: Wege zu einem neuen Musikverständnis (in German),
Salzburg: Residenz Verlag, ISBN 978-3-7017-0315-9
Harnoncourt, Nikolaus (1988), Reinhard G. Pauly, ed., Baroque Music Today: Music As Speech, translated by Mary
O'Neill, Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, ISBN 978-0-931340-91-8
Mattheson, Johann. 1739. Der Vollkommene Capellmeister, Das ist Gründliche Anzeige aller derjenigen Sachen,
die einer wissen, können, und vollkommen inne haben muß, der einer Capelle mit Ehren und Nutzen vorstehen
will (http://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/resolve/display/bsb10212373.html). Hamburg: Christian Herold.
Facsimile reprint, edited by Margarete Reimann. Documenta musicologica 1. Reihe, Druckschriften-Faksimiles 5.
Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1954. ISBN 9783761801000. Study edition with the text and notes newly typeset, edited by
Friederike Ramm. Kassel, Basel, London, New York, and Prague: Bärenreiter, 1999. Third edition, 2012. ISBN
9783761814130.
Mattheson, Johann (1981), Ernest Charles Harriss, ed., Johann Mattheson's Der vollkommene Capellmeister: A
Revised Translation with Critical Commentary, Studies in Musicology, no. 21, Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press,
ISBN 0-8357-1134-X.
Palisca, Claude V. (1991), Baroque Music (3rd Edition), Prentice Hall History of Music Series, Englewood Cliffs, N.
J.: Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-058496-7.
Poultney, David (1996), Studying Music History: Learning, Reasoning, and Writing about Music History and
Literature (2nd ed.), Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-190224-5.

Further reading
Bayreuther, Rainer. 2005. "Theorie der musikalischen Affektivität in der Frühen Neuzeit". In Musiktheoretisches
Denken und kultureller Kontext, edited by Dörte Schmidt, 69–92. Forum Musikwissenschaft 1. Schliengen: Edition
Argus. ISBN 978-3-931264-51-2.
Bartel, Dietrich. 2003. Ethical Gestures: Rhetoric in German Baroque Music. The Musical Times 144, no. 1885
(Winter): 15–19.
Clark, Andrew. 2013. Making Music Speak. In Speaking of Music: Addressing the Sonorous, edited by Keith M.
Chapin and Andrew Clark, 70–85. New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-5138-4; ISBN
978-0-8232-5139-1.
Eusterschulte, Anne (1999), " 'Effetti maravigliosi': Ethos und Affektenlehre in Musiktraktaten des 16. Jahrhunderts",
Musiktheorie (in German), 14 (3): 195–212.

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Fubini, Enrico. 2003. "La musica e il linguaggio degli affetti". In 'Et facciam dolçi canti': Studi in onore di Agostino
Ziino in occasione del suo 65° compleanno, 2 vols., edited by Bianca Maria Antolini, Maria Teresa Gialdroni, and
Annunziato Pugliese, 2:1467–76. Lucca, Italy: Libreria Musicale Italiana (LIM). ISBN 978-88-7096-321-2.
Harriss, Ernest. 1986." Johann Mattheson and the Affekten-, Figuren-, and Rhetoriklehren". In La musique et le rite
sacré et profane, 2 vols., edited by Marc Honegger, Christian Meyer, and Paul Prévost, 517–31. Strasbourg:
Association des publications près les Universités de Strasbourg. ISBN 2868201075.
Kircher, Athanasius (1650), Musurgia universalis sive ars magna consoni et dissoni in X. libros digesta
(http://echo.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/ECHOdocuView?mode=imagepath&url=/permanent/library/B398U3SN/pageimg)
(in Latin), Rome: Francisci Corbelletti.
Koch, Klaus-Peter. 2010. "Das Malen bei Telemann mit Hilfe von Gattungen der Melodien und ihren besondern
Abzeichen". In Telemann, der musikalische Maler: Telemann-Kompositionen im Notenarchiv der Sing-Akademie
zu Berlin, edited by Carsten Lange and Brit Reipsch, 114–25. Telemann-Konferenzberichte, no. 15. Hildesheim:
Georg Olms. ISBN 978-3-487-14336-1.
Krones, Hartmut. 2002. Johann Gottfried Herder: Die Affektenlehre und die Musik. In Ideen und Ideale: Johann
Gottfried Herder in Ost und West, edited by Peter Andraschke and Helmut Loos, 71–88. Rombach Wissenschaften:
Reihe Litterae 103. Freiburg im Breisgau: Rombach Verlag. ISBN 978-3-79309-343-5.
Lachmirowicz, Ewa. 2010. "Technika wyrażania afektów według Francesca Geminianiego i Giuseppe Tartiniego".
Muzyka 55 No. 4:219: 21–44.
Lippman, Edward A. (ed.). 1986. Musical Aesthetics: A Historical Reader. Volume 1: From Antiquity to the
Eighteenth Century. Aesthetics in Music 4. New York: Pendragon Press, ; ISBN 091872841X 9780918728418
Mackensen, Karsten. 2008. "Sinn und System: zur Auflösung der Topik in der Erfahrung bei Johann Mattheson". In
Musiktheorie im Kontext, edited by Jan Philipp Sprick, Reinhard Bahr, and Michael von Troschke, 357–72. Berlin:
Weidler. ISBN 978-3-89693-515-1.
Manika, Jürgen (1989), "Athanasius Kirchers Exemplifizierungen zur Affektenlehre: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der
Musikpsychologie", Beiträge zur Musikwissenschaft (in German), 31 (1): 81–94.
Mersenne, Marin (1636), Harmonie universelle, contenant la theorie er la pratique de la musique
(https://archive.org/details/imslp-universelle-mersenne-marin) (in French), Paris: Sebastien Cramoisy.
Neu, Ulrike. 1995. Harmonik und Affektgestaltung in den Lautenkompositionen von Silvius Leopold Weiss.
Europäische Hochschulschriften. Reihe XXXVI, Musikwissenschaft; Publications universitaires européennes. Série
XXXVI, Musicologie; European university studies. Series XXXVI, Musicology 141. Frankfurt am Main and New York:
P. Lang. ISBN 3631483821 9783631483824.
Pečman, Rudolf. 2001. "C.Ph.E. Bach und die Affektenlehre: Bemerkungen zur Aufführungspraxis". In Rudolfu
Pečmanovi k sedmdesátinám/Rudolf Pečman zu seinem 70. Geburtstag, edited by Peter Macek, 17–22.
Musicologica brunensia: Sborník prací Filozofické Fakulty Brněnské Univerzity. H: Řada hudebněvědná,
50–51(36–37).
Pontremoli, Alessandro (ed.). 2003. Il volto e gli affetti: Fisiognomica ed espressione nelle arti del Rinascimento.
Biblioteca dell'Archivum Romanicum. I: Storia, letteratura, paleografia 311. Florence: Leo S. Olschki. ISBN
978-88-222-5256-2.
Pozzi, Egidio. 2009. "Il primo Settecento e la Melodielehre di Mattheson, Riepel e Kirnberger". In Storia dei concetti
musicali. III: Melodia, stile, suono, edited by Gianmario Borio, 53–70. Rome: Carocci. ISBN 978-88-430-5166-3.
Praetorius, Michael (1615–1620), Syntagma Musicum (https://archive.org/details/imslp-musicum-praetorius-
michael) (in German), 3 vols. in 4. Wittenberg: Johannes Richter (vol. 1); Wolfenbüttel: Elias Holwein (vols. 2 & 3).
Rathey, Markus. 2012. "Johann Mattheson's 'Invention': Models and Influences for Rhythmic Variation in Der
vollkommene Capellmeister". Dutch Journal of Music Theory/Tijdschrift voor muziektheorie 17, no. 2 (May):
77–90.
Rogerson, Brewster (1953), "The Art of Painting the Passions" (http://www.jstor.org/stable/2707496), Journal of the
History of Ideas, 14 (1): 68–94.
Seedorf, Thomas, and Christian Schaper. 2013. Händels Arien: Form, Affekt, Kontext: Bericht über die Symposien
der Internationalen Händel-Akademie Karlsruhe 2008 bis 2010. Veröffentlichungen der Internationalen Händel-
Akademie Karlsruhe Bd. 10. ISBN 9783890073897.
Selfridge-Field, Eleanor. 2013. "Associative Aspects of Perceived Musical Similarity and Their Intersections with
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