A study on musical rhetoric system and its application on the performance of Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger’s music for chitarrone

Abstract

The present study proposes an approach to musical performance based on rhetorical parameters. The focus of this application is the sum of considerations to be taken into account when building an interpretation. Such criteria are formed here on the basis of research on the implementation of rhetorical parameters in 17th and 18th century music. One aim of this work is to emphasize the importance of rhetoric in the interpretative praxis of music and its relevance today. Firstly, an investigation of the baroque rhetoric system in music is presented. This research serves as a basis for the second part, where a guided performance of the toccata prima from the Libro quarto d'intavolatura di chitarrone, Rome 1640 by Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger is proposed.