| Related
Articles Poetic Features of the Parable Good Samaritan in Music and Multimedia Other |
The Rhetoric
of Music Based on the Good Samaritan J. Ritter Werner, with input from Maurine Ischay
A rhetorical analysis of the Greek chant text can help modern day composers and musicians who may wish to "enhance the reception of the text." While the ancient tropes may be forgotten, and the oral tradition fractured, we do know enough about the tradition of elements of voice quality, loudness, speed of utterance, and pitch to point us in the correct direction.
A rhetorical analysis notes those places in the Greek text that give clues about its paralinguistic characteristics. "Paralinguistic" means those "added elements of voice quality, loudness, speed of utterance, and pitch" that are normal in oral communication. Several observations of note follow: Certain words set the mood for larger units of text. In verse 25 the word "test" shows that the conversation between Jesus and the lawyer was probably adversarial. The initial mood of the music, therefore, should reflect this. There are three primary voices in this pericope–a narrator, the lawyer, and Jesus. Changes in performer, range, tempo, and intonation were made to make the recital clearer. In the ancient chant tradition there were four main melodic formulas or tropes: 1. An antecedent-consequent sentence trope 2. An interrogative trope 3. An introductory trope 4. A closing trope The most melodically interesting trope in the ancient tradition was the interrogative. Since there are four questions in this pericope, they act as melodic pillars supporting the entire melodic composition. The final question of Jesus ("Who then of the three?") uses alliteration and assonance in the Greek. Its placement and construction make it the most dramatic moment in the text. It breaks the flow of the previous section, changes the tempo and surface rhythm, and sounds the interrogative trope for the last time. These combined elements shout this question beyond the ears of the lawyer to all who hear this story. A rhetorical analysis of the Greek chant text can help modern day composers and musicians who may wish to "enhance the reception of the text." While the ancient tropes may be forgotten, and the oral tradition fractured, we know enough about the "trope" tradition to point us in the correct direction.
Introduction The purpose of this Rhetorical Analysis is to note those places in the silent Greek text that give clues about its paralinguistic characteristics. "Paralinguistic" means those "…added elements of voice quality, loudness, speed of utterance, and pitch" that are normal in oral communication. (See From One Language to Another by Jan de Waard, and Eugene A. Nida, p. 13) That the parable of the Samaritan is presented as an oral communication is made clear in the first verse of the pericope, "And behold a certain Lawyer stood up to test him and said…" ( Lk. 10:25a). The order of this analysis will follow a set of questions developed from the thinking of Jan LaRue in his book, Guidelines For Style Analysis. They are as follows: A. Are there any word sounds that could be exploited for mood and/or texture? B. Are there any changes of voice? C. Are there any special word and/or sentence intonations that would affect melodic construction? D. Are there any changes in word rhythms that might affect surface rhythms, meter, and/or tempo? A. Are there any word sounds that could be exploited for mood and/or texture? To begin to answer this question, a summary of the "Audio Characteristics of the Good Samaritan" by Dr. Kenneth J. Thomas needs to be stated (Contained in a Memo sent to the author on February 14, 1994). "The recurring sounds in key Greek words are ‘L’ in the words for ‘robbers’, ‘oil’, ‘mercy’, and ‘care for’; ‘P’ in the words for ‘do’, ‘fell among’, ‘came to’, ‘inn’, ‘innkeeper’, and ‘go’; and ‘PL’ in the words for ‘neighbor’, ‘blows’, and ‘had Compassion for’". In any musical setting of this text these words need to be brought out by dynamic, agogic, or tonic accents, or by a combination of these accents. On a higher level certain words set the mood for larger units of text. In verse 25 the word "test" indicates that the conversation between Jesus and the Lawyer was probably adversarial. The initial mood of the music, therefore, should reflect this. The quoting of the Torah in the pericope may have been musical inflection. If this is true, verse 27, which is a quotation from the Torah, would change mood from tension to solemnity. The next major change of mood is in the beginning of the parable proper, verse 30. Words of motion and violence are introduced, indicating both a change of mood and a change in tempo. This should continue until the word "compassion" in verse 33 which breaks both the mood and the rhythm, if not the tempo. The next major change is signaled by Jesus’ question in verse 36, "Who, then, of the three…" This is the climax of the entire pericope for many reasons that will be noted throughout this analysis. For this reason there needs to be either a major change or development in mood, tempo, dynamics, etc., to signal the audience that this question cuts to the heart of the original "testing" of Jesus. Now however, the table is turned, for Jesus is testing the Lawyer. Verse 37a, which is the Lawyer’s answer to Jesus’ climatic question, breaks the climax. It is indicated by the introduction of the formula, ho de eiren—but he answered. This signals the ending, but the mood is not the same at the opening, since there is no hint of "testing" on the part of the Lawyer. The pericope ends with a simple command, "Go and you do the same." B. Are there any changes of voice? (It is important to note changes in voice even if only one person narrates a story, since that person will have to vivify each individual voice in the recital.) There are three primary voices in this pericope—a Narrator, the Lawyer, and Jesus—and three secondary voices, i.e. voices that the Lawyer and Jesus assume during part of the story—the "voice of Deuteronomy," the "voice of Leviticus," and the "voice of the Samaritan." As early as the Middle Ages in the solemn chanting of the Passion when there were similar places, changes in performer, range, tempo, and intonation were made to make the recital clearer. This tradition continued in the Polyphonic Passion tradition of the Renaissance, and the Oratorio tradition of the Classical and Romantic periods. In a nutshell, the voice of Jesus would sing in a low range at a slow tempo. The Narrator would sing in a medium range at a moderate tempo. The other voices would sing in a high range at a fast tempo. The voice of Deuteronomy and Leviticus does not fit into these categories; however. If ancient people are like contemporary people, there were changes in intonation, tempo, and dynamics by the Lawyer during his recital of the sacred texts. A breakdown of the changes of voice by verse in the pericope is as follows: Verse: 25a—Narrator—setting the mood and scene 25b—Lawyer—first Question 26a—Narrator—bridge 26b—Jesus—second Question 27a—Narrator—bridge 27b—Lawyer—in the voice of Deuteronomy and Leviticus 28a—Narrator—bridge 28b—Jesus—approval and command 29a—Narrator—develops mood 29b—Lawyer—third Question 30a—Narrator—bridge 30b-35a—Jesus—the Parable 35b—Jesus, as the voice of the Samaritan (N.B.: no narrative bridge) 36—Jesus—fourth Question, the climax 37a—Narrator—bridge—breaks rhythm 37b—Lawyer—very short sentence, ergo retard 37c—Narrator—bridge—second retard 37d—Jesus—short final command, very slow.
Observations: 1. The Narrator controls the rhythmic flow, especially at the beginning and at the end; and sets various moods. 2. The first important peak is verse 27b the quotation of the Law. 3. The parable—verses 30b-35b—is the largest narrative unit in the pericope. It also leads into the fourth Question with no narrative connection-a meta-asyndeton. From a melodic point of view everything before this section will be introductory in quality, with the possible exception of the quotation of the Law, and everything after will be conclusion. C. Are there any words and/or sentence intonations that would affect melodic construction? Since specific audio characteristics of words were mentioned in question A, this question will deal with sentence intonations. In the ancient chant tradition there were four main melodic formulas or tropes: 1. An antecedent-consequent sentence trope 2. A interrogative trope 3. An introductory trope 4. A closing trope. Applying these four formulas to this pericope produces some very interesting observations: 1. The Narrator’s "antecedent" trope serve as the melodic glue. 2. The most melodically interesting trope in the ancient tradition was the interrogative trope. Since there are four questions in this pericope, they act as melodic pillars supporting the entire melodic composition. 3. The first three questions are part of an antecedent-consequent pattern, i.e., each question is set up with a declarative statement by the narrator, followed by a question by either the lawyer or by Jesus. By the third question this pattern is firmly established. When Jesus asks the fourth question with no preceding declarative statement by the narrator, Luke breaks the narrative flow in a most dramatic way. The entire parable rushes into the final question, which thunders with alliterative "T’s" and with smooth assonant "O". This is one of the most wonderful sentences in the entire Gospel. Let us look at it further. (These comments are in part motivated by the comments of Kenneth Thomas and John David Lawson in their various communications on the word track.) The first five words of the fourth question are, "Tis tout n t n tri n…"—"Who then of the three… ( =omega)". The enclitic tis which sounded three times with a grave accent, and once in an iambic foot, kai tis, now explodes at the beginning of verse 36 with an acute accent. This acute accent is followed by a second acute accent, forming a spondee foot—tis tout n. A spondee foot—two acute accents in one foot—is rare in Greek, and in later poetic traditions. Its name is related to the Greek word for libation, since this foot was used in slow, solemn melodies that were sung while wine was poured out in honor of some god. This slow spondee foot is reinforced by the alliterative use of four "T’s" which crack the ears of the audience, and continued with the assonance of the long "O" vowel sounds in four of the six syllables. Since this is the only sentence that starts with a spondee foot, uses alliteration, and assonance, and is the last question, it is by its placement and construction the most dramatic moment in the text. It breaks the flow of the previous section, changes the tempo and surface rhythm, and sounds the interrogative trope for the last time. These combined elements shout this question beyond the ears of the lawyer to any and all who hear this story—bystanders on the Jerusalem-Jericho road, or hopefully, teenagers seated by a TV or PC watching our video translation. 4. There are three sentences in the parable proper that also need to be mentioned. In verses 31 and 32 Luke starts each sentence with loquacious verbal flourishes—kata sugkurian de and homoio s de kai—to introduce the priest and the Levite. However, this pattern is broken to introduce the Samaritan—Samarit s de tis. The verbal flourish is still there, but the placement of the Samaritan first in the flourish means that this word will receive the intonational trope which gives this word melodic prominence. D. Are there any changes in word rhythms that might affect surface rhythms, meter, and/or tempo? The answer to this question is partially covered in the previous observations. This is due to the interrelated nature of the elements of music. The single most important factor in determining initial tempo and changes of tempo is the number of syllables per phrase and per sentence. Generally speaking, the combination of short phrases, and changing of voice in verses 25 through 30a signal a moderate tempo. In the parable, verses 30 to 35, the phrases and sentences are much longer. This signals a dramatic accelerando of the tempo. Verse 36, as noted above, breaks this accelerando with a dramatic change of tempo that should probably be reinforced with sforzando dynamics. Verse 37 with its short phrases, and four changes of voice continues the slow tempo, but with a retard. Conclusion This Rhetorical Analysis has been made to help composers and musicians understand those places in the text that need special music consideration to, "…enhance the reception of the text." While the ancient tropes may be forgotten, and the oral tradition fractured, there are enough paralinguistic markers imbedded in the silent text, and enough secondary sources concerning the trope tradition to point us in the correct direction. The task of any new setting will be to take these observations and "consciously create a musical score that will engender in an audience a sense of aesthetic satisfaction and/or psychological plausibility that clarifies or heightens the intended effect of the original text." |