Analysis of Some Musical-Rhetoric Aspects of “Domine Deus Agnus Dei” of Gloria RV 589 by Antonio Vivaldi

Abstract

The inner structure of the baroque art works has a rhetorical foundation with the purpose to move the affections of the audience. The musical-rhetoric system consists of the application of classical rhetoric principles to music, which aim to create beautiful and persuasive discourses. This article presents a analysis of some musical-rhetoric aspects of the eighth movement – “Domine Deus, Agnus Dei” – of Gloria RV 589 by Antonio Vivaldi. The analysis made it possible to verify, in the music, various rhetoric discourse parts and several musical-rhetoric figures in each of them. The analysis exemplifies how the rhetoric principles are strongly present in baroque music.
Keywords: Analysis; Gloria RV 589; Baroque music; Rhetoric; Vivaldi.