Literary, th eological and rhetorical context of solo vocal compositions in th e educational dimension

Abstract

In this research, the author as a musicologist performs a theological and rhetorical analysis of baroque vocal compositions written for low bass and studies the literary context of the songs that he performs. The author is a performing artist (bass, basso profondo) and his repertoire includes songs (both religious and secular), opera arias, oratorios and cantatas by composers of the periods ranging from early baroque to contemporary. As a catholic priest he often personally organises his vocal recitals, prepares introductory speeches taking the opportunity to make reference to the conducted research. These concerts, often due to strictly specified target audience (schoolchildren, university students, adults, including students of the university of the Third age), form of presentation and specified repertoire, have a sensu stricto educative form. The research material hereof consists of programs of the selected concerts performed by the author, the musical scores of the performed pieces with their texts, results of the author’s own research (publications) on the oeuvre of the selected composers (nowowiejski and Moniuszko), theological and rhetorical dissertations of the author on baroque compositions for low bass performed by him. The research method of the article may be described as exploration of the author’s own concert activity, concert programs, the way of holding concerts and literary and historical analysis of the selected compositions in broadly understood educational dimension taking into account various age groups of the audience.  Music, including in particular vocal music, is aimed at teaching, educating, raising awareness, by both the values that it holds as such and by its religious, literary, historical and patriotic context. This is what the author tries to prove, indicating the forms of education with other disciplines (theology, literature, history, patriotic education), with his own concert activity.