Kloster Neuzelle

David Westcombe, traverso
Aysha Wills, traverso
Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde, cello
Artem Belogurov, harpsichord

https://www.klosterneuzelle.de/#page-53-box

Music by J. S. Bach, W. F. Bach, G. F. Händel, G. P. Telemann, J. F. Kleinknecht

The idea that music influences our emotions has existed for centuries. In the 17th and 18th centuries, German theorists codified how composers could convey emotional states to their audiences. The Theory of Affects, or Affektenlehre, described how music could arouse passions in listeners, such as joy or sadness.

During the Baroque era, composers gradually shifted from using music to passively describe emotions to using it as a tool to arouse those emotions in the listener. This shift is exemplified by the style of Empfindsamkeit, which emphasized direct emotional experience.

The Theory of Affects also considered the variability of reactions on the part of listeners. The four temperaments - phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic, and sanguine - were thought to influence how people responded to music. For example, a melancholic person would be more likely to weep when the music represents sorrow, while a sanguine person would be less likely to do so.

For us, four musicians with distinct musical personalities, exploring the Theory of Affects was a fascinating way to understand how music affects the audience and how each of us relates to the four temperaments.