Rhetoric and meaning. Analysis of the Préludes in E-flat major for transverse flute from L’ Art de Préluder by J. M. Hotteterre (Paris, 1719)
Keywords:
Hotteterre, preludes, rhetoric, transverse fluteAbstract
The following presentation originated from a broader research work that covered all the preludes for flute from L' Art de Préluder by J. M. Hotteterre, carried out in the research team that I co-direct together with Dr. Mônica Lucas (USP, Brazil), based in the Department of Musical Arts (DAMus) of the National University of the Arts.
The research proceeded to historically contextualize the appearance of the treaty and its possible recipients. The most relevant sources referring to rhetoric in France were studied. Each of the preludes was analyzed using rhetorical tools and appropriate graphics. All the preludes intended for the transverse flute and the two preludes with basso continuo that appear at the end of the treatise were recorded with a flute replica of an original Hotteterre. We present here the analysis of the three preludes in Eb major, highlighting useful semantic inferences for interpretive praxis.