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Choral Pedagogical Tools and Vocal Exercises A Practical Guide to Teaching Handel's Messiah

Baroque period adopted a more humanist approach gestures and ornamentation (including the use of vi-
when it applied rhetorical guidelines based on the in- brato). These expressive decisions fulfill Handel’s com-
terpretation of Ancient Greek and Roman rhetoric. positional intentions and evoke the appropriate affect.
These rhetorical guidelines equated musical expression
as akin to speech and art of oratory. Study Guide Applications of Melismatic Music
Decoratio (ornamentation to evoke affect) and Pronun- Amateur and student singers encounter technical
ciato (manner in performance to evoke affect), are two and stylistic execution challenges when singing melis-
broad concepts of Baroque rhetoric used to invoke the matic vocal lines in Baroque music. These complica-
affections. Under the broad umbrella of Decoratio and tions occur at a basic mechanical level as well as on an
Pronunciato rhetorical intents, composers would use spe- artistic level. These technical and artistic concepts can
cific rhetorical “gestures” or compositional techniques be addressed through skill-focused, sequential vocalises.
to incite the affections. In Study Guide C (Figure 8), the soprano part of “For
In Musica Poetica by Dr. Dietrich Bartel, the rhetorical Unto Us A Child Is Born” is one of many difficult
gesture assimilatio/homoisis is detailed: “The rhetorical choral melismatic lines in Messiah. The example study
assimilatio (homoisis, similitude)…is more than mere word guide includes markings for articulation; metric ac-
painting… The figure…through its musical qualities, centuation; dynamics; consonant cut-offs; macro-level
becomes the very source of the affection which it is phrasing for the long melismatic section as well as the
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called to depict.” Handel’s use of assimilatio creates a internal micro-level phrasing.
“source” of peace through the sustained unison tenor
and bass voices. Handel further evokes a peaceful af-
fect through his orchestration—only the tasto solo in Sequential Technical Exercises
the basso continuo doubles the voices—immediately for Vocal Agility and Accuracy in Florid Music
creating a lighter, more sparse musical texture. This Educational theory advocates for the use of sequen-
intentional rhetorical device evokes a sense of stillness tial teaching methods for skill acquisition. In their study
and musical serenity. Thus, conductors can use study on pedagogical sequencing, Patten, Chao, and Reige-
guides as instructional tools to communicate rhetorical luth write:

CHORAL JOURNAL October 2023 Volume 64 Number 3 29