Category: Technique

The word rhetoric derives from the Greek ‘rhetorike’, which means ‘to recite’, and is attributed to a certain way of persuasive speaking by an orator which is used to induce an emotional response from the audience in order to convince them of the speaker’s point. Cicero wrote that the aim of an orator was ‘docere,…

As a performer I am always looking for rhetorical ways into the music. I can do this by ‘decomposing’ the piece – and then layering it back up, like putting on sheets of tracing paper. These different sheets are: – Invention (idea) – Elaboration (structure and harmonic outline) – Decoration (ornamentation) – Oration (performance) (Invention)…