What Is Instrumental Music Endowed With Literary or Pictorial Associations?

Instrumental music can be beautiful and moving, but what happens when it’s endowed with literary or pictorial associations? Does it become even more powerful?

Introduction

Instrumental music endowed with literary or pictorial associations is quite common in the Western musical tradition. One of the earliest examples can be found in the 13th century Italian treatise, De Musica by Johannes de Grocheio. In this work, Grocheio gives specific instructions for how to perform various songs using different instruments. For example, he recommends that the song “Estampie Real” be played on a fiddle (violino) because it is “a very good voice for this kind of music.” Similarly, he suggests that the song “Saltarello” be played on a lute (lisardo) because it will help to create “a more pleasing and uninterrupted harmony.”

Other early examples of instrumental music with literary or pictorial associations include the retablo of San Ildefonso by Alonso Mudarra and the Canzoni e sinfonie by Giovanni Gabrieli. In both cases, the music was specifically written to be performed alongside visual artworks. The retablo is a type of altarpiece that was popular in Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries. It typically consists of a painting or relief sculpture surrounded by an ornate frame. Mudarra’s retablo, which is currently housed in the Cathedral of Toledo, features a painting of Saint Ildefonso alongside two musical scores: one for an instrumental ensemble and one for voices. The Canzoni e sinfonie, meanwhile, are a collection of pieces for brass instruments that were written to be performed in Venice’s St. Mark’s Basilica.

More recent examples of instrumental music with literary or pictorial associations include Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Isle of the Dead. The former was inspired by Mussorgsky’s visit to an exhibition of paintings by his friend Viktor Hartmann; each of the ten movements in the work represents one of Hartmann’s paintings. The latter was inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s painting Isle of the Dead, which depicts a procession of ghosts carrying a coffin across a rocky isle. Rachmaninoff described his symphonic poem as “an attempt to portray graphically Böcklin’s picture.”

While these are some of the most famous examples of instrumental music with literary or pictorial associations, there are countless other examples from throughout history. This type of music continues to be composed today, as evidenced by Works & Processes: Wallflowers – Music Inspired by Paintings at MoMA (2017), which featured new works inspired by paintings from MoMA’s collection.

What Is Instrumental Music Endowed With Literary or Pictorial Associations?

Instrumental music is a type of music that is produced without any lyrics or words. It is usually just the music itself that is played by the instruments. This type of music can be endowed with literary or pictorial associations, which can make it more interesting and enjoyable to listen to.

The Association of Music and the Visual Arts

Instrumental music often contains elements that can be associated with visual images or landscapes. This may be due to the use of certain musical motifs, phrases or instruments that evoke a specific image in the listener’s mind. It may also be due to the overall atmosphere or mood of the piece, which can create a mental picture of a particular scene.

Many types of instrumental music have been associated with specific paintings or other works of art. For example, Claude Debussy’s atmospheric piano piece “Clair de Lune” is often thought of as being inspired by Paul Verlaine’s poem of the same name, which describes a moonlit landscape. Similarly, Edvard Grieg’s expressive piano work “The Death of Ase” from his Peer Gynt suite is often compared to Munch’s famous painting The Scream, due to its emotive power and dark tonality.

There are also many examples of music that has been inspired by particular pieces of literature. Examples include Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s overture Romeo and Juliet, which is based on Shakespeare’s play of the same name, and Modest Mussorgsky’s piano work Pictures at an Exhibition, which was inspired by a series of drawings by Viktor Hartmann.

In some cases, it is not always clear what exactly has inspired a particular piece of music. This may be because the composer was deliberately trying to evoke a certain mood or atmosphere, rather than create a direct association with any one thing. For instance, Richard Strauss’ tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra is often thought to represent the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, even though Nietzsche himself never mentioned the work in his writings. Similarly, Arnold Schoenberg’s atonal composition Pierrot Lunaire is often said to convey the feeling of moonlight and madness, even though there is no specific evidence to support this claim.

Instrumental music can therefore create strong associations with specific images, themes or ideas, even if these associations are not explicitly stated by the composer. This ability to evoke extra-musical ideas makes instrumental music a particularly powerful and evocative art form.

The Association of Music and Literature

Instrumental music can be endowed with literary or pictorial associations in several ways. The most obvious is when a composer writes a musical work that is inspired by or based on a specific literary work, such as an opera, play, or poem. In such cases, the music usually amplifies and extends the emotional content of the original text. For example, Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly is based on a play by David Belasco that itself was based on real-life events; the music of the opera heightens the tragic pathos of the story. Other times, a particular literary work may simply suggest a mood or atmosphere that a composer then tries to musically convey; for instance, Franz Schubert’s song cycle Die Winterreise (The Winter Journey) was inspired by a collection of poems by Wilhelm Müller that evoke the feelings of cold and loneliness experienced by a jilted lover during a journey through a snow-covered landscape.

Instrumental music can also be associated with pictorial images in much the same way as literary texts. In some cases, a specific painting or other work of art may serve as inspiration for a composition; for example, Modest Mussorgsky’s piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition is based on drawings and watercolors by his friend Viktor Hartmann. Alternatively, a piece of music may simply create an auditory equivalent of certain visual effects or impressions; for instance, Claude Debussy’s piano prelude “The Engulfed Cathedral” reflects the experience of standing in front of an enormous Gothic cathedral and being overwhelmed by its size and majesty.

Conclusion

When we listen to instrumental music, we may sometimes get the feeling that the music is trying to tell us a story, or paint a picture. This is because some instrumental music is “endowed with literary or pictorial associations”. In other words, the composer has chosen to associate their music with a particular story or image.

This can be done in a number of ways. For example, the composer might choose to name their piece after a particular story or poem (such as Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, which is based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe). Or they might use musical motifs which are suggestive of a particular image or idea (such as the five notes of Beethoven’s “Fate” Symphony, which some people say represent the five elements of nature: fire, water, air, earth and spirit).

Instrumental music endowed with literary or pictorial associations can be either serious or light-hearted in tone. It can be intended to evoke a specific emotion in the listener (such as sadness, joy or fear), or it can simply be meant to be enjoyed for its own sake. Either way, it can provide us with a new way of understanding and appreciating the music.