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General: The Creative Process |
Pushing the boundaries of Nature
As opposed to the renaissance period, in
the baroque man no longer imitates nature; he creates (as
does nature) in his role of creative genius. Often this
goes against nature; Architects build castles and gardens
using geometric and mathematical principals in the middle
of marshlands, or other uninhabitable locations, poets
write very cultivated or refined works and the musician is
Musicus Poeticus (see below). Everything created by man
seems to be pushing the boundaries of nature. That's why
many baroque manners seem so artificial and unnatural: from
the formalized manner of addressing one another to the
wigs, from the court ceremonies to the castrati. The world
is a theatre with actors, masters of ceremony, and
music.
Taking a more critical view
By taking a more critical view on
religious, philosophical and scientific matters, the inner
metaphysical self-consciousness has disappeared. The
orientation to the metaphysical in the middle ages had
created a whole way of life, which could be seen in the
cathedrals (which point to heaven) and heard in the central
role of the cantus firmus in musical compositions.
Individualism and Earthly Pleasures
In the Baroque, the orienteering is towards
earthly life; this can be seen in the beautiful palaces and
churches, and can be heard in the individualism of the
concerto-style. In England a new liberalism develops, that
amongst other things lead to the rise of the middle-class
and the French revolution. The absolutism of the ancien
regime becomes a concluding highpoint of the old way of
life. In this way, J.S. Bach's late works form a final
stage of an unbroken musical tradition since the middle
ages.
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