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MusicandtheGeorgianNovel,ortheDivorceofAdamandEve
15
listenerwillinterpretthemusicandmakesenseofitsallegedflmeaning.”One
understandsthereforewhyinstrumentalmusiclongperplexedcritics,aswas
famouslyexpressedbytheapocryphalexclamationattributedtoRousseau:
Sonate,quemeveux-tu?”Therewasageneralsuspiciontowardsmusic
becauseonewasatalosstointerpretitsmeaning,asRogerNorthexplained.11
TheChurch,inparticular,wasveryreluctanttoletmusicbeusedwithout
thecontrolthatspecificwordssettoitcouldprovide.Tosumup,oneofthe
functionsofthetheoryoftheflSisterArts”wasbothtohelpconceptualize
musicandtodelimitateandrestrictitsperimeterandrole.
TheDependenceofMusiconWords
intheEarlyGeorgianNovel
Theaesthetictheoriesofanygivenperiodinhistorypercolateintotheworks
producedduringthatverysameperiod,eventhoughthewriters,paintersor
musiciansthemselvesmaynotbeacutelyawareofit.Inthefirsthalfofthe
eighteenthcentury,noveliststendedtoanchorreferencestomusicinthe
substratumofthetextsallegedlysettoit.Whentheymentionedmusicor
describedmusicalscenes,theygenerallyrepresentedthemusictheyalluded
tobyreferringtothewordssungtothemusicinquestion.Unconsciouslyor
not,theyadheredtotheidealoftheimitationofthemeaningofthewords
bythemusic.Musicwasnotautonomousanditnecessarilyappearedinthe
bodyofthenovelinitsverbalguise,thatis,itremainedconcealedbehind
theveilofthewordsthatweresettoit.
IwouldliketotaketheexamplesofFieldingandRichardsontoillustrate
thisprevalenceofwordsovermusicresultingfromthetheoryoftheflSister
Arts.”InHenryFielding’sJosephAndrews,12itisthankstoJoseph’svoiceand
singingthathisbelovedFannyrecogniseshimwhentheyhappentofind
themselvesinthesameinn.13ThesongFannyhearshimsingfromaroom
nexttohershasanimmediateandpotentefectuponher:shebecomespale
andswoons.Fieldingtakesthetroubletoprovidethereaderwiththewords
11fButnowcomingtotheInstrumentallkindofMusick,weearemuchmoreataloss
thanbefore;forthevocallhaththesubjectprovided,butfortheother,themaster
mustfeignethesubject,aswellasformehismusicktoit.’RogerNorth,flTheExcellent
ArtofVoluntary”
,c.1720,inRogerNorthonMusic.Ed.JohnWilson.London1959,
p.115.
12
HenryFielding.TheHistoryoftheAdventuresofJosephAndrews.AndofhisFriend
Mr.AbrahamAdams.WritteninImitationoftheMannerofCervantes,AuthorofDon
Quixote[London1742].Ed.ThomasKeymer.Oxford1999.
13HenryFielding.JosephAndrews.II,xii,p.133.Ibid.II,xii,p.133.