Dissertation Index
Author: Salamone, Jennifer L. Title: Misbehaving Minuets: A Preliminary Theory of Humor and Dance Form in Haydn\'s Opp. 76 and 77 Institution: University of Kentucky Begun: January 2015 Completed: April 2017 Abstract: It is nearly impossible to read scholarship on Franz Joseph Haydn and escape the mention of musical humor. Scholarly literature delves into various aspects of humor in the composer’s works; in this project I focus specifically on humorous aspects of the minuet and trio movements from the late string quartets, Opp. 76 and 77. Through ten close musical readings I explore various devices of musical humor. I rely on the expectations of a standard eighteenth-century listener to guide my analyses, using elements of traditional humor theories to discuss the listener’s responses to the music. I begin by exploring and defining humor itself. Centuries of literature are generally parsed into three fundamental categories: Superiority, Relief, and Incongruity Theories. Contemporary approaches utilize elements of these, creating what I call blended approaches. The burgeoning topic of music aesthetics has invited a wealth of exploration into humor as it specifically pertains to music; I combine traditional philosophical theories with these contemporary discussions in music to develop my analytical model. Alongside the minuet’s many cultural roles in eighteenth-century Western Europe come various connotations and expectations; even those minuets performed away from the ballroom carry layers of suggested meaning. The ubiquity of the minuet dance suggests that listeners during Haydn’s career would have been exceedingly familiar with the choreographic conventions and stylistic norms at play. When the music engages with and even contradicts these expectations, it has the potential to arouse affective responses—possibly humor—in its listeners. Because of their familiarity with the minuet dance, eighteenth-century listeners likely subconsciously engaged with imagined choreographic patterns when hearing a concert minuet. If the music behaved in a way that contradicted the expected choreomusical interactions, the listener would likely have an embodied response. Such heightened physiological reaction to the music, combined with the mental and emotional response to denied expectations, harbors the potential for multi-faceted humor analyses. Keywords: Joseph Haydn, minuet, humor, string quartet, hypermeter, aesthetics TOC: CHAPTER 1. Setting the Stage: Haydn, Humor, and the Minuet Convention and Expectation in Instrumental Music Haydn’s Musical Discourse Wit, Humor, and Haydn’s Music The Minuet as a Vehicle for Humor CHAPTER 2. Aspects of Humor within Western History and in Tonal Music Superiority Theory: Humor as a Moral Compass Relief Theory: Humor as a Pressure Valve Incongruity Theory: Humor of the Dissimilar Bridging Gaps: Blended Approaches to Humor Humor in Tonal Music CHAPTER 3. The Minuet and its Roles in Eighteenth-Century Western Europe The Minuet in the Ballroom The Minuet as a Compositional Game The Minuet in Transition Overview of Minuet Choreography and Notation Listening to Minuet Music CHAPTER 4. Hypermetric Disruption Devices Blurring the Lines: Elisions and Overlaps Hypermetric Addendums and the Six-Measure Phrase CHAPTER 5. Exploring Other Humor Devices Hypermetric Disruption Concurrent with Other Devices Beyond Hypermetric Disturbance CHAPTER 6. Conclusions and Looking Ahead Contact: Jennifer Salamone jsalamon@oberlin.edu (845) 313-9531 |