Copyright © 2017 Matthew Eric Raley All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. ABSTRACTION IN J. S. BACH’S “CHACONNE”: A MODEL FOR RECONCILING ARTIST AND AUDIENCE TODAY __________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________ by Matthew Eric Raley May 2017 APPROVAL SHEET ABSTRACTION IN J. S. BACH’S “CHACONNE”: A MODEL FOR RECONCILING ARTIST AND AUDIENCE TODAY Matthew Eric Raley Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Mark T. Coppenger (Chair) __________________________________________ James A. Parker III __________________________________________ Esther R. Crookshank Date______________________________ I dedicate this dissertation to Bridget Raley, my wife, partner in ministry, and friend. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ................................................................................... vii PREFACE ........................................................................................................................ viii Chapter 1. ALIENATION BETWEEN ARTISTS AND AUDIENCES .................................1 Issues ...................................................................................................................3 Thesis ................................................................................................................14 2. THE ISSUE OF ARTIST AND AUDIENCE ......................................................25 Friedrich Schiller and Freedom .........................................................................26 G. W. F. Hegel and History...............................................................................29 William Hazlitt and Psychology .......................................................................33 Modernists and Humanity .................................................................................38 Susanne Langer and Symbols ...........................................................................46 J. S. Bach and History .......................................................................................50 3. COMPETING ACCOUNTS OF ABSTRACTION .............................................59 Definition of Abstraction ..................................................................................60 Abstraction in Schiller and Hegel .....................................................................65 Abstraction in Hazlitt ........................................................................................73 Abstraction in Modernism ................................................................................78 Wilhelm Worringer .................................................................................. 78 Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian ................................................... 81 Clement Greenberg .................................................................................. 85 Arnold Schoenberg .................................................................................. 89 iv Chapter Page Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin ................................................... 96 Abstraction in Langer and Arnheim ................................................................104 Conclusions .....................................................................................................110 4. J. S. BACH AND CREATION ..........................................................................113 Comparison of Bach with Edwards.................................................................115 Bach and the Created Order ............................................................................126 Edwards and Bach ...........................................................................................135 Unity-in-Diversity .................................................................................. 135 God’s Immanence .................................................................................. 136 Improvements ........................................................................................ 138 Diversions .............................................................................................. 139 The Legacies of Bach and Edwards ................................................................140 5. J. S. BACH AND DANCE .................................................................................143 The Thirty Years’ War ....................................................................................144 The Lure of French Culture ............................................................................148 The Court at Cöthen ........................................................................................154 The Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin ........................................................159 On the Use of Popular Forms ..........................................................................162 6. J. S. BACH AND THE “CHACONNE” ............................................................165 Analyzing the “Musical Thinking” .................................................................168 Solving the Riddle of the Ostinato ..................................................................177 Observing the Three-Part Structure ................................................................186 Following the Pairs of Variations ...................................................................188 Tracking the Chromatic Build-Up ..................................................................190 Appreciating the Abstract Show-Stopper........................................................196 7. A MODEL FOR ANALYZING ABSTRACTION ............................................199 v Chapter Page Reference, Juxtaposition, and Composition ....................................................199 Abstraction in the Tabernacle’s Menorah .......................................................201 Abstraction in Roach’s Freedom Now Suite ...................................................209 Abstraction in Hitchcock’s and Herrmann’s Vertigo ......................................218 Abstraction in Kandinsky’s Extended .............................................................236 8. RECONCILING ARTIST AND AUDIENCE ...................................................240 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 252 vi LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Example Page 1. “Chaconne” mm. 25-32 .......................................................................................175 2. Curti’s Nine Forms of the Tetrachord .................................................................183 3. “Chaconne,” mm. 1-5 ..........................................................................................184 4. “Chaconne,” mm. 7-8 ..........................................................................................185 5. “Chaconne,” mm. 16-20 ......................................................................................192 6. “Chaconne,” mm. 33-40 ......................................................................................192 7. “Chaconne,” mm. 81-84 ......................................................................................193 8. “Chaconne,” mm. 209-12 ....................................................................................194 9. “Chaconne,” mm. 228-33 ....................................................................................194 10. “Chaconne,” mm. 237-41 ..................................................................................195 11. “Chaconne,” mm. 248-52 ..................................................................................195 vii PREFACE The solo violin works of J. S. Bach defy mastery. In this sense, they are like the Scriptures, which give scholars only a license to learn more. In researching the abstraction of Bach’s “Chaconne” from the Partita No. 2 in D Minor for Solo Violin (BWV 1004), I have primarily gained a deeper sense of how vast an achievement it is. I want to thank three professors from my undergraduate years at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, more than twenty years ago. Professor Daniel Rouslin gave me a fresh understanding of the physicality of playing the violin, enabling me to continue my growth as a player to this day. Professor Bruce McIntosh trained me in the techniques of performance practice, helping me understand the influence of dance in performing the “Chaconne.” Professor John Peel trained me in music composition, shifting my approach as a performer more to the point of view of the one who crafted music in the first place. I also want to thank my dissertation supervisor, Professor Mark Coppenger, who trained me in the philosophical tools I needed not only to ground a theory of abstraction appropriately in the literature, but also to strengthen my writing and ministry overall. Matthew Raley Chico, California May 2017 viii CHAPTER 1 ALIENATION BETWEEN ARTISTS AND AUDIENCES The Islamic State inflicted two horrific attacks on Europeans in four months. On November 13, 2015, gunmen killed 130 people and wounded 368 others in Paris and its suburb of Saint-Denis. Then, on March 22, 2016,