Music, Rhetoric and Christian Hebraism in Early Modern Europe

Reuchlin's Reconstruction of the Modulata Recitatio
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-90-485-6510-8
Verlag: Amsterdam University Press

Buch, Englisch, 474 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 798 g

This book presents the first in-depth exploration of the relationship between music, rhetoric and Christian Hebraism, by re-appraising the significance of the “first German humanist” Johannes Reuchlin’s study of Kabbalah and cantillation in the light of Renaissance rhetoric.

Few studies have investigated how Renaissance humanists learned Hebrew language for the delivery (pronuntiatio) of the Hebrew Bible as an aural-oral tradition. Hyun-Ah Kim examines the way in which ‘grammarian-philosopher’ Reuchlin reconstructed the modulata recitatio of the Hebrew Bible and its underlying intellectual foundation. Consequently, Kim demonstrates the hitherto neglected Hebraic aspect of Renaissance rhetoric and its mystical implications that played a vital role in shaping a new theoretical framework for the ‘art of accented singing,’ an art which has changed European musical culture ever since. Music, Rhetoric and Christian Hebraism in Early Modern Europe elucidates why this nexus is essential for understanding the integral relationship between music, language and theological philosophy.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kim, Hyun-Ah

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Vergleichende Religionswissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikgattungen Geistliche Musik, Religiöse Musik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Abbreviations

List of Figures

Preface

Introduction: Reuchlin, Musica Rhetorica and Christian Hebraism

1. The Humanist-Pythagorean Kabbalist

2. Music, Contemplation and Symbolica Philosophia

3. Modulating the Logos: Music, Rhetoric and the Word of God

4. Decoding the Musical Accent of Divine Language

Conclusion

Select Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Kim, Hyun-Ah
Dr Hyun-Ah Kim is Associate Fellow at the HDC Centre for Religious History, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and is International Fellow at the Europäische Melanchthon-Akademie Bretten. Her publications include Music and Religious Education in Early Modern Europe and The Renaissance Ethics of Music.