Il Re dei Cieli e il Re di Francia: su un 'topos' nella maniera di Lully

Abstract

The imitation of Versailles, much studied in the history of architecture, gardens, portraits, fashion, etc., was no less present in music. Many composers, also outside of France (Purcell, Handel, Bach …), imitated Lully, the principal composer of the Sun King, particularly in the 'French overtures', which, in ballets and later in operas, surpassed in splendour and dignity everything hitherto heard. But this prominent manifestation of musical Versailles must be understood not merely under its formal aspects, as an abstract genre of instrumental music, but also as a vehicle for a powerful rhetorical function. The characteristic scalar motion, dotted rhythm, and grave tempo were absorbed into vocal music, where they became a topos for the 'king', for his glory and majesty. Numerous examples illustrate the use of this style not only for the King of France, other earthly sovereigns, the profane Jupiter, and in the second half of the 18th century simply for 'aristocracy' (also in a negative sense), but also for the King of Heaven. Modern immanent interpretations have impeded the rational understanding of this historical topos; one spoke of «dark [!] majesty» and vague psychological sentiments of «solemnity».
The gesture has at least three roots: 1) dotted rhythm which had for some time been considered 'French' (its use in German countries is analogous to the pretentious 'franzparlieren'), and the solemn rhythm of the paean. The latter was adopted already by Lully from Aristotle, Quintilian etc.; but the paean as a hymn had been associated since Homer with divine healing. 2) The scalar motion coincided similarly with the official prerequisites of French classicism. 3) The very slow tempo – normally indicated as «grave» or «maestoso» – corresponded to the motion of the sovereigns as it was prescribed in the kings' mirrors, court ceremonials, and manuals of etiquette ever since Antiquity, based on both Stoic and Christian principles (tranquillitas, temperantia, constantia). It is significant that Louis XIV and the King of Heaven were musically identical. Music thus joined the last phase of 'political theology'. The association can be traced back to the assignment of imperial attributes to Christ by early Christian writers, and, on the other hand, is evident in the later diffusion of the myth of Louis as 'Dieu en terre' and 'healer' (cf. theatrical roles, emblems, panegyrics) and the ancient theological, legal, and historical foundations of the 'divine right of kings'. The topos disappears after the Revolution, when the King of Heaven lost his powerful earthly image.
One of the most grandiose presentations of the topos, Mozart's «Rex tremendae majestatis», is discussed in detail.