Scholarly record

THE EXPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS SPIRITUALITY THROUGH THE OPERA GENRE OF THE 19TH CENTURY

P. Coroiu, A. Belibou

Abstract

In our paper, we wish to present some conclusions concerning the importance of spirituality in music. Music has qualities that serve to elevate humans beyond materialism, thus it implies spirituality that includes personal growth. Spirituality crosses the entire musical art, as well as the whole creative thinking of humanity. Analyzing (from a hermeneutic point of view) the musical opera scores of the 19th century composers, we wish to emphasize the diversity of the ways of expressing the religious spirituality that can be identified both at the level of the libretto (primary level, the one of the text which accompanies opera music), and at the level of the music (where the meanings are sublimated into emotions with high semantic significance). The opera offers us several examples relevant for the topic of this research from the music of the 19th century: expressing religious spirituality through the sonorous art, under the form of a prayer, of taking responsibility for oneВ’s own sins, or of penitence as a return to spiritual purity through forgiveness, or of dedication and self-sacrifice.

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