Word painting
The joining of a word, phrase, or idea to a musical analogy.

[Example 1: As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending]

Fig 1: Renaissance musicians sing from music parts (Anon. Italian painting: Bourges, Berry Museum)

Word painting is the practice of illustrating specific words of a text in a vocal composition by means of musical analogy. It applies also to whole phrases, and to ideas that are indicated or suggested by the text. Word painting is quite common in music of the late-Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Word painting in the Madrigal

This technique was cultivated to a high degree in the madrigal. Examples of word painting are so common in this genre, in fact, that they are sometimes referred to as "madrigalisms." Some examples offer a direct reflection of the text. Words like "run" or "swift" could be reflected by an increase in tempo. A shift in dynamic to forte may accompany "loud." Physical actions are mirrored by musical movement: thus "ascending" may be joined to a series of pitches moving up the scale. In the following line from the madrigal As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending, by Thomas Weelkes, for example, the phrases "First two by two, then three by three, together" are reflected in a texture that consists first of two voices, then three, then all of the performers:

[Example 2: As Vesta was: "First two by two, then three by three, together"]

Fig 2: texture of Example 2.

The correlation between word and musical imitation is not always this direct. Here is another excerpt from As Vesta was. The second half of the final line, "Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana: 'Long live fair Oriana' " implies a crowd of people who are cheering spontaneously. The effect of several individuals speaking at once is captured through the use of imitative polyphony. (If you listen carefully, you will also hear voices illustrate the word "long" by holding it for several beats.):

[Example 3: As Vesta was: "Then sang the shepherds...Oriana"]

Fig 3: texture of Example 3.

Some cases are rather abstract. In the cantata I Shall Gladly Bear the Cross (Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne Tragen) by J.S. Bach the composer depicts the simile in the line "My journey through this world is like a sea-borne voyage." This allusion to sea travel is joined with a rising and falling accompaniment in the cello line that suggests the motion of waves:

[Example 4: I Shall Gladly Bear: "Mein Wandel auf der Welt..."]

Fig 4: score of Example 4.

Word Painting in Later Music

Although word painting became less common after the mid-eighteenth century, it has never disappeared entirely from Western art music. Examples sometimes appear in Romantic-era Lieder. Here is another specimen from 1948: "At Dusk (Im Abendrot)" from the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss. The line "Two larks still soar alone half-dreaming, into the mist" is accompanied by a pair of flutes that mimic the chirping of birds:

[Example 5: At Dusk: "Two larks still soar..."]

Word painting can also be found in popular song, Pop, and Rock. The addition of voices on the words "one," "two," "three" and "for" (sung as "four") in the song "Helplessly Hoping" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, for example, is remarkably similar to Weelkes' madrigal that we encountered previously.

[Example 6: Helplessly Hoping]

Summary:

• Word painting is the practice of joining a word, phrase, or idea to a musical analogy.
• Examples appear most often in music of the late-Renaissance and Baroque.

Copyright © Columbia University, Visual & Sound Materials from the Gabe M. Wiener Music & Arts Library of Columbia University
Word Painting written by: Michael Von der Linn Recording & Mixing: Bradford Garton & Terry Pender	Narration: Thomas Payne Technology & Design: Maurice Matiz