Witches, Masques and Lutes: Scoring the Magical Within Masques and Plays

The world has been fascinated with witches since the beginning of human society. Witches have been documented about as early as in the Bible. Heavy areas of concentration in human history are in Europe, from the late Middle Ages until the beginning of the eighteenth century, when witch trials and the “witch-craze” surrounding them effected the social and political environment. That kind of impact eventually began to influence composers of the time, so we started to see music being written about witches and other similar supernatural creatures. One genre that was influenced by the “witch-craze” was theatrical masques. Masques differed from spoken drama and operas, as the action moved forward through dance instead of speech or song. A notable instrument that was used in ensembles that performed in masques was the lute. This thesis focuses on how composers used the lute to underscore scenes within masques and other theatrical works that contained stories about witches and other affiliated supernatural creatures. This research also examines the solo lute music arrangements of the incidental music of masques and other theatrical works with indeterminate instrumentation. A connection between witches and lutes is explored, as both have been noted for their sensual qualities. The lute’s sensuous qualities include the trance-like and sweeting sounding timbre of the instrument as well as the construction of the body likened to both male and female anatomy. Witches were noted for their unbridled rebellious nature or rather non-conformist attitude toward what was expected of women of the time, including the uninhibited exploration of sexuality. As many of these masques were created specifically for one event in mind, witches were portrayed either in contrast with women of upstanding moral character, to heighten the stereotypical qualities that witches were said to have, or to present witches in a humorous light, so as to lessen the fear and validity of women who dared to live beyond society’s expectations.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Kansas

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Switzer, Kendra

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Schwartz, Roberta F.

• Music
• Music history
• Theater
• Lute
• Masque
• Renaissance
• Supernatural
• Witch

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:19932

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/38149