History

The Doctrine of Affections is a philosophy from the late Baroque and early Classical periods of music that relates theorizes that specific music affects can convey certain meanings. The German term for the Doctrine of Affections, Affektenlehre, was first coined by an 18th century musicologist named Johann Mattheson in a treatise written in 1739. Contemporary theorists and artists who helped develop the Doctrine of Affections were Arnold Schering, Lorenzo Giacomini, Athanasius Kircher, Andreas Werckmeister, and Johann David Heinichen. The philosophy drew from concepts developed by the Camerata Florentina, a 16th century group of Italian noblemen, musicians, and scientists, who met to discuss and commission art. They are most known for their work in creating the modern form of Opera.

The Camerata Florentina and the originators of the Doctrine of Affections gathered inspiration from earlier Classical Greek drama and Greek music theory. There is also evidence of some of the proposed affects of music being used similarly in non-Western music, particularly Indian music. Although the Doctrine of Affections was not formally written about until the early to mid 18th century, it had been in use in certain places for much of the Baroque Era and then continued to be influential throughout the Romantic Era but started to fade with the Enlightenment philosophy of individual perception and interpretation of music. It was especially championed by the Mannheim school and late Baroque composers, in particular Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach.

Although the Doctrine of Affections encompasses many different musical techniques and examines the uses of dynamics, form, articulation, and much more, this website focuses on the idea that a key could be definitively associated with a particular mood. Obviously, not ever piece of music from this time period fits these key characteristics, but looking at the key affect from the Doctrine of Affections can be a useful introductory step in analyzing and interpreting music from this era.