| The object of this thesis dealing with Johann Sebastian Bach's (1685 -- 1750) first book of the Well Tempered Clavier is to explore the ways in which the cantor utilized the principles of rhetoric in the formal conceptualization of its Preludes and Fugues. The analytical approach used relies on a methodology that in turn is based on a "tripartite" theory. This tripartite theory includes the study of the three fundamental dimensions of a piece, that is to say an analysis of its neutral level (structures), as well as its compositional and perceptive strategies (Nattiez, 1987). Using an external "poietique" approach, we apply rhetoric concepts prevalent in works of the Baroque Era that reflect Bach's formal conceptualization in order to evaluate the analysis of the neutral, or structural, level of the Well Tempered Clavier's Preludes and Fugues.;However, the formal hierarchical conceptualization and the differentiation of the rhetoric modes characterizing each part of the discourse, assure an appropriate framework for exploiting the developmental potential contained in the initial root idea of each Prelude and Fugue respectively.;In addition, a rhetorical analysis of the Preludes and Fugues allows us to highlight certain governing elements found in formal proportions that are important in the structure of the compositional process, that is to say ratios of congruency and the golden mean.;Keywords: Preludes and Fugues, musical semiology, paradigmatic analysis, formal analysis, proportions, golden mean.;As theorized by Johann Mattheson in his treatise Der volkommene Capellmeister (1739), each Prelude-Fugue diptych constitutes a complete and coherent discourse at a higher formal level and the proposed analytical approach allows for its characterization through the use of a sequence of rhetorical modes similar to the series EXORDIUM -- PROPOSITIO -- CONTENTIO (CONFUTATIO + CONFIRMATIO ) -- PERORATIO. |
