There is a lack of a single doctrine for the use of rhetoric in baroque music. The rhetorical theory has interpretative and heterogeneous qualities. Musical silences are among the rhetorical figures of the baroque. To frame the intentionalities of silences it is necessary to consider the affects that surround them. This means that to describe silences we are even more subjected to a variety of interpretations. In favor of a pluralistic view of rhetoric, embracing a diversity of categorizations is suggested. In order to reveal some of the aesthetic objectives of the meraviglia, which are focused on provoking a shocking sense of wonderment through creating experiences that astonish with delight, musical examples of the pathetic use of silences are presented. Rhetoric is viewed as the energy inherent in emotion and thought, transmitted through a system of signs, including music, to others with the objective of influencing their decisions and actions.
rhetoric; music; silences; rests; Baroque