Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

A swashbuckler is a charismatic outlaw or otherwise larger-than-life figure whose unruly actions fall outside the conventional boundaries of civilized conduct. The term also refers to the modes of dramatic representation that depict such audacious exploits and flamboyant personages. Swashbuckler music, then, is the collection of musical genres, styles, and gestures that facilitate these portrayals, either as accompaniment to theatrical productions or in concert and private performance. Although the category itself is of relatively recent vintage, the narratives, modes of representation, and musical techniques that the term encompasses reached maturity at the end of the eighteenth century in Europe, during the early years of the Romantic movement. The word ‘swashbuckler’ first appeared in English literature in the sixteenth century. It initially referred to a class of belligerent, semi-professional fighters by describing their predilection for striking (swashing) a shield (buckler) while attacking an enemy with a sword, or else rattling their weapon against their own shield in a display of aggressive bravado. Appropriately, the classes of music that eventually became associated with swashbucklers featured attributes suggestive of rowdy enthusiasm: energetic tempos, lively rhythms, catchy melodies, and striking instrumentation and voicing. Recognizably swashbuckler-themed genres ... log in or subscribe to read full text