Anna Mustonen: Di anima et di corpo

Sometimes music made their inner balance unstable: Shivering lips, sudden change in the shade of the face, slowing pulse, abrupt movement of limbs, release of tension in the jaw, the grinding of teeth, the swelling of blood vessels, uncontrollable gestures, wheezing breath.

Di anima et di corpo is a concert or performance of intense emotions, combining 17th century cembalo music and singing to new dance. According to the Doctrine of Affects, theory of music in the Baroque era, the function of music was to affect the listener’s body and emotions. Music was capable of arousing specific emotions within the listener, causing physical reactions. How can one move the souls of modern-day spectators?

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