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Abstract Rossini’s contemporaries frequently described his operas as irritating. Some critics felt his music combined irritation with pleasure, while others felt it overstimulated them with disruptive sensuality. To analyze Rossini’s stylistic irritation, I propose a theory of musical irritation that finds it to be alluring. I call this strategic use of irritation Reiz. The function of Reiz is to seize audience attention through three modes of experience: the disruptive, the overwhelming, and the ecological. Reiz may affect a work’s orchestration, text setting, harmony, and counterpoint, and usually undercuts sentimental expression. These Rossinian techniques suggest models for analyzing recent media.
Matthew L. C. Boyle (Wed,) studied this question.