How is writing music based on poetry a Romantic act?
Romanticism places emphasis on the emotions—“trepidation, horror and awe”—and breaks through the boundaries of “reason.” The conversion of poetry to music (or music to poetry, for that matter) involves less reasoning and more mimetic “reenactment” of emotion. It is an act of translating emotion, feeling, senses, ideas…
Is it Romantic then? If we’re analyzing a poem and breaking it down and trying to “figure out” how to translate it into music, doesn’t that very act involve a form of reasoning contrary to the Romantic appeal? Perhaps. However, in my experience the act of reforming a poem into music is more of a conversion process—converting one expression to another. The music produced, regardless of style (abstract, modern, rock, jazz, indie, etc.) is based on Romantic ideals of emphasis on emotion and expressionism.
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