Music and Propaganda: An Analysis of the Oratorio Juditha Triumphans Devicta
TURKIYE ILETISIM ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI-TURKISH REVIEW OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES, sa.49, ss.273-294, 2026 (ESCI)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.17829/turcom.1646652
- Dergi Adı: TURKIYE ILETISIM ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI-TURKISH REVIEW OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.273-294
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Hatay Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Propaganda is a method of communication designed to incite a particular discourse, action, or ritual via a symbolic object. Throughout history, there has been a strong link between music and propaganda. This study argues that music can function as propaganda, conveying a particular message through symbolic and emotional components. To this end, Antonio Vivaldi's oratorio Juditha Triumphans Devicta Holofernis Barbarie ("Judith's Triumph Over the Barbarian Holofernis," Juditha Triumphans henceforth) will be examined in light of its function as political propaganda. Vivaldi was commissioned to write the oratorio following the Republic of Venice's successful expulsion of the Ottoman Empire from the island of Corfu, and this study examines the work as a symbolic political structure. To this end, Juditha Triumphans is evaluated qualitatively through semiotic analysis and hermeneutic techniques. The existing literature on the subject in T & uuml;rkiye and the rest of the world has examined Juditha Triumphans through the lenses of art history, theology, and musicology, but this study is unique in its analysis of the work through the lens of communication science. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that music can serve as meaningful propaganda, promote a particular social order, and reflect reality in fiction.