escritos para estudio musicologico renacimiento

7/23/2019 escritos para estudio musicologico renacimiento

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/escritos-para-estudio-musicologico-renacimiento 1/15

406

67

JOIIANN

ES TTN

CTOR I S

eve

nly into two parts.

8

Concerning

th

e parts of minims in either prolation in

subduple

proportion or where

th

e tenor doubl

es

its time, which amounts to

the

same

thing; or concerning

th

e parts of

th

e

br

eve in imperfect tempus and

minar

pro

lation in cantus ad m ium

9

or

in

duple

proportion, which are also

the same thing; or in singing

th

e parts of longs in

th

e same te mpus

and

prola

tion in imperfect minor

mod

e but in quadruple proportion; or in singing the

part

s of maxims in the same tempus, prolation, and minar mode and in impe r

fect majar mode in octuple proportion: when a consonance is placed over thc

first or other prut of such not es sung according to the aforementioned modes,

proportions, and quantities, then a dissonance of equal or lesser note valuc

may

be

placed on what follows.

If

t:wo of

th

ese notes on the same pitch,

jo

i

ncd

or separate, stand toge ther before sorne perfect quantity, a dissonance is somo

times permitted on the first part of the first of these. However, when a descenl

is made into sorne perf

ec

t quantity through one or more of these aforemen·

tioned notes, any of these frequent ly perm its a syncopated dissonance

on ils

first part.

CIIAPTER 29:

THAT

MANY CoMPOSE RS NEVER EMPLOY A

DISSON ANC E

THE L E NG T

H OF

I iALF

T

ll

E NO T E

VALUE TIIAT

DIRE C TS

THE METER

OF

TH

E

SO

NG

BUT

RATll E R EMPLOY

SHORTER D I SSON AN CES.

Many composers avoid dissonances so c

aref

ully that they never extend

thcn

over a full half

of the

no te value

that

dir

ec

ts

the

me

ter

but only over a third,

fourth , or sma

ller part

of it. In

my

opinion these composers shoul

cl

be imi

tated

•

CHAPTER 3 1: WHY

SM A

LL D ISSO NAN CES M AY BE

USED

BY

M US ICIA NS.

Nev

erth eless, in

th

e manners clescribed above small dissonances may sonw

tim

es

be used by

mu

sicians ,

ju

st as reas

on

ed

rh

etorical

fi

gu

res

are

u

se

d

hy

orators for the sake of embellishment and e ffect. For a song is e mbellisl

wd

when it ascends or descends from one consonance to another by appropriall•

8. That i

s,

we must extend the mies o[ Chapter 23 to other note va lues, in mensurations that di

vi

tlt•

th

em

in

two, that might be brought by the use o f

pr

oportion signs to take over the mininú 111

semibreve's usual role

of

carrying the beat. Thn s in subd uple proportion or whcre the trntn

doubles its

ti

me

crescit

in

duplo)

thc minim carrics the b

ea

t, in duple proportion the breve, In

qnadruple proportion th c long, and in octuple proportion the maxim. Ti nctoris's m u sic cxamph·

applies all these proportions to the te nor parl only so that, for example, in the sect ion showin)l

octuple proportion tl1e te nor

·s

maxims have

tl1

e same duration as semibreves in tl1e o

tl1

er voict•s

9. That is, cut time

oral/a b eve.

Liber de arte contrapuncti

407

tncans

and

by syncopations, which sometim

es

cannot be

mad

e ·without

di

sso

unnces. Th

ese

small dissonances

do

not pr

ese

nt themselves so strongly

to th

e

I Ur

when

th

ey are

placed over

th

e last parts of no tes

in th

e tenor as th

ey do

when placed over the first. . . . {

.,

C II APTE R 32: ÜN THE ARRANG E

MENT OF

A NY

DISSONANCE.

Any djssonance should b e arran

ged

so that, whether ascending

or

descend

lng, it comes after

th

e consonance n

earest

to it, as for example a second after

n nnison

ora

third, a fourth after a third

ora

fifth, a seventh after a fifth oran

octave, and so on. And any dissonance should be

foUow

ed by a conso

nan

ce that

ls only one or, very rarel

y,

two steps removed from

jt

. ..

10

That is, dissonances should be approached and left by step and most often with oblique motion

between the parts. For exccptions to

tl1i

s ru le in li nctori

s·s

music exa mples see Sachs, ··court

tcrpoint.

6 8 Bartolomé Ramis de Pareia

The

Musica practica

of

Barto

lomé Ramis (or Ramos)

de

Pareia was pri

nt

ed in

Bologna in 1482. Of the life of its author we know little. That he carne from

Baeza, near Madrid, and lectured in

Bo

logna, after having previously lectured

In Sa lamanca, is set forth in his book. Other sources tell us that he left Bo logna

sometime after 1484 and went to

Rom

e, where he was

sti

ll living in 1491.

From

his pupi l Giovanni Spata

ro

we also lea rn that Ram is with held parts of his book

from

th

e printer with a view to lecturing on

th

em publi

cly¡

as we have

it

, then,

the Musica practica is only a fragment. A compl etion of the work, in a campan

ion

treatise called usica theori

ca,

was written at least in part but never pub

llshed.

Among other innovations in usica practica Ramis challenges the solmi za

tion

practices passed down

from th

e Middle

Ages

and associated especially

with Guido of Arezzo. In place of the Guidonian sys tem of six sy llables matched

to the notes of a hexachord, Ram is propases eight n

ew

sy

ll

a

bl

es matched to the

octave. This does away with most of the mutations, or shifts of syllable (and

hcnce hexachord) on a single pitch, ca lled

for

by

th

e Guidonian system.

Alth ough Rami s's syllables were never widely adopted, his system in general

\lands behind modern fixed

do

approaches.

The increasing comp lexities of solmi zation resulted from the increasingly fre-

que

nt

use of half-steps in positions where they were not natura

lly

found in

th

e

three Guidonian hexachords (whi ch started only on the notes C, F and G).

li inging

th

ese new half-steps in the old sys tem required a proliferation of

mi

fa

mutations and hence a pro liferation of new hexachords. (For exampl e, to sing

,\ ci d whe re a-c- d is written requires the syllables ut

mi

fa rather than r

e



408

68

BAR

T O LO M É R AM 1S DE PA R E 1A

fa-sol

and a

ss igns ut

to a non-Guido

ni

an position on a.)

Rami

s a utlines

th

ese

difficulties

in

his discu

ss

ian af musica

fi

cta

FROM usica practica

(1482)

TR A

C

TATE

1

CHAPTE R

4: SUBTLE

A PP

LI

CAT

ON

O F

THE G VEN

FI G

URE

FOR

T I

E PHA C

TI

CE OF

SI

NGE HS

By making use

af

a te

tr

achord Guido, pe rhaps a be

tt

er

monk th

an a

mu

si

cian, included all th

ese

twenty le

tt

ers

1

when he developed

th

e hexac

hard

. And

he was

mo

ved to create such a hexachord in this way b

eca

use

nurnb

er six is

called perfec t by ma

th

e maticians, for its aliquot parts, namely 1, 2, 3, when

a

dd

ed toge

th

er make six, and each string of

th

e hexachord r

ece

ives a namc

from the first s

ix

syllabl

es

af s

ix

lines of

th

e hy

mn

of St. Ja hn the Baptist,

namely: Ut queant axis. Resonare flbris.

Mir

a gesta rum . Famuli tuorum . Solve

polluti.

Labü

reaturn. Sancte Johannes.

H we have examined correctly

th

e Rrst syllable afte r each period we wi

ll

ex

tr

act

these

s

ix

vocables:

ut

·re,

mi

f

sol la

a

nd

when

put

in a successive

a rder eac

h is a whole tone from the next ex

cept f

becau

se

it is a

se

mi tone

from mi. So two whole tones will be

ab

ove and two below the semitone.

And

with the first le

tt

er g, which is called r the syllable

ut

is writte n, forming a

unit

called gamma

ut

;

2

from le tter a and syllable re a

unit

is formed which is

called

a re;

also frorn le

tt

er

b and

syllable

mi co

m

es b mi

fi:om le

tt

er

e

and

sy

ll

ablc

fa,

comes

e f a

from

d

a

nd sol d sol and

from

e and la e la.

In ard

er to follow the B

oet

hian doctrine, w

hi

ch divides

th

e e

ntir

e tonal

se

ries by tetrachord

s,

3

when Guido

co

m

es

to the fourtl1 place, namely

e fa,

he

aga

in

cr

ea

es another hexachord ,

an

other of

fsprin

g as

it

were.

But

if

h

e syllablc

ut is joined to e

f th

e entire a

rr

angement is called e

f a

ut,

an

d it continues

wi th

d sol re

and

e la

mi, where the first hexachord e

nd

s. S

inc

e

f

however,

follows in the o

rd

er of le tters,

th

e syllable ut is also joined to

th

e

second

te tra

cho

rd

's

f

which is the fourth tone of

th

e seco

nd

te

tr

achord. And so when

f

f l

occ

ur

s ut will r

ece

ive such a name by being joined to it, with g sol ·re and a [ 1

TEXT: B

ro

t olomé Ram is de Pareia,

Musica pmctica

ed. Clement A. Miller (A merican Institute of

Musico logy, 1993), pp. 55-57, 64-66, 74-75, and 93-94. Rep

ri

nted by penni ssion. Translation by

Cleme

nt

A Mllle

r

1 have made sorne minor alte ra

ti

ons in Miller's translation by comparing it with

the facsimile o f the original edition (Bologna, 1482) published in Madrid, 1983.

l

Tlaat is, the pitcb-letters f (gamma), re

pr

esenting our C, to e two oc taves and a major si:xth

above it; this span is the med ieval or Cuido

ni

an gamut of pitches.

2. The source, by cont raction, of our wo

rd

gamut

."

3. De lnstitutúme

mu

si

a 1.

20.

Musica practica

mi

following. And so

tl1

at he would not

see

m ignorant of

th

e similitude of the

o

ut

er limits o f

th

e

oc

tave

4

he ag

a.in

begins to fo rm a hexacho

rd

. And sincc in

the a

for

ementioned two te trachords , that is, the

sec¡ond

and third,

we

place

two syllables, namely a

nd

re wi th letter g, by adding to tl1e m the unit is

named g sol re ut a

nd

it is followed by a la mi re where

th

e second h exachord

is

cd

mpleted.

And

where two ton

es

, namelyf mi

ar

e joined toge ther, wi th the

flrst as

b

a a

nd th

e seco

nd

as s

qu

are

mí

we

recognize that the one is highcr

than the other, just as the le

tt

ers

and

syllables are shown to be unequa1

5

An cl

lhus

th

e whole tone is

cli

vi

ded int

o twa semitones, a

nd

is fo

ll

owe

cl

by e

so l

jr

t

ut

for

ju

st as the seco

nd

hexachord is join ecl to the flrst in tl1e same place ,

the en tire unit is narned in this

wa

y, that is,

e

sol f ut

and

is followed by

d

la

sol

re

th

en e la mi f

f ut

g

sol

re ut

a

la

mi

re

and

b

a square

ju

st as

befo e.

Hexachords can be multiplied indefinitely according to the cx te

nt

of lhe

ins

trum

e

nt

,

but

sin

ce

an end

mu

st be reached s

omew

here in all

kn

owle

cl

ge,

lhe hexachord s now stop repea ting and therefore a notl1er ut is not placed vvith

e

so

l

fa,

but

we move to

d fa

so

l

whe re

we

leave the sixth hexachord, whilc thc

sev

enth

e

nd

s on tl1e syllable

e la.

And so he

se

t

cl

own seven h

cx

achords

6

because of seven differe

nt

tones, as

it

had

see rn

ed to him,

ju

s s

th

e fo ll

ow

ing

4.

That

is

,

r

to g. [Tr

.)

5.

Th

is is the distinction in pi tch bet

wee

n f

of

the third hexachord (our b-nat) and

mi

of

thc

lou rth (our b-natural).

6. The fu ll Cuidonian hcxach

or

dal systcm.

givi

ng pitch names by lcttcr and solmizalion syllables,

may be represente

cl

as fo

ll

ows:

ll exachorcl: 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pitch

(low to

hi

gh):

f (G)

ut

A

re

B

mi

e

fa ul

l

sol re

e

la mi

f

f[t

ut

g

sol re ut

a la

mi

re

b

fa

mi

e' sol fa lll

d

la sol re

o'

la

mi

r·

fa

ul

g

sol re nl

a

la rn re

b

fa

i

e"

sol

fa

d

la sol

e

la



410

68 3 A RT 0 L 0 M É R A M 1S O E P A R E 1A

figu re will show. Do you see thc tr ue fig

ur

e of Guido? Ind eed he himself docs

not , but he s hows it th rough joints of the fin ge rs in this way.

7

7. Tite text

on

the palm of the hand i

s:

'' We h

av<:> show

n t

hat lh

c h

cst

way to n

ot

alc

IIIU

Sic is wllh

lc

tt

e rs al

one;

nothing is casier lhan lcnrning how lo sing with lhe

lfl

if

t

he

y have h

ce

n

pra

cl

kl'd

fora

l three months.'' f

Tr

.]

u :;iCfl

ractica

411

C

II

P

TER 7:

A l \ A CCU RAT E W

Y

OF CONNEC

NG

A

VO

I

CE

W l

TII

A N

1NSTRUME

T

In o

rd

er, however,

to

memo rize the

sound

s, one is

produ

ccd wilh a

difTere

nt

na m

e;

th

is

was cust

oma

1y among ea rly

write

r

s. Odo

said

in

thc

Enehi

l iadis:

110e, noanann

e,

am

e,

agis,

which

ha

ve no m

ea

ning.

8

Somc

u

secl tri, ¡Jro ,

r/1• fiOS

trite,

acl

,

which indica ted t he bases

of

the

mod

es, about which

WC

wi

ll

at the

proper place.

Ot

he rs wrotc only le

tt

ers of the alph

abe

t , namcly:

a,

/

1 e, d,

e,

f

g, as Grcg01y, Augustin

c,

Amb rose ,

and

Be rnard;

but

C uido used

111,

r

e, rni

, fa,

so

l,

la

,

as we said ea rlier. Altho ugh he dicl not do this out of

u(·cessity, sin

ce

he also sh

owcd

a

ll

his ex

amp

les with lette rs, his

fo

llowers a

f't

er

wa

rds aclhered so much to his syllab les that thcy thought the m c ntirc ly ncccs

Nnry to music, a n idea which must be scorned.

We, therefore, who havc labore

cl

a long time in ni ght ly lucubrations and

vigi ls to see k the truth of this

art

, arrange new syllables for individu al strings

11 11

d

show the ton

es

of lhe c

nlir

e se ries,

O SO th

at

0

11 the lowest pitch

ps

al

is

\

lln

g,

on the next li

, 011

t he third

tu

r 0

11

the fourth on the fifth oo , on the

\1\lh ces, on the seventh

i

s, and on thc c ighth

ta

s. And thu s the con nect io11 of

li te syllables

v.

ri ll be

psa

ll

ilur per voces

islas,

11

for thc cntire sed es consists of

t•tght sy

ll

ables. We arnnge the m from low

e

to high

e

since thcy tcach how to

\ lng with perfect io11. Thc rc fore they beg in on le tte r

e

bccausc thc musical

\t•

ric's begins on that lc tter, and the firsl semitone of hvo is indudcd in thc

ln terval

r r

and thc second soun

cls

bctwee

11

the two

s

s. So the Rrst is

e

Jo r

tnr

But sin ce lhe second sem it

o11e

sometimes is formecl from le tter

a

to b and

son1ctimes from q o high e on acco unt of the synemme

11

on and dieze ugme non

l

t•

l rachord s,

12

beeau se thr ce se miton

es

are loca ted

se

parate ly there, thr

cc

pl

ttccs are indicated b y le ttc r

s,

that is,

ces,

·

s

,

tas.

So with th

esc

sy

ll

ablcs mak

ltt

g souncls e quivale

n :

to the strings of' an instrument we easily wi

ll

be ab le lo

ltu

nno nize the natural instnrme

nt

of' voice •vith an instrument maclc by art.

But

wc

wish to r i

se

an

oc

tave highe r we wi

ll

place

psal

on the same so und as lhc

ll t octave. The n one wi

ll

have a

cli

ssy

ll

abic e, na

rn

el

y, ta

s-ps

al

,

13

a

nd

'

co

ntinuc

wilh

d li

a

ncl

with

e tur

ami the rest

justas be

f

ore.

Thi s must

also

he uonc in

1111

low octave, because, as

wc

o

ft

e 11 have said, a t

one

reappea rs a ftc r an

oc

tave,

li Thcsc

wo

rd

s

occ

ur

in

mc

dicva l t reali

scs

from the ninth

centur

y onward. For th

cir

rc

lalion

lo

lh

t•

m

odes

see Mich

el

ll

nglo,

/..

es

a i r e ~

(

P<tris: Sodété f r a n

de

mu

s i

co

logic,

1971),

pp

.

'S3

90;

also

Th

c Psalmodic Formula

Neannoe a11d lts

Origin, Tl

1e M11

si

rn

l

Q rwrl¡•rfy 28

( 1 12):

p.

93. [Tr.]

11 This version is hascd 0

11

a

11

clcventh

-ce ntur

y hymn.

[T

r.]

10 A sN

i

es

lh

at Hamis cx

pand

cd

:md

shif

tc

d

from

thc Guidonian

ga

mul tu l hc

thr cc oc

ta

ves from

<:

toe .

ll is su

ng

1hro11gh lh cse syllahlcs.

1" '1 lul is. thc conj

u11

c

ti

on of tl1o c- 1 lctmchortl w

itl1

thc te

lra

chord

on

r synncn1onon ')

)'i

l'lds b-flat,

wh

i

lc

l

hc

dis

jnn

ction or the

c-

f

tc

tra

t:

hord fr

om

the l

cl

rac h

ord

s

tar

ting 011 g

("dieze

ngmcnon ) yiclds b-nalu ra

l. Th

e COII

<.:c

ptiou

and

lcn

ni

nology, if not lho spccillc pilch

cs

ussociale

cl \ \ ~ t h

thcm, are fr

om

B

oc

lhius, De

in

sl itulione

mu

sica

l. 20.

11 l'his is the o nly mntation thal rc r11 a

in

s

in

Ramis's syslem.



412 68 B A R

TO O

M

É RAM

.1S O E

PAR

E

J

A

and whenever we ascend or descend more than an octave we repeat a tone;

tbus the teaching is correct only by using these eight

sy

llables.

14

TRACTATE 2

C TI

APTER 2:

A N EX P LANATJON

OF

M USJC C TA.

In o

rd

er to have a full er understancling

of

these signs and notes

15

we will

investigate sorne tlúngs ab

out

them in greater detail. For sorne signs are accus

tomed to be placed in songs through wbich unequal rufferences of

int

ervals

ar

e

heard; one of tl1ese is written

as

round the other as square The 6rst sign is

called soft

or

round b

th

e second

sq

uare or hard Square a

nd

round b are

named from the nature of the s ign, but soft b

or

hard are so named becausc,

wben those singing vvith the letters of Gregory make a senútone from

a

to

b,

they cal it soft b. For when a leap is made in arsis and thesis, the voice softens

l4

.

ln

2.7 Ramis suppHed

a

picture of his altemal

ive

to thc Guidonian hand:

kr.•

conunj

m t n ~

do t

o IDrd

n.r

pcr . , . , l c ~ t ~ : j . , n a . r t . d o dl

celo

Oft

C•p:

I<Mc o

\

pr<

15. 2.1 discusses the notation

of

pitch wilh staves and clefs.

Musica practica 413

more in a senútone than in a whole tone,

as

for example from

a

to so ft b and

from a to hard, square

q

So also movement by a semiditone is softer than by a

di one,

as

g to soft b and g to hard, square likewis? a fourth is softer than a

tri one, asf to soft band f to very hard, square .,

From these examples the e rror is clear of ce rtain singe rs who say soft b or

sc¡uare They err in two ways: 6rst, because tl1ey sing with Guido's

sy

llables

and not Gregory's letters, thus saying neither soft b or hard, square

q

but fa or

11tí; second, they do not make the co rrect relationship, for when they say square

lhcy should co

rr

esponcling

ly

say round and when they say soft b they should

say ha

rcl

and

tl1

en the relationship will be correct. This was the custom among

those singing with the letters of Gregoty in ea

rl

y times; to them these letters

are tbe proper names, justas synemmenon

or

diezeugrnenon are proper to the

Creeks. In our terminology the correct names in singing

will

be bis

in

the

<·onjunct tetrachord and

s

q in the di

sj

unct tetrachord; indeed, the syllables

1naking a whole tone or scmitone are common in al respects.

But elsewhere singers write wholc tones or semitones with these signs not

only on paramese,l

6

f

or

tlley say

tl1at

whereve

rfa

is found witl1out

m

tllen m

Jllust be u

se

d,

as

in b

mi. Th

e same occurs when

mi

is found

wi

thoutfa.

Many

ca

l this musica 6cta; of them Phi lipetus,

17

speaking rashl

y,

says thi

s:

•nusica ficta

is

a s

in

gle procedur

e. But

he did not know tllat it shou l

cl

occ

ur

at

lt•ast in two ways, for makingfa frorn

mi is

rufferent than making

mi

frorn

fa

(ns

""

ill

be sh

ovvn

a little late r

),

since

th

c tones do

not

co

rr

espond in the way

in

which tlley are natu rally situatecl.

Th

ere for

e,

whenfa is to be made

fr

o rn mi

thcy write with sueh a sign, n

ame

ly, ro

und

k

but

when mi is macle from

fa

they

write the sign, namely, square q r else ·

Thus, accorrung to them soft bis locatecl in

fiv

e places, namely, on b

mi e

la

1

11i

,

the first

a

la

mi

re high e la 1ni and the second a

la

mi re. In these placcs

wt• will say fa by lowe ring it a semitone from its miginal place. Bul we use

q

or

on

e

a

ut f fa ut e sol

fa

ut hi gh f

fa

t· and e

so

l fa; in those places we will

'Y by

rai si

ng it a semitone from its o

ri

ginal position. They also call these

procedures conjunctions, for just

as

when hi te synemmenon is

put

after mese

\() lhat the whole tone of mese and paramese is to be ruvicled into two semi

Iones,

18

any whole tone located elsewhere sho

ulcl

be divided in the same way.

l'h

cy add further that any of these conjunctions forms a hexachord, just

as

the

others t

hat

were formecl

ea

rli

er; thus, jus

ta

s after

f

fa

ttt

where

r Lt

is said, g

sol

r .

ut

follows where

u.t

is aga

in

placed,

as

already stated ,

so

it occurs in each of

tl ll' position

s.

19

And they de fine a conjunction

in

this

way:

A conjun ction is

1 . Vor Ramis, the pit

ch

b.

1

1. The re fere nce is probably to Philippe de Vitry; see his Ars n t m p ~ t n 2.

J,

in

E.

de Co us

a k e r

ed

.,

Scriptonnn de

musiCllmedii aevi . . . 1101 {1 seri

es 4

vo ls. , Paris: A. Durand, 1864

76), vol. 3, p . 26.

IH That is, when the conjunct tctrac

hord

f- b-

Hat

calls lor the interval a- b lo be divided .

In

other

words, each mutation of w i to fa or fa to mi creates a hexachord beginning, respec

ti

vely, a perfect fourth or major third bcneatl1 the pitch on which the mutalion occurs.



414 68

B A R T O L O M

É

R A M 1 S D E P A R E 1 A

making a whole tone from a semitone and a semitone from a whole tone,

al

so

a ditone from a semiditone and a semiditone from a ditone, and likewise with

the other species. Here they speak corr

ec

tly, because these conjunct he

xa

chords occur in the manner

of

diezeugmenon a

nd

synemmenon tetrachords.

C

HAPTER

7: REPROVIN G

TIIE

F OLLOWERS O F

GU IDO AND

SUOWlNG

A CCURATELY

THE TRUTil OF THE

M

ATTER.

Having observed and examined the diversity of music, it now remains to h< •

shown how whole tones may become semitones and the reverse. Regarding

this it should be known, as John of Villanova

20

says, that a rising song desiros

the voice to be strengthened, and a descending song to become soft. Then h<·

says that if a melody sound s

a e

d and does not return to e, although

re fa sol

should be said, as the order indicates, yet ut mi fa ought to be said, because ti

e

is

not tl1e interval of a s emiditone but of a ditone;

21

or

if

tl1e melody is pro ·

nounced according to the otl1er syllables, namely

re

fa the ditone may be said

to be understood. Again, if a melody m

ay

be formed as g

f

g and it does not

return tof a semi one is understood, even though

sol

fa

sol

or

re

ut

re may b< ·

said.

Th

e same thing always holds true in form ing synemmenon, when after a

note placed on m i another note fo

ll

ows it on mese, whe tl1er it will h aVI

come from lower letters to synemmenon or will

ha

ve reached it

by

descendiug

from higher letters, especially if it

will

have repeated

the

same pi tch many

times.

22

It

is

also true if the melody will have made this movement d b e d e d

d

and in its octaves;

e

is a whole tone and e

d

is a semitone formed

twicc•

and so eith

er

whole tones will replace semitones mentally

ora

mutation wi

ll

be made

of mi

into

re

which is a syllable

of

conjunctions.

23

The same John also says a semiditone is made from a ditone in this

way:

if u

melody may say

la fa sol sol

without returning to

fa

either a semiditone will b11

mentally und erstood or a mutation may be made of

la

into

sol

so that

lasolml

fa fa

may be said; in this way a diligent reader will be able to judge oth(lr

syll

ables arranged in this manner. Such notes should be indicated

v r

ith this

sign, namely or . For greater clari

ty,

therefore, anyone who wishes to compos t•

a song should zealously turn his attention to these things . ..

20. Perhaps Ramis has Jehan d es Murs

in

mind, though

J

cannot explain his association

of

Johun

with Villanova; t

he

views that fo llow resemble Jehan s in his Ars

discantus

(see

Co

ussemakt•t ,

Scri

ptomm vol. 3, pp. 71 - 73).

21. That is, the interval is not a minor but a majar third. In modem te rminology the e is alte red lu

c-sharp, but note that f

or

Ramis the interval a-<: represents either our

a-<: or

our

a-<:-s

l

nu

JI

depending on the melodic context in which it is found and the syllables used to sing it.

22. That is, descending from b toa requires b-fl at to be sung.

23. That is, a hexachord will be begun on a ; in modern te rms, the c swill be raised to c-sharps.

On

th

e Nature of lL the Tones

of

Figured Song

415

69

Pietro Aaron

Born about

1480

n Florence,

Pi

etro

Aa

ron or Aron)

was

cantor at the Cathedra1

of lmola fo r a number of years until around 1522. Then he moved to Ven i

ce,

where he seems to have remained until 1536. In that year he became a monk

of the order of the Bea rers of the Cross and e

nt

ered the monastery of San Leo

nar

do

at Ber

ga

mo. He

di

ed about

1550.

Aaron

s

published

work

s on music theory compr i

se

the

Libri

/11

de institutione

harmonica

(1516), the Tosca

ne

ll

o in musica

(1523, with later revi

se

d edit ions),

the

Tr

eati

se

on the Nature a

nd Re

cog

niti

on

of Al

the

Tones of

Figured Song

(Trattato del a natura e cog

niti

one di tutti g

li

tuoni di canto figurato, 1525),

the

1

ucidario in musi

ca (1545), and the

Compendio/o di molti dubbi

ca. 1549-

50).

The chapters from the Tr

attato

given here take thei r

ge

n

era

l approach to

identify ing modes from the

fo

urteenth-century

Lucidarium of

Marchetto

of

Padua and are anticipated

in

sorne particul

ars

in trea tises

of

Tinct

or

is. Neverthe

less, they pre

se

nt the first sys tematic attempt to apply the modal theory of medi

eva

l plainsong to polyphonic repertories. In their numerous citations of

indi

vi

dual pieces, they a l

so

ref lec t Aaron s famil iarity with the printed co llec

tions of polyphony, especia lly those of Petrucci, that appea red in the first

decades of the sixteenth centur

y.

FHOM

Tr

eatise on the Nature

and

Recognition

of ll

the Tones

o.f

Figured Song

(1525)

AN EXPLANATION

OF THE FJ

NAL.S

OF ALL

TII E TONES

J sl as it is a credit and an honor to any artificer to comprehend and to know

' d lo have a precise understanding of the parts and reasonings of his art , so it

11

\T:

Th

e original edition (Ven ce,

15

25). Translation by Oliver

Stnm

k. Refere nces to pmctical

,., .nnples and ce•1ain parcntheses

of

the o riginal are given

as

author s notes. The many cxamples

11111

i\aron cites

ar

e listed bclow in alph

abe

lic

al

order, with his attribution

s, th

e indications

of

thc

l l l l l to which he assigns thcm, and re lcrences to lhe follow ing <:Ontemporary edilions in which

lltl wo rks appear:

ll

amwnice musices Od/r eC I IOl A (RISM 150]

),

Con ti B (RISM 1502

2

),

Misse

/ old de

La

Rue (RISM L718; 1503). Motettl C ( RISM 1504

1

) ,

Missrman josquír1liber secundrts

tiUSM J670; 1505), Mot ettí a cillque libro primo (lUSM 1508

1

),

Missarttm jos

qr1in

líber tertlrts

Ol lSM

]

673; 151

,

1)

, Motetti de la coro

rta.

Libro

primo (H ISM 1514

1

,

Motelti de

In coro

nn libro

ll t lllldo (RISM 1519

1

),

Mole/ti de la corona. Libm tcrtio (RISM 1519

2

) , Motetti libm primo

(lliSM 1521

3

).

j A l audience

UA lcz regretz

IIaync

Ag

rico

la

Odhecaton

93

Odhecaton

57



416 69

P1 ET RO A A R O

'\

is a disgrace

ancl

a re

pro

ach to him not to know

and

to be in error

among thc

articles of bis faculty.

Th

ere fore, when 1 examined

and

considered the exeel

len

ee an

d

grandeur

of man

y,

many authors, ancient and modero, there is

no

manner of

doubt that

clid not assail me in

wa rcll

y as TreA

ec

ted on this nncle rtak

ing

, esp

ec ia

lly sin

ce

1 knew the matter to be most difficult, sublime, a

nd

Ioft)'

5 Alma rede rnptoris

Josq uin

Co

rona

7 1\scende ns C hristus

1

ylacrc C

or

ona

1

8 Beata Dei

i l r L

Anon Motetti C

1

12 Beata Dei genitrix Mouton Corona J

3 Bencdic auima mea Anon

Corona

II

6

Bmn e tte Stokhc m Od hecaton 5

8 C est possible Anon Odhccaton 72

2

Ce

n"cst pas

J.a

Ruc Canli B

-

Ce

la sans plus

Josquin

Odh

ec

aton

61

6

Ce

leste bencficium Moulon Corona 1

1

C langat plebs

fl

ores

Regis

Motet ti aS

7

Co

mmc

nt pe

ult J

osq

uin Can li B

J

Co

ngregali sun t Mouton

Co

rona Jl

2

D'ung aultre ame r Orto

Canli B

2 D'ung a

ultr

e a me r

ll

:t)11C

2 De tous biens playne

ll

aync Odheca ton 20

8 Disant adieu rmldame Anon Odheca t

on

89

8 E d

e n

revenez vous

Co mpe rc

C>1nt

i B

8 E la la

In

A non

Cant

i B

6

Egregie Christi

l évin

Corona J

1

Fors se

ul

eme nt La Huc Canti B

1 Ca

u

de

Barbara

Moulon

Corona l

LCaude Virgo l csta

8

ll

éb s hélas Ninot

Ca

nti B

LHél

as

qu '

1

est amon gré

Japart

O

dh

eca ton 30

5 ll é las que pourra devenir Caron Odhecaton 13

- l lé las m'amour Anon

5 .llluminare Je

ru

sal em Mouton Corona

lT

3 1 te r

ve

ni

at

pro

rege

Jaco lin

Coro

na II

nost ro

7 Je cuide s i ce te

mp

s

Anon

Odhecaton

2

1

Jc déspite tous

Brumel Canli B

6 Je nc de mande 13usnois OcU1ecaton 42

8 )e s uis am ie Arron

Ca

uli B

l Ju

clica

me Deus Caeu Co rona JI

1

t:homme armé

J

osqu

in

Can li B

8 Ne l oserai je di e Anon Odhccaton

29

- La dicup laisanl Anon

1

La plus d

es

plus Josquin Odh

ec

alon

64

5

La r

eg

rc t

éc Il

ayuc Canli B

3 Laetatus su m Eustachio Corona 1

- Le servite

ur

Anon

Od hcca tou

35

7

Madam

e hélas Anon Od heca ton 66

3 Malheur me bat

Ock

cg

hc

rn Odhe

caton

63

7 Mes pe usées Compc rc Odhecaton 59

3 Michacl archangele Jacolin Corona ll

3 Mi

se

re re

Josquin

Corona l l l

On

the Natnre o

fAfllh

e

Tones

of

Fi

gw·ed Song

417

lo explai

n. None the

less I inte nd lo relate it to you, most gracious r

ea

der, nol

in a presum ptuo us or haughty style,

but speak

ing hurnanely a

nd

at yo

ur

f

ee

t.

A

nd

knowing it to be exacling and slrange, 1 jml

ge

tqat it was aband

oned

by

the

ccle

brat

ed musicians a lreacly re fe

rr

ed to not throug h ig_noran

ee but rn

ercly

hecause it

proved ot

her

wise tr

onblesorne and exaeting at the time.

For

it is

clcar that no

writ

ers of o

ur age

have explained

ho

w the rnany diffe rent

rn

odes

are to be recognized, alt hough to

th

ei r grea te r credit they have tr

eate

d of mal

lNs whi

ch

cannot be readily

und

crslood. 1, there fore, not moved by ambition

of any k

ind

,

but

as a hurnblc rnan , have unde rtaken this t

as

k, hoping that in

hrrrnanity and kindliness rny re

ad

e rs w·ll all excuse w

hat

ever e

rror

s 1 may rnakc.

1 slrow brie fly w

hat

1 kn ow lo be necessary, for 1

see

that many are decc ived

1

Missa Ave maris stclla Josq rr iu

Mi ssan un 11

1 Missa D'ung aull rf'

am r

r

Josquirr

:V

Iissaru rn lf

- Missa de Beata Virginr Josquin

Mi

ssarum

111

.5. i Missa de Beata Virgirlf'

La

Hu

t• Missae

2 M ssa

1

c rculcs dux

l cr

-

Jo

sq

or

in

Missanun 11

mr iae

7 ~ l i s s a Ut sol

Moorl

oor

i 1\•it

ti

t ;1d Virginem

Anon

Motelli C

8

Mon ma

ri nl

a difl:am(

e

Orto

Canti B

i

Mul

li

sunt vocati

Zaudto

ICiovanni de l Lago]

11

rnor

ge rn

glraf

A1ron

Ca

nli 13

1 Nohilis prog<'nic

Fc vin

Corona

J

1 Nom

in

e q ui Domini ae r

Corona

JI

3 Nunca fué

peaaa

mayor

Auon

Odhecaton 4

(lO

adnairab

il

e co

mr

ncr- Josquin

Mote lli 1

cinm

4 O Maria rognn

aus

le

Anon

M

otc

lti C

HO

vr

nns banl

jo

squin

Odhccaton

i8

l'c¡;

ca

la m

ea Do111in

c

Moulon

Corona

J I

1

Pou r

qu

oy ful

forie

c<·llc

Anon

Ca

nti 13

c rnprise

1 l o

or

r :url si rnon

Bu

sno

is

5 Quarramus cum pas-

Moutoor

Mote lti 1

loribus

1

Ho

gamus te Virgo Maria Jacotiu

Coron;t ll

(

)S

ancta Trinitas

é

in

Coron;t l

11

Si dcdero

Agricola

Od

lrrca

ton

56

2 Si

rn

ic

ulx

Co

ru

p

cre

Odlwcnlon

.5

1

5

Sr

sumpse ro

Obreclrl

Canti B

5 Stabal ma tcr

Josqniu

Corona

IIJ

i T

em

pus mcum

l•"

•v

in Coro

ora

1

2 Vi rgo ce l

es

li

Co rnpc

rc

Can ti

13

r; Vos

l re b

crge

ronc llc

Co

mp(·rc

Odhecaton 41

1V

ul

nerasti cor

ll lt l l l l l F

év

n

Co ron;1 r

l'ur

ta

rcful analysis of t

ir

e chaptrrs lranslarr>d l1 cre

sc

c ll a rolcl Powcrs, "ls Mod c· Hcal? J>icl ro

•\ nm , the Octrmary Systcn1. ami Polyplrnny,"

Bosler Jo trhuch ji"ir tislorisc r• .16

(1

1102 :

9-52, and Cristle Collius Jordd, "l

k

ding /\ron rcacl ing P

et

rncci: Thc Mrrsic Exarnplcs o

l

ilrr

•

Tmllato

dr

lift a ura

el coguilirnw

rli tu ll gl i

tu

1

i

(1525)."

Enrly Mu

si r; 1 ii;ton¡ 14 (1995):

1

1

1 .';2. 1

lr

avc madc sevrml ch:mges ior Strun k s chart by comparison wilh Judd"s Tables .



418

69

P 1E T H O A

AH

O

1'\

about the true underslanding, and rcgarding lhis I hope in sorne measure Lo

satisfy them.

First I intend to explain what is meant by "final" and what by '·species" and

wh cther the final is always ncccssaty and ralional f

or

the recognihon of tlw

tone or whether

th

e tones are somctimes to be recognized from their specics.

Then I shall show what part the s ingcr oug

ht

to examine and how composers

oug

ht

to proceed in th eir composihons in accordancc with their intcnhons,

touching also on certain other secrcts which

wi ll

surely afford yo

no littl(•

deligh

t.

l

sa

y,

then, that the Anal bein g diverso, that is, regular or irregular, it fo ll

ows

that each tone has a similarly dive rse form. From this it follows that

at

on e timf•

the Anal govems and at another tim e thc spccics. "Final" I define in thi s way :

a

fin

al is s imply a magisterial cnding

in

music, introduced

in

o

rd

er that tlw

tone rnay be recognized.

Mu

sicians co

nclucl

c sucl1 an cnding r

egul

arly

or

irrcg

ularly

in

order that th c

na

ture and form of cach tone may be the better unckr

stood. Thus

th

e positions D sol r

e,

E la w F fa

11/

, a

ncl G

sol re u l havc be{'ll

constituted regular

final

s or endi

ng

stcps for the Rrst a

nd

second, thircl and

fourth , Rfth and sixth, ancl sevcnth and cighth tones, while the sleps Garnn1a

A

mi

,

e a A

la mi

r

e, B.fa

and e so l fa

ul

are calle

cl

irregul

al'

.

In accordance vith this unde rstandiug, the final remains necessary, rationnl .

ancl governing

to

eve¡y tone on thc abovc-namcd reg

ula

r steps.

The speeies, then,

wi

ll

govcrn som

et

im

es r

eg

ularly

ancl so

mctimes irrcgu

larl

y. S

pecies" is simply the arrangemenl of

th

e sounds of

th

e genus, vtu·ied iu

definite prescribecl ways, as shown in

th

c

cx

ample.

• 11

o o

1

l o

11 :

o o : . .

11

o o o

. . 11

Tite sew

ml

diape

nt

e Thc third d iape

nt

e

and

d i l c s ~ r o n

and d i t e

o o

Th

e lourth

a p c n t ~ >

and

diat

essaron

l

follow s, th en, that the final is also neccssary in the above-named irregul :u

posilions, namely A la mi re, B

fa

and e sol

fa .

Ilere we shall considt·r

it in two ways: first, with respect to confinali ty; second, with respect to tht•

differenees of the Saeculonun .

1

Thus, if a composi

ti

on

2

encls in thc

po

siliou

ca

ll

ed A

la

mi

re

and there is no flat in the signature, the

fina

l w

ill

be commou

to the llrst and second tones wilh rcspecl to conRnality and also to the thi1d

V> ith respect to diflerencc, providccl-

as

yo u w

ill

understand from what ((¡l

l . Th e confiuals

of

thc eig ht tones are. fcJr Aarou, lhc pitchcs a

fifth

above ora fourth below) tlu·

cstablished llnals. Jle scems nol

lo

l

mvc

tii<Ht¡\hl

it

c c s ~ ; to lisl the diff

erE>

ncCs . Thesl' 1111•

thc variable foruudas used lo <

ttd

thc

<·i

ght ps al111 associatcd w

it

h th e eight moci

E>s

ofc

huul

th

cc

uy; see Powers, " ls Mocle Heal

?

, p.

25.

Aaron c

all

s them "

th

e clirle rences of

th

c Sat •t·u

lorum" because the last word of tite Lcsscr o g y tlmt cnd s psahu reci lations is sat:cttlomm

2.

J

speak always of

ma

sses , 0lels. c;tuzoni, fro ttolc, slnunbo tti ,

ma

drigali. son elli , and capltoll

I u.l

On the Nature of

llth

e Tones ofFig

ur

ed Son

g

419

lows - that the pro

cesso

in thc compos ition be suited and appropriate lo confl

ll

,ility or difference.

3

But if thc comp os ition has a Aat in the signature, the final

will

be in

my

opinion neither necessruy nor rational respect to conllnalit

y,

li1r it is clear that the form will cliffer from its previou\ state . For this reason ,

\ IICh compositions are to be judgecl by their species. The sam e will obviously

11pply to co mp os itions ending on B

fa

e so l fa ut, ancl all other steps on

which the species m

ay

occur

Therefore, the cognition de rived from species is necessmy undcrstanding

1111d not arbitnuy to rnu sic. Firsl, b

cc

ause this cognition is by dcfinition truc and

tll 'ccss

my.

Besides this, understanding that is neccssaty has so mething essential

1

H

l11t it; but the cognition

of

species is essential and therefore necemu

y.

llt

•sicles t:his, that which de mands necessa1y cognition is per se; b11t th e cogni

lloll of

species

is

cogn

iti

on

perse

and therefore necessmy. Nor is it an objection

1hnt we are for the

n1ost

part accuslomed to base our cognition

of

m

u

sic on the

f111al, for I reply that this has been for the sake

of

readier underslandi ng, inas-

llltlch

as those things that are al

th

e e

ncl

are customarily more closely observed

lhan those that are at lhe beginning a

ncl

in the middlc.

And that our conclusion is tru •, wc may demonstrate with thesc and otlwr

11i

11ilar m

g

uments.

\iV

e say that man is de

fin

ed asan animal rational and mortal;

11 certain that rational ancl mortal are two differences for

kn

owi ng what man

h · of Lhese, one is final and considerad according to the e nd of man, na

rn

cly

111ortal

- the

ot

her is formal and considered according to the speci

lc

and for-

111111 being of livin g

rnan

, namely rational;

th

e latte r makes the essence of man

l11 •llN

know11

than

th

e forrncr, whi ch cousiders him according to

hi

s cnd,

ll ltlllely that man is mortal, for thi s is common both to rnan and to th e othcr

ulillla ls. Thus the cognition of thc cnd is not cognition per se and thcrc fore

11e11 nlways necessmy. And thi s is demonstrated by certain compositions whi ch,

lmving the ordinmy and regular Rna l, but lacki g the asce

nt

ami dcscenl

of

r l l l l <

of its species, are not saicl to be

of

any tone but (

as wa

s shown in Chaptcr

1 of the first book of another work of mine,

De institrrtione

harmonica are

lllt '

l't'l

y called Canti euplumiaci.

1 As Aaron exp lains in e hapler 8, s

ui

tablc ancl approprialc pmc

es

so lums largely

0

11

th

c choice of

Jl

l<l(1C

r steps for medial cadcnccs. 1n e haptcrs 9 lo 12 tltese are saicl lo

be

as lo ll

ows

: for thc

flt

sl

tone-

D, F, e,

anda

: l

or

the sccond -

A.

C, D,

r

e , a

nd

a; for

th

e thirci- E,

r

G, nnd

1

l()

r thc fourth

- e

D, E, F. G, and a; for thc fifth-

F,

a, aud e; for the

sixt

h

-C .

D, 1', a, and

1¡ li1 the sevenlh- e e, and

el; for

thc eighth- D, F, C. and

c. Processo

(

l .a

tin ¡¡m

cess

u

s

¡, 11 d

iffl

c

ul

t but importan tenn in Medieval :tnd Henai ssance

di

scuss ions of utod e, and 1 havc

1

lu

M' II to m,u·k this com plex:ity lhroughoul Aaron 's chaplcrs here hy leaving it un ttauslatcd. For

\111011

,

processo signifies

in

parl the rauge

or

co

tu pass of

a

give

n tenor

nt

cl

ody.

But

it al

so

11111

110t s

less quautifiable ele mcnts: thc way the melody m

ovcs

through ils ran

ge,

tite pitch

l i l l l l ~ it emphasizcs, thc medial catle ttliul points it gr

avi

latcs toward,

<tn

d others. 11 1 th is way

tiiC

11111 11 culs to the hearl of Medieval a

mi

Hcnai ss;

H1CC

co nceplions ofmodc, whiclt did nol involve

1t>lllvd

scales so muc h as

ma

un crs of expl

or

ing and cx ploiliug part

icu

lar scgmculs cxtracted

from

tlt1 •Cuidouian gamut of pitchcs.



420

69 P I E

TH

O AAHON

2

ow

THE S l

NG E

H Ou c u T TO J u o c

TIIE TO

:\l E

The tenor being the firm and sta

bl

e part, the pa

tt

, that

is

, that holds and

co

mpr

ehends the whole concentus

of th

e harmony, thc singer must

jud

gc tlJ< •

tone by means

of

this p

ar

t only. For we see that when a tenor and its cantus

are far apart it ca

us

es, not pleasure,

but

Little sweetness to those who hcar il,

something which mises from

th

e distancc that lies between the cantus and tlw

contrabassu

s. Th

e tenor be

in

g for

th

is rcason better suited to

th

e natural pro

cessi

and more easily handle

cl

, every

co

mposition

4

is

in

my

opinion to be

juclgc

·d

by i

ts

tenor. For in the tenor

th

e natural form is more r

eaclil

y considered

titan

in

th

e soprano,

wh

erc, sho

ul

d

yo

u wish to form

th

e seventh tone,

yo

u would

need to find its cliatessaron through the accidental course.

5

Thus we prescriiH·

this manner ancl order for all compositions written at the composer's pl easun•,

whether upon a plainsong or without regard for one , also for compositions for

five,

six

, seven, and more voices, in wh ich it is usual to wtite a first and

prind

pal tenor. Each of the added parts will be governed by the nature of the te

n01

.

and by means of the tenor the tone w

ill

be recognized unless the

itse

lf

, which is primary and principal to such a recognition, be in s

orn

e ol

h<·•

part.

6

3. WA YS O F RE

COG

Z I

NC

T II E T O ' E OF D I FF E R ENT

P O S T J O N S

Re flecting alone for days ami days, I

rc

c

all

cd ccrtain projects often

in

111)

mind. Wherefore, gracious reader, had not

yo

ur gentle aspe

ct

and my

cagc

·r

wis

h for the des

ir

e

cl

end constrained me, l should more

li

ghtly havc lowcn·tl

the sails at the hm·d-won port.

But

since I think that

you

by no means bl

anH'

d

it,

I

wish

to

pursue

th

e e

nt

erprise b

egun

, not for those wbo turn a thing

owr

and over, but solely for those unfamiliar lovith this fm·e. Thus, having reaclwd

this point, 1am l

ef

t som

ew

hat in doubt. Yet 1 intend rather to go on

4.

Wh

et

he

r

Int

roit, Kyri

e,

Gloria,

Gra

dual, Allcluia,

Cr edo

,

OfT

crtory, Sanc lus, Ag

nus

Dei, Pusl

commun

ion, R

esp ond

,

Deo

gratias, P

sa

lm, 1Iy

mn

,

Ma

gnilicat, mote l,

ca

nzon

e,

froltola, h t•l

ge retiP, s

tramhot

to, madrigal, or capitolo.

[A

u.)

5. We see , in

ot

h

er

words, that when a tenor and ils c an us belong to the

same

ton a nd n l l ~ \

lhis is the case, the ca n u s can have no b

ca

ring on the tonality of the com posilion-

th

ey will

11

far

apart

a

nd th

e r

es

ulting t

ex

l

ur

e wi

ll be

disagreeable, p

ar

licularly in

vi

ew o f the dispm

ih

be t

ween

t

he cantu

s and th e con

traba

ssus.

Thu

s thc usua

llhingwi

ll be to make Lhe teno r

au

llwu

ti

c ;md the ca

ntu

s pl

aga

, o r vice versa, leaving the ten

or

as lhe

so

le

detenninin

g fact

or

. /\ ' Ido

from thi

s,

"in view of the inconvenie n

ce

of lhe upw ard range," thP can us will scldom ascend lu

thc

oc

lavc above the final in thc seven

lh

tone or (sec chap .

5

below) in the t ransposed t

lu

11l

Aa

r

on

's "

ac

cide n

ta

l co

ur

se" rc f

crs

lo pilch

es

ab

ove

the G uidonian gam

ut

.

6

Cf. Joh

annes

Tincto

ri

s,

Liber de Olll

rtl ¡1r

oprietate l O

O

l l l l l

24:

"Wh en

SOillC lll:lSS

or dul l

son

or

any othe r composition you picase is made up of various parts, belonging to difft·IHII

tones, if'you

ask

without qualifl cation lo what tone such a composition bclo ngs, the pc rson 111ko •1

ong

ht

to r

ep ly

witho

ut

quulification acco rding to

h

e qnali ty o

f

t

l1

c t

eno

r, for in every

COI11JIIl'l

lion this is

the pr

incipal p

ar

t and thc basis

of

t

hr

wholc rclationship . But

if

it be asked sp

ec

ifit·ulh

to

what tone

somc

single

pa

rt of snch :l'

eo

mposi li

on

belongs, the person asked w ill

re

ply s pt ·t lll

ca lly, 'To sueh and sueh a t

one

.

On th

e

Natur

e

of

ll the Tones of Figured Song

421

w

ith yo

u, seeking a rule by means of w

hi

ch

yo

u may

ani

ve at a

cl

ear under

.tnud

in

g

of

each

of

the tones in question.

In

so far as cornpos

iti

ons e

ncl in

the

po

sitions D sol re, E ln rni, F fa ut, and

e:

sol re ut ,

th

ey are

to

be

jud

gcd acco

rclin

g to thei1 fina,ls , and by means

of

tl

lt'

sc their true and proper species

7

w

ill

be recognized. These are the steps

1 tll<

•d

r

eg

ular to

th

e

fir

st, sccond, third, fourth , fifth , s

ixth

, seventh, and eighth

IIIII

PS

, and on these steps the

fin

al

wi ll

be necessary, rational, ancl govern

in g.

1

t•t me explain this to you more fully. First consider those compositions th at

l

ll

l

V(

th

eir

final

on

D

sol re

and that at

th

e beginning

or

in

tb

cir coursc procced

w1lh the species oí the thircl, fourth , fifth, sixth, seventh , or eighth tone; a

ll

llu •sc

are

in

my opinion to

be

juclged only fr

orn

their proper and regular

fina

l,

I 'Vtl

ll tlt

ough they contain contradiclory and unsuitable

processi,

for no other

I111H ' has a diífercnce ending on this step. Andas to those e nd

in

g on E la mí,

IIH

•sc· are

in

my op

ini

on subject

in th

e same way only

to th

eir own form . Such

111111positions are best said to belong to mixed tones toni comrnisti .

8

llut those compositions th at end in tl1e position ca

ll

ed F fa ut are

in

my

nplnion subj ect not only to th eir own fina l and species but also to th e natnre

llld

f'orm

or th e first and fo

UJth

tones,

in

view or the difference which thcsc

lo1 ws sometimes

ex

hibit on this step. Understand, howevcr, that this is when

ll

•y proceed

in

the way suited to th e first and fourth tones, for otherwise they

11111 remain o[ the fifth or sixth .

Cc

rtain oth ers end on G sol re ttt ; these are in

111

y opinion subject to thc scvcnth and eighth tones and also to

th

e

flr

st, second,

lhild, and fourth , as you willnndcrstand

fr

om what follows.9

< C rtain other compos

iti

ons cncl on

th

e irregular ste

ps

A la mi re, n

a

qwi,

uul C so

l fa ttt ; th

esc wc sh

all

consider accorcling to their processo, thcir spe-

1 1 • · ~

and the differcnces oí the Saeculorum, for

th

ese considerations w

ill

gov-

•

111

lhcm and yield the truc recognition of' the tone.

Ct'rlain oth er comp os ilions encl on D la sol re, E la mi , F fa ut , and C sol re

111 ,

10

th

ese steps are

of

thc sarnc n

al11

re

as

the r

eg

ul

ar

steps previously namc

d.

C ·rt

ai

n o

tl

1er compos

iti

ons, although they end r

eg

ularl

y,

have a

Oat

signa-

11111

'; these are to be judged according to their species (excepting those ending

1111

1) sol re and F fa

ut

, etc.), for the

final wi ll

now be neithcr necessaJy nor

1

ion

al

to

thc recognition

of

the tone.

e

t•rtain other compositions

pr

ocee

cl

at the beginning and

in

lheir coursc

\\

lll1

th

e species suite

cl

toa

given tone but end \vith species that contradict it;

Nun t

l'

ly, from D

so

l

m

to thc first

/1

la mi re a nd from then

ee

to D la

so

l re, from r la mi lo 13

fo

i

and

fr

om

th

e nce to high

E la mi,

from

F fa ut

to C

sol fa ttl

an d fr

om

th

en

ce

to

hi

gh

F

/

11

111,

and f'rom low C

sol re 111

lo

D

la

sol re and from th

c n

ce

to the seco

nd

G

so

l re 111 . [A

n.]

1 1

1

Joh

:m

nes Tinct

nr

is, 1e

rml

o

nttll

tJW icae d

ifj

mllorium 18: 'A tonus commixtu s is onc w

hi

ch,

11

11

1

the ntic, is mixed wit h a lone olh

cr

th:

11

ils plag

a

, if plaga

.

wi th a tone othc r than its

ll

lllho•nl ic."

1

\11

1o

n clocs n

ot

r

cf

e r again lo t

he

possibility o f cndings on

Fin

the first and foorth tones

or on

1,

t t ~ diff'crcnce)

in

thc first , scco

nd

, a

nd

fourth; l

or lh

e

endi

ng on C in t he thircl , sce chap.

5

lu, low. ·

111

l 1 ., :In

oc

tave above the regular finals D

so

l re etc.



422

69

P I ETHO AARON

these

are to

be ju d

ged

according to Lhe species a

nd

differences previously

mentioned, excepting (as was noted above) those encing on the r

eg

ular finals .

Ce rtain other compositions have an irr

eg

ular e

nd and

an inharmonious pro-

cesso

with

out

any

complete

diapente by m

ca

ns of which

their true

form might

be recognized;

these are

to be

judg

ed by m

ea

ns of sorne speci

es

of diatessarou

or by t heir own flnals. .

On

e will also flnd compositions arbitrarily

wr

itten wit

hout

r

eg a

rcl to f

or

m or

r

eg

ular manner, comparab le indced to players

of

the game caU

ecl

alleta, who

agr

ee

u

pon

a ce

rt

ain goal at which thcy wi

ll

take rcfu

ge

and , chasing

one

aflc r

an

ot

he r, run back to that place or goal

and

are safe;

of

the composers of sud•

works as these we say that they

turn

airnlcssly round and round, progressing

and

digressing beyond the nature a

nd Lh

e primary arder that th

ey

have in mind

until, by some trick, they arrive at an e nd

of

their

ovm

Such harmonies

or

compositions can in my opinion be judge cl only by means of the

fi

nal, ancl tlwu

only when they encl witho

ut

a flal signature.

In certain other compositions this signature appears only in the contrabassus,

in othcrs

on

ly in

thc

tenor; such an arran

gement

is in our opinion neitlw r

permissible nor su

it

a

bl

e in a harmony or

co

mposition unless it is usecl delibcr

ate

ly

and

introcluce

cl

with a1t.

11

Certain other compositions have a flat signat

ur

e on low E la mi, the

fl1·sl

A

la mi

re,

B fa qmi,

and

high E

f

mi; whether they encl regularly or

irr

egularly.

these are in my opinion

to be judg

e

cl

according to the species, not accorclin

).

to the finaJ.l

2

4.

AN EXPLANATION OF T U E t

ST AND

SECOND TO

NES

Eve

.y

compo

sition in which the tenor e

nds

on D so

l

re is unhesitalingly lo

be assigncd to the Rrst or seco

nd

tone, thc more readily if

th

e soprano e nds 011

D la sol 1e with the r

eg

ul

ar

ancl rational Rna.l , clearly showing the naturnl

form.

13

Th

e same is also

tru

c of cet

tain ot

hcr compositions

wi

th a Hat signa

tun •:

the nature

of

these remains unchanged, in my opinion, for

on

ly the diatessaro11,

1

L

As

by t

he

excellenl }

ose¡

u n in the Palrcm of his

M a ~ s of

Our Lady and in a sim

il

ar way by llu

~ n e Alexande r [Agrícola) in many of his compositions. [Au.]

A

pub lished in vol. 42 of

> o ~

Chonverk, the Credo of Josc¡uirú

Mi

ssa de Bea/a Vit-gine has no signatures whatever. Bul i1

clear from Aaron's commenl and fromthc composition itse

lf

hat the Teno r secundus,

fo ll

owlul(

thc Tenor in canon at thc fifth bclow, should havc the signatme one flat.

12. For examplc, Cela sans plus" by Josquin, "Peccata mea Domine'' by Jean Mouton (in tlu

Mot etti de

la

corona), Le serviteur," "ll élas m'nmour," La dicuplaisant ," &c. [Au.] Cf. Johun

ncs 'llnc loris, Uber de uatum et propdetate tonomm 24: "l f some one were lo say to 1111 ',

spcaking in general, 'Tincto ris ,

1

ask yon lo what tone thc chanson e

servi eur o n g ~ 1

would

rep

l

y,

'

Gene

ra

ll

y speaking, lo

th

e first tone ir

regul

ar,' since the·tenor,

or

principal purt.

of this chanson belongs to this tone. Bul ifhe wcre Lo

as

k sp

cc

ifi

cally to what tone the snp<• rh"

or conlratenor belongs,

1

wonld reply spccifically th<ll the onc and tbc olher belong lo 11

1

secund tone irregular. But thcrc is no 0

11

0 who donbts thal a spccific question about thc 1

011111

is lo be answercd as W<IS the general ono."

13. As in thc motets "Hogamus le virgo Maria" by Jacol in , "Judica me Deus" by A. Caen, C o n ~

ati snnt''

ancl

"Beata Dei ge11itrix hy Jcan Moulon. and "C iangat plebs flores" by Hcgis. [

An

1

On

the Natu:re of f\ll the

Tones of

Figured Song

423

forrned by the interval A la mi

re

to D la sol

re,

is altered. Seeing then that the

diapente

ptimary

and natural to the tone is left

int

act, such compositions

are

nlso to assign.ed to the first tone.

14

{

And 1f sometimes, as has become the custom,

the

cmlJlloser prolongs his

work, amusing him

se

lf with additional progressions , you

vvill, in

my opinion,

tiC'Cd to consider wh

ethe

r

the

final ,

as

alter

ed by the

composer, is suited

to and

lu

keeping

or out of

keeping with

hj

s composition, f

or if

reason guides him in

what

is

suit

ed to the

tone he will at least

see

to

it

that sorne

one part

(namel

y,

lh c

te

n

or or

cantus) sustains

th

e final, while the others proceecl as

required

by

1he tone, regul

ar

or irreg

ul

ar, with pleasing

and

appropria

te

progressions like

lh ose shown bel

ow,

or in so

rn

e more varied rnanner according to his pleas

ur

e

nnd J isposition.

0PTIONAL

EN

DINC

FOR Tll l

:

FtHST ANO SECOND

TONES:

But since sorne will say, pe rhaps, tha t the position D sol re is

commo

n also

lo he second tone, 1 shall te ll you

that

in Rgured music you will very seldom

rlud a

tenor

\ovith the processo and downward range suitecl

and

appropriate to

llw second tone encled in this

way. Neverthe

less, a composer may wish to pro-

c•c·c•cl

in accordance with the

natur

e

of the

seco

nd ton

e;

he

will t

hen

take care

lo proceecl

at

t

he beg in

ning

and

in the

co

urse of his composition wi

th some

ltlgard for its

prop

er for

rn, as

observed

and compre

hen

ded in th

e psalms

and

ll1<• Magníficat, where he is rest ricted

and

subj

ect to

the

manne

r and a

rd

er

proper to the second tone.

Certain

ot

her compositions

end

on the s tep G

sol

re

ut;

·with a Aat signatu re,

llu•se are in my opinion only to be unclerstood as of the

Rr

st

or

second tone,

••ven though this is the step

ord

i

nmy and

regular

to th

e seventh

and

eighth .

l• nr this sig nature (or figure) alte rs the fonn or

st

ru

cture proper

ancl natural

to

IIH·

scve

nth and

eighth tones; at the

same

time, having acquired the species

l11 · onging to the first and second, the final becomes inactive

and on

this step is

lt•

t

arbitra1y a

nd

as it

wer

e regul

ar

per se, not suited to the seventh

and

eighth

Iones but necessary to the fi rst and second .

15

Ccrtain o

th

er composi

ti

ons, encl

in

g on this

same

step, are saicl to be of the

11 As in the motet "Nomine qui Domini" by A. Caen, "Po ur quoy fut fuie cette emprise," &c.

lAu.]

In

Th

is is

dernonstrated by the

fo

ll

owing

rn

asscs and motets, which are

of

the flrst tone in v.i

ew of

lhcir ¡¡rocesso, structure, and cou1plete diapason: Ave mmis stella and D'u.ng aultre 111twr by

Jnsquin, No

biJ

is progenie" Rnd "Vul nerasti cor meum" by Févin, &c. [Au. j



424

69 PI AA RON

second tone; these are reacüly recognized by th

ei

r extended clownward range.

16

Ancl if this consideration see ms to you not always to the

purpo

se, do

not

be

surprised, for comp osers sometimes observe the

p

rocesso of a given tone at the

b

eg

inning

and

i.n the

co

ur

se

of a composition, e nding then in accord ance with

the dill'erence of tbe plainsong, as you ,..,¡]] und erstand from what follows.

Ce rtain other tenors c nd on A la

mi r

e; here you will need to consider and

examine whether their

pr

ocesso is suited ancl ra tional to such an ending, fo r if

a tenor encls

irreg

ularly

iJl

the nrst or

seco

nd ton

e,

not pro

ceedin

g with

it

s

pr

oper form, it may eas

il

y not belong to it, even

th

ough this step is one

of

it

s

irr

egular

fin

als

and

an ending o f

.it

s Saecul

orum or

differen

ce

. As y

ou

wi

ll

unclerstand fr

om what

follows, this is b

ecau

se the third

and

fourth tones also

use this s tep as a diffe rence. For thi s r cason , then, you wi

ll

assign such a te

no

r

to the first or seconcl tone only whcn yo u find the

pr

oper form.

17

Ce

rt

ain other c

omp

ositions e nd on D la sol

re;

these are in my opinion to b<•

assigned in the same way to the first and second tones, for

it

is cl

ea

rly evidenl

that from D

la sol

re to its diapason is the

pr

oper form of the first diape

nt

e and

diatessaron, namely r

e--la

and re-sol. When they ascend as far as the fifth or

sixth step, a

nd

esp

ec

ially when they ascend still further, they

-

vill be of the first

tone.

18

But

when they lack this extension to the upper limit of the diape nte,

proceeding rather iJ1 the lowe r reg ister, they w

il

l be of the second tone

and

not

of the first. This opinion of mine is suppo rted by thc venerable Father Zanetto,

a

mu

sici an of Veni

ce

.

19

5. A N E XP L ANA TT ON OF TI I E T 111110 ANO F OU HT TT T ON ES

Th e few who fish th

ese

wat ers are in the

habil

of saying that every composi

tion ending in the position E

la

mi is to be assigned to the fourth tone. Thcy

forge t that this ste p is comm on also t·o the third, and in so doing seem to

m<'

to involve themselves in no li ttle difnculty.

See

ing that the differen

ce

oftcn

ends on this s tep in the fourth tone, many, thinking only of the ending

of

its

Saec

ul

o

rum

,

judge

a composition to bclong to it.

Thu

s

th

e greatest c

onfu

sion

may easil

y arise. t is accordingly ncccssa1y to cons

id

er

at

vá1ious times tlw

final, the upwa

rd and

clownwarcl range, the

processo

.the intonations, and llw

J6

For example, ''

Vi

rgo

cc

lcsti" by l

..oyscl

Comperc, "l) u ng a

ult

re a mer" and "De tous b

ie

us

playne" by Hayne, "Ce n'est pas" by Pien

·c

de

La

Ruc, and "D'ung au

lt

re amer" by Orto. [

Au

.l

17. As

in

La plus de p

lu

s" by Josqu

in

, wh

ic

h is

of

Lhc fi rst tone

in view

of the course

of

its diapcuh•

and its upward range, or in "Si miculx" by Loyscl Compere, which is of thc sccond, as i l l l ~ t

readily evident. [Au.]

18.

W

he

thcr with a Rat signalure.

as iu

''Pourlanl si mon" by

An

taine B

us

noi

s,

"Caudc virgo,"

11

motet by Costan

zo

F

es

la, "L:homm e armé"

et sic de

singuli

s

by Josquin , and "

TJ

é

la

s qu'il esl i\

mon gré" by Japart; or without, as

in

"Fors sculcmcnl" by Pien·e de La

Ru

e, ")e déspite Lou, .

by Bru

rne

l,

an

d "Gaude Barbara" by Jcan Moulo

n.

[Ao1. ]

19.

Fur

cx

am

pl

e, t he

mass

l

erculo•s dux Ferraria

e

<

:omposed by Josquin, and many o

lh

er

whiclo1 sha

ll

nol enu

me

mle, s

in

cc you w

ill

rcadily undcrsta

nd

them from

th

eir s

imil

arily

In

this one. [A

u.

] "Father Zanetto"

is

thc nooosic theo

ri

sl and coonposer Giovanni del Lago; . 11 1

Bonnic Blackbum, Edwa rd Lowi nsky, and Clcmenl Miller, A Con

·espon

dence

o

RenaisUIIII I

M 11sicimv;

(Oxford: C

la

rcndon Prcss, 1

99

1

,

p.

129. 11.

10.

On the Nalure of All the Tones of Figured Song

425

diffe rences, which, since they are of dif'ferent sorts , end naturally in different

ways.

20

{)JYflONAL

E N

Ol i :C

FO il TI I

E

Tllr

HD

Al \0 F'OUHT ll T

OI\

ES:{

:

1 1 1

1 1

. J

1

1

1 1

J

1 1

J

j

.;

""•

:

1

1

1

Ce rtain other compositions e nding in th e pps ition G sol re ut are

sa

id to be

nf' the thircl tone, even though this is the step ordinaJy and regular to the

st•vcnth and eighth . You will need to give your most careful consideration to

1hC'se and, above all, to their

p

rocesso for unless they have the form a

ncl

orde r

due and appropriate to the third tone, with this final they will never be assigned

lo it, but rather to the seventh or e ighth . But where the natural form is found ,

th

<•y

"vill always be assigned to the third tone, ancl not to the seventh or eighth ,

u view of the ir form and diflere nce.

21

Thi s opinion is like\vise supported by

th

<•

venerable Father Zane lto, Vcn e tian mu sician.

You will also fincl certai n othe r compos itions e nding on

A la

m

r

e; when

l11

esc obser

ve

the a

ppr

opri ate

processo

th

ey

will

be

assigned to the third tone.

22

llul when they have a n

at

signa

ture,

they are in my opinion to be assigncd

lo

lhc• lhird

ton

e the more readil

y,

even though

al

the beginning and in their

m urse they fail to proceed in the clu e ancl appropriate way, for it is evi

cl

e

nt

that

111(

regular struc

tur

e of thc lonc

23

wi

ll pr

evail.

But

because

of

thc inconvc

nlou

ce

of the ir upward range, few such pieccs will be found, unlcss writtc n fo r

o

ll'o

al volees or voc í ? utate.

24

So co

mp

ositions of this s

ort

are to be assigned

lo thc third or fo urth tone in vi

ew

of their sp

ec

ies a

nd

downwa

rd

range, not

ht•eause of their c}ifference or processo.

Thu

s il may be ¡nfe rrecl that, in view

11l their extended downwarcl they will in prefere n

ce

be assigned to thc

lo111rlh tone.

25

11

i n a ~

in

the motet "

Mi

chacl archangclc" hy Jaco

ti

n, the

fi

rst parl is

in my

opin

io

n

of

thc

Irreg

ul

ar third tone wh

ile

the sccond cnds

in

thc regular third tone, nol in the fourth; thc sa

on

e

b true of "Malheur me bat" py Ockeghcm, "lnlervcniat pro regc noslro" by Jacotin, al)d

ma

ny

uthcr composition

s,

similar lo these and

ha

ving the regular fi ooal and

lh

e rcqnircd

processo

and

11 pwa rd ranga. [An.]

1

1

l'or exam

pl

e, "Nunca f

oo

é pena

mayo

r,"

&c.

[Au.]

1

'

Jor example, "Miserere mei Dcns'' hy Josqu in . "Laetatus s

nm

"

by

Euslac

hi

o, "

13

cncdic anima

nh'll Dooninum," in which thc firsl parl cnds 0

11

the confina , the second on thc Rnal, and the

tlolrd

on

the diffcrencc,

&c

. [Au . l

1

1 Numcly, mi-mi and mi-la arising froon thc inlcrval A ln mi re to high E

la

mi, to whicl1 is ad ded

i lol oo

pper diatessaron

m -In

[

An .]

' 1

l'hat

is,

for a group of

vo

iccs r

cs

lricted to a simi lar.

in

t

hi

s case hi gh, compnss. Thc onore

¡·o

oo1mon ter

rn

for snch a group isvoci p arí .

J>or exampl e, "O Maria rogamus le" in thc Molelt C and many others which you will readily

• e o g

on the s

am

e pr incipie. [

An .]



426

69 P 1E T H O i

i

HO N

6. AN

EXPLA:\ 'AT I

ON or Tll l :

F r FT

II AND

S IXT

II

T ONES

Spurred on by your afl'ec tion ami with my goa l in sight , 1 turn to the q ues tion

about which you may

ha

ve been in doubt. Th11s, in beginning this

part

of my

explanat ion , 1 ask you to obse rve that compositions ending in the position F fa

ut

are to be assigned to the flfth or sixth tone. On this point 1 shou ld like

lo

re move any remaining uncert ainty, for seeing that such compositions ver)

o ften- indeed, almost always- have the Oat signature and t hat the fo rm o f' tlw

tone is alte red, it would be easy for yo11 to bel icve the eontrary, in view o

f'

ccrtain opinions that I have exprcsscd above.

26

Know, then, that in composi

tions sueh as these the older eomposcrs were mo re co nee rned with be i lity than

with proper

f'

orm ancl correc t stn rctnre. For the flfth and sixth ton es often

req uire the he

lp

of the b-flat , alt hong lr always to use it would be cont rary

lo

the tendene ies of the mediat ions o f t hcse tones as lai

cl

clown by the ancients.

This op inion is likewise snppo rted by the

pr

eviously mentionecl Venetian,

Father Zanetto. For thi s reason , then, the olde r

co

rnpose rs a lterm] the third

diape

nt

e, giving it

th

e natu re of the fourth, in orcler that the tri l

one wh k

h

\vould otherwise occ ur in running through it might not cau

se

inconven ience or

har

s

hn

ess in the

ir

music.

27

ÜJYriO

NAL EN O

I :-IC F OR

TI I

E Fwrrr AN D SrXT

II

T ONES:

Ancl if certain other compositions, c nding on A la 111i

re ar

e to b e assigrwd

to the Rfth t

one

, kn

ow

that

at

thc beginning

and in

their

co

ur

se th

e

se 111u

st

observe a

processo

suitccl to it; lacking th is, the

diff

ere

nee

will have li

tt

le fo r

< l

'

and , as previously explained , they may eas ily be of some

other

to ne. Nevertlw

less, the composer ma)' if he picases obse rve this tone, but what is neeessarv

26. The reader, that is, having becn to fd that

in

thc D and f mO<Ies the flat signaturc does ru>

enecl a

lr

ansforma tion (chap. 3), ami

m ~ n g

sccn th al the exp

lan

alion

of

this given f

or

li

w

1)

modcs (chap. 4) wi ll nol apply to thc F will havc an licipated a difficulty at this poi nl.

27.

This is unifonnly demonslrated in th c lollowing

(.'()m

posi lions

of

thc fifth tone,

o m p o s

i o n ~

which

ca un

ot be otherwise

ass

igncd in v

it"w

of thc ir upward range and

pmcesso:

"Stabal mult•r

dolo rosa" and ''Alma rcdemplo ri

s" by

Josqu

in

, "l lé las que pourra devenir" by Caron, 'Qmwr11

mus cum pastoribus'' and "lll nnrinare illumi narc Jcrusalcm" by Jean Moulon, ami tite Sanell"

and Agnus Dei of' th e

Ma

ss

of

Onr Lad y hy

Pi

crrl' dL·

La

Hne. Those wh

ic

h do not h

u\t

fr

cc¡

ucnl

processo

in this hi

gh

ran

gc

,

fa

ll ing shorl

of

lhe diapente o r

hexac

ho

rd

, are lo

¡

.

assigncd lo thc sixth tone as rcgularly c ncbl, l'or

cx

:

t

mplc, "Bn rneltc'' by Slokhern, "Vost11

bergcronette" by Compcr

e,

"j e ne dcnr:urclc"

by Bu

sr1o i

s,

"AII cz rcgrctz" by 1\grico la, "A lwr

dience" by Jl

ay

ue, ··sancta Tri11itas llltus Deus" ami

"Tc rn

pus mcum est ut rcvcrlar

ad

ctu u

by F

év

in, ''Celeste bcne flcium'' by Jcan Mouto11 , "' Egregie Christi" by f évin. &c. [Att .)

On 1/w N ture of A/1 he '](mes of i g ~ t Song

427

wi

ll be recognized mo re clearly in the psalms ancl the Magn ificat. The sixth

tone we do not concede o n Lhis step , for it has ne ither the form nor thc differ

t'nce.

ee rtain othe r cornpositions ending on B fa ~ m i

a t

sai

O.

to be of t he fifth

tone, hut we do nol app rove Lh is in th e absence of the Aat signatme (or figure

which on th

.is

step produces the proper stm cturc both ascending and clescend

ing. 1 e re, then, the fin al is ralional, ncccssmy, and governing, ancl in this way

thc proper form is rccognizcd.

2

ee

r

ta

in

othcr

compositions,

en

di

ng

on e

sol

fa ut,

are

sa

icl

to be

of

the

flf'th

tone,

bo t

h wit

lt

ami withoul the flal signalure;

2

\J this is solely in vicw

of

Lhc

dif'fer

ence

which the plainsong so mctimes exhihits here. Thc s.xth tone is lack

ing on this step, eve n though it is the confina of the

fl

fth and sixtlr tones

encled, fo r thc step can h ca r no forrn o r cl iffe rence approp riatc Lo il.

7. AN EXPLA:-JAT r

ON

O F TII S I

WE N

T II ANO E r

II T II

T

o:>Jr.s

Cc rtain persons have he ld th

at

the seventh a

nd

eighth tones may e rul rcgrr

lru·ly and irregu la

rl

y on three ste

ps

, narnely

Gamma tti ,

e

fa

ami G

sol re ttt,

1

111d r

eg

ard ing lh

ese

enclings many advancc many

diff

e rent op inions,

cs

pec ia

ll

y

r q ~ a r d

thosc on

Camn

ra and C

fa

.1.

Co

rnp

os

il ions cncling on Lh

cse

steps

tll(')' assign rather to the scventh t

one

Lhan to

Lh

e eighth, ancl this b

ec

au

sc

such

''

c·omposition scldom if eve r dcscends as the plaga fo rrn requires. Jn view of

lhis co nfusion I shall te

ll

you that

I ca

nnol aclrn it such op inions, for it is clear

thal these composilions co nlinuc lo observe the natu ral req uirc rnc nls of Lle

propcr and regular tones. T hose ( nding on Ga rn rna ut, in vicw of' Lhcir acqnirecl

liH·

rn

,

pec

uliar to the seve

nth

ton

e,

I take lo be

of

th is t

one

ancl

not

of' the

11ight h when they are witho11t tho fl at signature,

but

of the fl rsl or second when

have it. But thosc encl ing on C.fa u/ , for the reason given ab ove and also

IHc.:anse they do nol have thc

pr

oper diatessaron , [ assign to thc e ighth tone

rt

nd not lo the scvcnlh .:

10

This opin ion is likewi se hcld hy the previously me n-

1

ont'd musician, Father Zanctto.

Ce rtain oth

er

compos ilious c nd in the position G

sol re ut ;

thesc

ar

e nalu

r,dl

)' and r

eg

ularly to be assigned to Lhc sevcnth lonc

orto

Lhc cighth in vicw

ol

the ir proper final ancl natural form.

3

As dl'monslratcd in the chanson "

La

regrLt6c," composcd by ll ayne. w

hi

ch is

of

tlw

flfth

tone

in

vicw

of

ils spccics. cadenccs, and npward mngc; or

in

"O ad111irabilc connncrciunt" by

jtmpr

in

, whi ch is said lo be of lhe sixt h. arr

CC'

tt<lin olhrrs similar to il , although llwrc are

lt·w of

these. [A .]

") For ex:unple, "Si sumpscro" hy Obrrcht. [

Au

. l

tU

i\1

dcmonstraled in the followiug co

111

posi lions: "Mon mari rrú1 diniunéc" by Orto and lhe

t•han son called "E la la la

":

l'ollowing tlw s:unn principie yon will undersla nd thc res

.

[1\

n. l

l'h us lhc

mass

Ut

sol

by Je

au

Moulon aud l

frc C:lor

ia

of

Our Lady by Picrrc de La n nc are in

o111r opiuion to he a

ss

iguNI In thc sevcnth tone

in

v

ic•w of

their spccics, their

final

.

and

their

••xl¡•ndcd upward rangc; the same applies lo "Multi

su

nt vocali panci ve ro clccti" hy

ll

w vrncra

hl

<

Father Zanetto of Verlicc· ami "Asceudl' ns Christus

in

allum" hy llyb cre.

Bul

"Si drd¡ ro"

hy Alc•xander Agrien a and "C'rst possible que l'honune peut"

will

he of thr Pighth to ne in vicw



428

70 II E I

NH

I C C

L HE N

ÜP TJON L E ND ING FOH TliE SEVENTll ANO E JC

JJTII

T ON ES :

Ce rtain other compositions end in the position C so l fa ut; these are in my

opinion to be assigned in the

same

way to the

seventh ton

e or to the e

ighth

iu

view of tbeir difference and processo the diffe ren

ce

dften ending on this step.

Thus

, if sucb a composltion pro

cee

ds in the

appropriate

way it will most

cc

r

lainly be of tbe s

eve nth

ton e or of tbc eighth in

vi

ew of its final, sti ll mort

1

reasonably

so

if t has the flat signatu r

e,

for this will give it the proper stmcturc,

nam

ely ut so

l

and

re-sol

the form p

ec

uliar to the

seven

tb and e ig

hth ton

es.

32

Following these principies

in yo

ur examinations and re flecting

on

tlw

me thod

se

t forth abov

e,

you \vill have a clear

un d

e rstanding o(

any

oth er con1

position

or

ton e suited and appropriate to Rgured

mu

s

ic

.

of

the

ir

final and their

p

rocesso thc samc is t ruc of "O venus bant" by

Jo

squin, "Disa

nt

adit•u

madame," "Je suis amie," "Myn morghcm ghal'," '' ll élas hé las" by Ninot, "E d 'en revencz vous ·

by Co

mper

e, "Bea ta Dei genitrix," aud many others which you

wi

ll recognize on the sanu•

principie. [Au .]

32.

Thu

s " Mes pensées" by

Comp

cre, "Madame hólas," "Comme

nl

peu lt' by Josquin,

and

"Mittll

ad virginem" can be assignecl on ly lo thc seveuth tone, and also "Je cuide si

ce

temps ; aml

"Ne l'oserai je cUre" will be of the eighth tone a

ncl

not of the seventh, as i

ts

Jorm ancl extendl'cl

downward processo witl show you. ]Acc.]

7

QHeinrich Clarean

Heinrich Glarean (known as Glareanus),

one of

the g reat humanist-scholars of

the sixteenth century, was born in the ca nton of Gla rus in Switzerland in 1488

and died

in

Heiburg in 1563 . A friend of Erasmus of Rotterdam, Glarean was •'

philosopher, theo logian, philologist,

hi

sto rian, poet, and musica l scholar.

Already

in 1512

he was crowned poe t la

ur

eate

by

Emperor Maximilian

l.

Among his works of musical inte rest, the most important is the odecachordon

(lite ra

ll

y, the /n

strumenl

o Tw

e

lv

e

Strings . Here he advocat

ed

a system of

twe lve modes, add ing four new modes to the existing eight: Aeolian, Hypo

aeo lia n, tonian, and Hypoionia n. True to Glarean's humanist background, his

discussion of the modes

in

corporales class ica l learning much more than Aar

on's. Glarean rationalized his twelve-mode system by a scrupulous ana lysis,

Dodecachonlon 429

along anc ient lines, of the perlinent octave species and the ir formation out of

the conjunction of different species of fifth and fourth. He s elected the names

for his new modes alter carefu lly sc rutini zing anc ient authorities and their vary

ing terminologies. Nevertheless, his new modes,

lik

e Aa(on

's,

had an empírica

basis as wel l.

Thi

s is cl

ea

r from

hi

s use of Gregorian cha

nr

•to exemplify the

t

we

lve-mode system (which a lso made a broader

id

eologica l point: Glarean

was a staunch Ca tholic and resisted movements of Protestant reform). Glarean's

cmpiricism is evident also

in

his presenta tion of numerous full compositions by

co

mposers of

hi

s time to

exe

mpl

ify

h

is th

eory and in

hi

s observations

th

at mod

c

rn

polyphonic practi

ce

tend

ed

to the frequent u

se

of the octave species that

we would

ca

ll the major and

natLtr

al minor modes.

Glarean's twelve-mode system was very influential. Za rlin o embraced it

in

his

lslitutioni harmo

ni

chewithout mentioning Glarean and, la

er,

went Glarean

one better by renumbcring his modes from the lonian, beginning on

C,

rathe r

than from

th

c

co

nventional starting-poinl, Dorian-

D.

In the present excerpt

Gla rean combines a paean to his favorite composer, Josquin Desprez, wi th an

exemplification

by

mea ns of Josquin's works of the mixture of authenti c and

plaga mod¡¡l pa

ir

s.

FROM

Dodecachordon

(1

5-1:7

BOOK 3

C l l PTEH 24: EX MPLES OF T II E P IH ED C O MB l N TI ON S OF TLLE

M OOES T

OCET

II EL\ W ITLI i \N ENCOM I U M OF J OSQU N DF. S PRF.Z

So much for our exampl es of th c twe l

vc

rnodes in that varicd sort of rn usic

llol (at Ieast in our opinion ) inappropriately called mensural , exarnples cited

wilh all possible brevity frorn various a uthors in proof of

tbo

se things that have

\C'P rned to us in need o f proof. It now remains fo r us to give examples of

lhPsc

sa

me

mod

es in

co

mbination ,

1

nol

commonpla

ce

examples, to be sur

e,

hctl

weigh ty

ones

elegan

tl

y illustrating the rnatte r.

And

since in

our

pr

ece di n

g

lu1ot<2 we

ha v

e sufficiently discu

ssed

thc actual nature of these combinations,

wc•

shall re frain fr

om

re-cxamin i

ng

it hc re. All

our

exa

mpl es

will be in th e o

rd

er

in o

ur

last book; thus, having b

eguu

\vith Dotian and Il ypodorian , we

illltll then

add

exampl

es

o f the ot hcr

pa

ired

co

mbinations, bri efly expr ess ing

1111r

op

inion about th

ese

, partly to sh

ow

othe rs a b e

tt

e r way

of

judging and, as

\V< re, to

op

en me n's

eyes, part

ly to makc knov.rn the me

rit

s

of

the in

gc

nious

11 i l : The original

ed

ition ( 13asle,

1

547). Clarca givcs the

c:

:omplcte cn11sical t

cx

ts o f thc seven

o

\.tt

uples discussecl in this chaplcr. Thcse aro omiltc.:d here. Translation by Olivc r Struuk.

l•xa

onpl

es, that is,

in

which the tenor or pr

in

cipal parl has Jhe co mbined

pl

aga and aulhcnlic

2/l-J-5.



430

70

H E I N

RI

C

II

C

LA R E AN

in this art, merits which to certain sufficiently host

il

e j

udg

es

seem

common

place,

but

which to us

see

m considerable

and mo

st worthy

of

admiration.

Now in this class

of

authors

and

in this great crowd of

th

e ingenious

th

ere

stands o

ut

as

by

far

pr

e-e mine

nt in

te

mp

eram e

nt

, co

ns

cientiousness,

and

industry (or I am mistaken in my f

ee

ling) Jodocus

a

Pr

ato, whom people play

fully

V

7TOKoptCT-nKwc;

call in h

is

Belgian mother-tongue Josqu in, as

th

ough

th

ey

were to say "Little Jodocus."

f

his man , besides

th

at native

bent

and

strengthof chara

cter

by

wh

ich

he

was

di

stinguish

ed,

had had an

und

erstanding

of th

e twelve mod

es and

of

th

e truth

of

musical theory,

natur

e could have

broug

ht

forth nothing more maj

es

tic

and

magnifi

cent

in tl

ús

art; so versatile

was lús te

mp

er

am

e

nt in

eve

1y

respect, so

armed

with natural acumen and

force,

th

at

th

ere is nothing

he

could

not

have

don

e in

th

is profession. Bul

moderation was wanting for the most

part and

, with learning,

jud

gme

nt

;

thu

s

in

ce

rtain places

in

hi

s

compo

sitions he did not, as he should have, soberly

re

pr

ess

th

e

vi

ole

nt

impulses

of

his unbridled t

empe

rament. Y

et

l

et

tbis petty

fau

lt

be co

ndoned

in view

of th

e man

's oth

er incomparable gifts.

No one

has more

ef

f

ec

tively ex

pr

essed

the

passio

ns

of the soul in music

th

an

this symphonist,

no one

has m

ore

fe

li

citously b

egun

, no

one

has

been

a

bl

e to

compete

in grace a

nd

f

ac

ility on an

eq

ual footing with him, just as th

ere

is no

Latin

po

et superior

in th

e epic to Maro.

For ju

st as Maro, with

bi

s

natu

ral

facility, was accustomed to

adapt

his poem to bis subject so as to

se

t weighty

matters before the eyes

of

his readers with close-packed spo

nd

ees, fl

ee

ting

o

ne

s with unmixed dactyls,

to

use words suited to his eve ry subj

ec

t, in sh

or

t,

to

und

ertake nothing inappropriatel

y,

3

as Flaccus says of Homer, so our

Jos

quin,

where

his

matter

requires it, now advances with impe

tu

ous and precipi

tate

not

es, now inton

es

his subject in long-drawn tones,

and

, to s

um up

, has

broug

ht

forth nothing that was not delightful to

th

e e

ar and

approved as ingc

nious by

th

e lea rn

ed,

notl1ing, in sho

rt

,

that

was not accept

ab

le

and

pleasing,

even

when it

see

med less eru

dit

e, to those w

ho li

stened to

it

with

jud

gment.

In

most

of

hi

s works he is the

ma

gnifi

cent

virtuoso, as

in

th

e

Missa 1tper voce.v

musicales

and

the Missa ad fugam

in so

rn

e he is the mocker, as

in

the

Missa

La sol fa re mi;

in some be exte

nd

s himself in rivalr

y,

4

as in

th

e

Mi ssa de Bea

ta

Virgine;

a

lt

hough o

th

ers have also freque

nt

ly

at t

e

mpted

all these things, tlwy

have not with

th

e s

am

e felicity

met

with a

co

rr

esponding success

in

thcir

und

ertakings.

This was f

or

us

th

e reason why in thi

s,

the

co

nsummation

of

our work,

w1•

have

by

preference cited exa

mpl

es by this man. And although h

is

talent

beyo

nd

description,

more

eas

il

y admired

th

an

prope

rly

ell:p

lained, he stl

ll

seems pr

eferable to

othe

rs, not only for his talen t,

but

also f

or

his diligencc

In

emending

hi

s works. For those w

ho

have known him say that he

bro

ught

hiN

thin

gs

forth with much hes

ita

ti

on and

with corrections of all sorts, a

nd

t

hat ¡.

,,

3.

Mar

o is Virgil.

Compare

the simil

ar

remarks by Zarlino in no .

37

above,

p.

295.

4. With Anta ine B

ru

mel;

see be

l

ow at

n. 20.

Dodecachorrlon

431

gave no composition to

the

p ublic unless he had k

ept

it by him for severa

yca

rs

, the opposite

of

what we said Jacob O

brec

ht

is re

portcd

to have done .

ll

cnce sorne not inappropriately maintain that the one may justly be comparcd

to Vir

gi

l, the

othe

r to Ovid. But

if

we admit this, tb whom

shaU

we more

fittingly compare Pien·e de

La

Hue, an astoni

sh

ingly delightful composer, than

to llorace, Isaac than pe

rh

aps to

Lu

can , F

év

in than to C l

aucl

ianus, Bru mel to

Stalius? Yet I should seem f

ooli

sh, and rightl

y,

if l

were

to speak

vvith

so little

t n ~ l

of these men,

and perhaps

shouJd dcse1v e to h

ear

that popular saying,

Shoemaker, stick to yo

ur

last " Il en

ce

I p rocccd to t

he

explanation ancl juclg

lng of the examples.

Of

the

fl

rst comb

in

ati.o

n, that of

Dor

ian a

ncl II

ypodorian, J

et our

examplc be

th1•

melocly "Vic

li

mac paschali laudes," on thc Blessed H

esur

rcction

of

C

hr

ist,

.

1s

scl

by

this samc

aut

h

or

Josqnin, a melody th

at

we bavc mcntioned twice

lll'fore and

that

we

ha

ve further citcd asan cxam

pl

e of this contbination

in our

~ < · < · o n d

book.

5

In it,

it will

rightly be

jud

ged iuge uious that the givcn theme

is

l11

•nrd

thu

s divided by

int

ervals among the f

our vo

iccs,

as is

most fitting.

6

In

i

ts

llrsl part , the highest voice, borrowed from sorne well-known song,

7

presents

tlu• ll

ypodorian mode with an add

ed

c itonc bclow. In the following

part

it is

1

orian with an adcled diatessaron above.

1

ere the ending is on the

hi

ghcst

\( I P of

the cliapason,

wbe

reas

just

thc

othe

r way it ought to havc been

on the

low<·sL; this

pa

rt, however, is also bor rowed,

8

aucl on this account he has not

w1shed to alte r it.

The

te

nor

is extended a clitone lower than the Hypoclorian

lmm r

< q

uires, bu t the autho r does this with his usual licensc.

Th

e

borro

wed

rrw

lo

dies

he

co

mbines

vvit

h othe r ancient ones, appropriately in the same

111ode, for melodies in othe r mocles would n

ot

agr

ee

to this c

xt

cnt. At the sarne

tlr1ro, it was not difflcult fo r th is autbor to combine meloclics bclongi.ng to dif

li'l't•nt modes, eve

o

do

so graccfuUy, for he

co

mpos ed scarccly a single mass,

111

il

s rnode what it ma

y,

without b r

in

ging in thc A

eo

lian modo in the

Nice

ne

• v d ,

somcthing that

othe

rs have

at

te

mpt

ed

also,

bul

not

¡¡lways

\-vith

the

~ 1 1 1 1 1 <

success. Each voice has somethi

ng

worthy of n

ot

e, thus

th

e te nor its

t u h i l i t y ,

the bass its wonder

fu

l gravity, although I scar

ce

ly know whcthcr it

plc•usrs everyone that he ascends as he

do

cs in thc bass at thc word "Galilaea."

l

lt

.

1t

this proc

ee

ds

from the wantouness of

hi

s

tcmpe

ramen l we cannot dcn

y;

tl rus

wc must acce

pt

it gracefully as an adcition. The cantus has an ancient

IL

1\or; the seventh note from the eu

cl

is h

ear

d al

on

e, vith all the other voiccs

l'•ll"ing. Yet, .

n

comparison with

Lh

e gen i

us

of the man , all thcsc things are

lt

oll

y unimportant. Le t us go on , titen, to

ot

hcr

ex

amp lc

s.

1 1 1nnd 2.29.

11 ~ ' l n i treats thc plainsong as a wandc ring c

an

us finnus, ~ n g stan7, 1 to t hc

tenor ant

l, in

lnnYn

2, l l lo thc a lto, l 2 to thc bass. l 3

to

thc te nor, ami so forlh.

' 11 thc· sup erius of OckP.ghem's chaus

on

" D'ung :mi

tr

e anocr."

1

ll

w superius

of

ll ay11e's chanson ·· oe tn us hiens playm•."

" tlurl is, without inte rpo latin g thc Cregoria11 Credo, o f llcia

ll

y of M

odc

lV

b11t

assignC'd by

1

l u ~ t •

(2.17)

lo

th ¡• Aeo lia11 mod e.



432

70 II E I N HI C

TI

C LA R E AN

Il

e re, in the

mot

et "De profundis," I wish eve1yo nc to obse1ve closcly what

the beginning is like and with

ho

w much passion a

nd

how much majesty

th

e

compose

r

ha

s given us the opening words; instead of transposing the moclcs

from the ir natural

po

sitions to the higher reg istc r (as is elsewhere the usual

custorn), he has combined

th

e sys tems of

h

e two; at the same time, with aston

ishing and carefu lly s tudied el

ega

nce, he has th rown the phra

se

into viole

nt

dis

ord

er, usur

ping

now the leap of

the

Lydian, now that of

th

e Ion ian, until

at length, by means

of

these most beautiful refine ments, he glides, creeping

unobserved a

nd

without

off

e nding

th

e

ea

r, from Dorian to Plu

yg

ian.

10

Thal

this is difficuit

todo

,

es

pecially in th

ese

two modes,

th

c

Doiian

a

ncl

Phrygian,

we have alr

ea

dy shown.

Th us, contrary

to

the n

atur

e

of th

e modes, he h

as

e

nd

cd

th

e cornbined systems

of

the

Dori

an

and

Hypodorian on E,

th

c

sea

t o f

the

Ph1

ygian . Yet

th

ere are othe r compositions in which he has don e this also

(

nor

is he alone

n

it), eviden tly

fr

om

an

imm

ode

rate love of novel

ty

and an

excessive

eage

mess to win a little glory for be

in

g unusual, a fault to which thc

more

in

ge

ni

ous professors of

tl1

e a

rt

s are in general so much given that, be it

ever so p

ec

uliar to tl1e syrnphonists, th

ey

still s

har

e it in common "vith many

othe

rs.

None

the less the

mot

et re

ma

ins b

etwee

n A andel, resp

ee

ting

the

limits

of the

Dolian

and Hyp odo

ri

an

sys

tems. And although by his unusual procedure

he has sought nothing e lse, he has at least mad c it plain

th

at, through

th

e force

of his te mperarnent, he coul

cl

b

ri

ng it aboul that the char

ge

customari ly

br

oug

ht

against

the

ancient musicians, namel

y,

of

pr

ogressing "

From

Dorian to

Pht) 'gian

,

12

would be brought in vain against him by whom it was so learnedly

accomplished, without the slightest offense to the ear. But enough of this

motet.

13

The seco

nd

combination is that of tbe Hypophrygian

and

Ph

1y

gian modes,

extcnding from B to e.

But

the cornbination rarcly descends in this way

to

B

without descending also

to

A; thus it usually li

e:s

between C and e. Yet

our

Josquin, in

se

tting

th

e Genealogy

of

Christ Our Saviour according to the Evan

ge

lists Matth

ew

and Luke for four voices in harn1ony in tl1is

co

mbination,

desce

nd

s

to

A re

and

asce

nd

s to f, adding here a scmitone

and

there a tone,

LO

.Thc word "phrase" (phm

s

is

)

has for Clarean the spccial mea

ni

ng "

rn

elodic idiorn"; thc "phrast•

of a given mode consists for hirn partly in its tendcncy to cmphasize its nalma l i t h m c t i c

01

harrno

ni

c clivision at the fonrth or fl fth, partly in its nse of cc rlain characte

ri

stic lonc-succ(

S·

sions takcn over from p la insong. Compare 1.13, wh

cre

the leaps eharacteris lic or thc cight

modes of pl

ai

nsong are tliscussed :md

ill

ustra ted; also 2.36.

Th

e l

ea

p

cl1

araete

ri

stic of the Lyd

ian mode is that from a to e; by lonian leap Clarean musl mean Lhat from e to g.

11 . 2.11, where the

prescnt

cxample is also rnentioned .

12.

A7r

o 8op iov

E7rl cppú-ytov

. Thc proverb is also found in Cafori, De lwrnumin nwsicomm insltll

mentomm opus 4.2 , and scems to harken back to Aristo

tl

c's story of Philoxenus attcmpling

l<>

compose a dithyrnmb in Dorian but

being

forced by

lhe

natu

rc

of thc

ge

nre back to Phrygiau.

sec Polit

ics

1342b.

13. Despite the rangc of its t

eno

r, by w

hi

ch Clarean has evidently been rnislcd, J

osc¡u

in's

"

Dt•

profnndis" is clem·ly Hypophryginn, or co rnbined Ph

ryg

ian and

J

lypopluygian;

vf.

Za

rl

ino,

~ 1 1

tutloui lwrmo niche 4.23.

Dodecach

or

d

on

433

and this with his usual license.

14

The first one, according to Mattl1ew, he has

arranged in accordan

ce

with tl1e true final close of the mode, namely

on

E ; we

it h ere. The seco

nd

one , taken from Lnke, he

ha

s forced to end

on

G,

hul without alte ring

the

ph

rase

of thc modes a t

th

e tii{;e,

a9,

d this also with his

usual

lice

nse.

15

Th

e motet has grea t majesly, a

nd

it' is womle rful

that

ti-om

nlaterial so ster

il

e, namel

y,

from a bare catalogue of men, he has

been able

to

l ashion as many dc lights as though it had been some ferti le narrative . Many

nther things might be said, but let so

rn

e o

f

these be left for others to discuss.

The

third comb in

at

ion, tllat

of

Lydian and Tlypolydian, is unn sual in

th

is

our

a ~ e for, as we have often remarked in the forego ing, all cornpositions in

these

Inodes are for

ce

d into

tl

1e Ionian.

16

But

in

our

exa

mp

le, tlle Agnus

Dei

from

ilw

Missa Fortuna despemt ,

the

reader

may

fir

st a

dmir

e tbe way in whicb a

l

.yd

ian has been madc from an I onian, for the

who

le mass is sung

in

the Ionian

mode.

Thi

s is doubt less

du

e to the bass, plun

ge

d inlo the lowesl ciapason.

For

in ot

he r compositions, as often as t11e te

nor

is Ilypoclorian, the bass is usually

l)orian or Aeolian;

ag

ain,

justas

a

Ph

rygian t

enor

often has an A

eo li

an bass

and cantus, here an Ionian bass has a Lydian tenor a

nd

alto.

17

But it is doubtful

whcther t11e

ant

h

or

has d

one

th

is

by design

or

by accident. Aside

fi·o

m this, he

tnlks

nonscnse

v.rilh

his

ca

non,

fo

llowing the custom of t he s

in

gers.

Fo

r

who

t'

\Tcpt

Oe

dipus him

self

would

und

e rstand such a riddle

of

thc sphinx? IIe has

humored

the

cbmmon s

inge

rs, obeying tlie m

axi

m,

AA.w7T€KÍ(ELv 7Tpbc; í:.Tépav

riA.ámE

Ka

;

tl1at is,

um vu

lpe vnlpirwre

tn

qrwque invicem,

as Maste r

Er

asmus

has

le

arne

dly translat

ed

it, or, as the vulgar inelegantly

put

it, "

IIo

wl

witl1

tlle

wolves,

if

you wanlto

ge

t along

witl1

them."w

The

fourth combina tio

ii

is that

of

the Mixolyd.ian ancl its plaga , the

Ilypo-

lllixo

lydian; in

our

a

ge

it is

se

ldo

rn

usecl. Ncverth eless, on

ce

the syrnpbonists

11.

\Verke.r, Motetten

(Amsterdam, 1926), vo

l.

1, pp. 59-69 (Matth

ew

) ami 70-81 (Lukc). Tite

L • nor dcsccnds lo A

in

thc Lnke genealogy only.

1•

On

this cnding

scc

2.36, also no. 69 above (Aaron, chap . 5), p. 425

1

No.

69

ahovc (Aaron. citap. 6), p. 426 .

17 St>e 3.13 on thc "m

ys

tcrious rclationship" of the modes, where the prcsc

nt

exa

111pl

e is also

n1cnt

ioned.

ll

erc, as t

here

, C l

ar

ean cl

ea rl

y has thrce dislinct sorts or re lalionship

in

mind:

l )

iltt• nal

ma

l. relalionship of any authent ic

modelo

tlw plaga mode having the samc final; 2) the

.\¡)('cial rclat

io

nship of Ph ryg ian to Aeolian , as a resnlt of which a l>hrygian c

ompo

silion may

lr:w

t· marked A

eo

lian eharacte

ri

slics or an Aco lkm composition

a

Ph1ygian final cadcncc; as

¡m

t

•x

antple

of

th

is

relalionshi p C larean gives

in

3.19 t he m

otet

"

l u

le

mnt

Dominum menrn''; cf.

Zarlino,

lslitttliotti

lwmwni

c

t

e

4.30; 3) the peculiar re lationship of D-Dorian to 0 -A

eo

lian

(lransposcd Acolian)

ant

l

of

1'-Lydian to F-l onian (lmnsposed lonian), of whieh thc

presen

l

t•xamplc

is

an illnstration.

1"

In Agnus

1

thc bass

is

to invert h

is

part at an clcvcnth lower than writlcn and 111ultiply

th

e

tlnmtions by fo

ur

(douhlc augmcnlation). Pc

tru

ccis cdilions, f'ollowcd by Clarean, hint at th is

In the following dislich, which Clarean heads "thc riddlc of thc sphinx :

In

gra

dtts t

md

en

os

dt•m:ndant

nl.llltipli

canl

es

1Consimilique modo crescant Anti

porles ww (Le t t

hem

tlcscend by

,.J,·ven slcps with mulliplicd rneasure;

th

en

once

more in like manncr incrcasc, lo a ntipodes

l i t

St·l· Dcsiderius Enunus ,

Ada¡t.ia

1.2.28.



434

70 I

I Hl C ll G L

AHEAN

had p

erce

ived the magnifice

nc

e of th

ese

mocles from ancient exampl

es

of

ec

clesiastical melody, rou

sed

as

it were

with enthusiasm, they tried in a

certa

iu

most praiseworthy rivaby to do their utmost

wi th

the rnelody Et in te

rra pa

x''

on

the Most Blessed Virgin and

Qu

een of

Heav

en, Mary, Mothe r of Jesus

Christ, above all Antaine Br

ume

l and our Josquin Desprez, at a time whc u

both

were

verging toward extreme old age.

20

Brumel, in h is setting, has

spa

re cl

no pains to show the singers his skill, nay, he has strained every fiber of his

te

mp

e

ram

e

nt

to leave behincl for later generations a sp

ec

im

en

of lüs ingenui ty.

Yet, in my opinion at least, Josquin has by f

ar

surpassecl h irn in natural for

C(

and ingenious penetration and has so

bo

rne himself in the contest that

na

lu re,

mother

or

all , as though wislü ng to fonn from the four elements her mosl

pe rfec t creation,

see

rns to me to have brought her utmost pow ers i

nto

play itt

orcle r

that

it might be impossible to invent a be tter music. And thus the major

ity

of

the learned have not h

es

itated to award the first place to th is

co

mpositiuu.

espec

ially Joannes Vannius,

21

whom we have mentionecl in

co

nnec tion with tlu•

Hypornixo lydian rnocle

and

to whose judgment we glaclly subscribe , bo th

b

eca

use he gave it

befar

e us

an

d because he outdid us in

th

is matt

er

by far. At

th e be

ginnin

g,

the te

nor

descends

onc

e to the

Il

ypomixolydian diatessarou,

othenvise the e

nt

ire melody is Mixolydian, not Hypornixolydian. To me, tl

ll

greatest passion seems to have b

ee

n expressed at

th

e

word P

ri

mo

ge nitus" iu

the Grst

part

ol the setting; others

pr

efer the second part.

Bu

t there is

no

pnrl

whatever that does not contain

somet

hing th

at

you may greatly adm ire.

Of

the

Gft

h com bination, that of A

eo

lian ancl

Ilypoaeo

lian, we should nol

again be giving the same exa

mp

le

if

we had b

ee

n able to obtain or di

scow

r

anothe

r

one

anywhere

amon

g the symphonists

of our

age. Alth

ough

in our

previous book

22

we

also proclucecl

other

exa

mp

les

of

the combination, lhis

one

23

was by far the most enlighte ning, as one by many treatecl yet

by

ull

perver

led and lra nsposecl frorn its natural position, even mutilated or altemd

with r

espec

t to its 1:\vo diatessarons above and be low, narnely by Brurnel aud

Josquin in their two so

ce

lebratecl masses of the Vi rgin Ma1y, Mother of God:

for this reason we have

earnes

tly entreated that excellen t man, Master Grcg

01

Meyer, the distinguished organist

of

the cathed ral at Solothurn in Switzerlaud,

to treat

th

e theme worthily, with a ll

th

e

sk

ill at his command, in

it

s nat uml

position and with tbe two diatessarons proper to and born with the body of thc •

melody. In truth, we imagine this me lody to be sorne splendid bird, whosco

bocly is the diapente

re--:ta

and whose

tvm

wings are the d.iatessarons

mi- l

a. Ji1

sew to this bocly wings o

th

er than those with which it was born would be fool

ish, surely, unless

li

ke Aesop s crow

it

was to fly with strange plumage . We hnw

20. The Glorias

of

both Josquir 's and Bnrmel's masses De bea a virgine paraphrase Gloria lX, lm

thc Ylass

orr

the Feast of the Blessed Virgin

M<

ny ;

fo

r the chant see Gradual saorosam•m

mmanae ecclesiae, p. 30•.

21. This is Johannes Wannenlllacher, Swiss choinnasler and

wm

poser.

22. 2.33

2.3.

The G regorian Kyrie "Curn jubilo"

C rad11al

.

. .

rom

an

ae

ec

cles

ia

e, p. 29•).

Dod

ec

achordon

435

prevailed upon him

and

,

in

aJI n c l l toward me ancl readiness to further

liberal stuclies, he has se

nt

us what we wanted; of this we now desire to make

lh e reader a sharer.

vVe

do

not at all hes.itate to insert this composition arnong

those o

f

Josq uin, su

ch

praise has been given to it; opinion of

that

learned man, Mas ter John Alus, canon

of

the

same

catheclral and preacher

of

thc Divine Word, who thinks that it woulcl be no srnaH orn

amen

t to

th

e more

scrious studies, such as theology and sacred letters, if to these

were

addecl a

knowledge

of

languages ancl of the mat hematical d isciplines, and thal among

thcse last it would most befit a

pr

i

est

of I-Io ly

Ch

urch i

f

he knew music.

No

r

was the man mistaken in his

op

inion , for he had become verscd

in

musical

knowle

dg

e. We had his support in this work

when

he lived with us at

Fre

ib

ur

g

ullhe f

oot

of the Black Forest

and

often refreshed us, now p laying t

it

e orgun,

now joining to this

the

singing

of

th ings by Josquin. And so, since he has given

th

c highest praise to this composition of our Gregor, he has easily won our

npproval

and

has been responsible for its coming into men's hands

as

worthy

of

lhe cars

of

the lcarned.

Of the sixth combination , that of

Il

yperaeolian and

Il

ype

rp

hrygian,

we

l1ave

d

c•

libe rately omittecl an exarnple, fo r nonc is

to

be touncl

anyv1

he re and

it

wo

ul

d

I

H

l

ooli

sh to invcnt one,

espec

ia

ll

y with

so

greut a choice of modes; the ten

or

,

loo, would have an outrageous ambi lus, actually exceeding all

th

e re maining

t'Oillbinations of tbe

mod

es by an apotome. As icle from this ,

in our

previous

hook we have given an inve

ntecl

example, less lor imitation t

han

for illustration,

1hat the matter might be

und

erstood,

no

t so th

at

something

oí

thc sort might

w attemptcd by anyone, a thing we find that no one

ha

s attcmptecl

211

Of th e seventh

ancl

last combination, namely of [onian

and

IIypoionüiJ1, ou r

t•xnmple,

P

lanxit

aut

em David,'' is again by Josqu in Desprez, the author ol the

t•xamples of all the

other combinat

ions except the Rfth. Of its beginni

ng

sorne

wlll tlO Joubt exc

hú1n: T

he tnouutcún labureJ and broughLfortl1a mouse "

1ul they will not have considere cl that, throughout the mo tet, thcrc is pre-

t • t v what be fits the mourn er, who is wout at fi r

st

to cry out frcquen

tl

y, then

lo llltmnur to himsclf, turning little by little to sor rowful cornplain ts , thereupon

subside or sometimos, when passion breaks out anew, to raise his vo ice aga:in ,

u l i n g out a

c1y.

All these th ings we

see

rnost beaut ifully observed in Lhis

111

111position, as wi

ll

be

ev

iclent to the a

tt

entive r

ea

der.

Nor

is

th

ere in it any-

tliing unworthy

or

its author; by the gods, he

ha

s eveJywh

cre

ex

pr

cssed the

JIISsion

in a wonder[u l way, thus, at

tl1

c ve•y begiuning of the tenor, at the

worcl "Jonathan ."

1

1 Se•

<

2.3

4.

escritos para estudio musicologico renacimiento

Documents

Transcript of escritos para estudio musicologico renacimiento