Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Micrologus, by Guido of Arezzo

In the name of the supreme and undivided Trinity, begins the Micrologus, that is, a brief discourse by Abbot Guido on music.

It pleased the gymnasium to recall the unbound Muses.

So that they may be apparent to the small, scarcely dwelling in the high places thus far.

Let love destroy envy’s blind weapon.

Indeed, a terrible plague has taken all good things from the earth.

I wrote myself in the first order, the one who composed songs.

Guido’s letter to Bishop Theodald

WITH THE FEAR OF THE DIVINE AND ALL WISDOM, most brilliant father and most reverend lord Theodald, most worthy of priests and prelates. Guido, the least of his monks, if only, whatever a servant and a son. While I desire to carry out at least a small amount of solitary life, your kindness deemed it worthy for my smallness to be joined to the study of sacred words: not because your excellence lacks many great spiritual men, and strengthened abundantly by the effects of virtues, and adorned fully with the studies of wisdom, who, together with you, competently educate the committed people, and continually and fervently adhere to divine contemplation: but that my smallness and weakness of mind and body may be supported and protected by your piety and fatherly care: so that if anything of usefulness comes to me by divine grace, God may credit it to your merit. As a result, when the discussion was about ecclesiastical usefulness, your authority commanded that my exercise in the art of music, for which I remember having worked, not in vain, with the favor of God, be brought into public view, so that as you have gone through the church of the most blessed Donatus, bishop and martyr, with God as the author and rightful vicar, with a truly remarkable plan, so you would make the ministers of the same church respectable to almost all clerics throughout the world with a most honorable and appropriate privilege. And indeed, it has enough of wonder and choice when even the boys of your church, perfect in the study of singing, surpass the old men of other places everywhere, and the height of your honor and merit will be greatly increased, when after your earlier fathers, such and so great a brightness of studies comes forth from your church. Therefore, because I neither wanted nor was able to go against your most advantageous command, I offer the rules of the art of music to your most wise fatherhood, as clearly and briefly as I could, not following the same path as philosophers to the full, nor insisting on the same footsteps, only seeking that which may serve the ecclesiastical opportunity and our little ones. For this reason, this study has remained hidden thus far, because while it was truly difficult, it was not explained humbly by everyone. Since I have undertaken this on occasion, I will conclude in a few words the usefulness and intention of it.

Prologue

Since my natural disposition and the imitation of good made me diligent for the common good, among other studies, I began to teach music to children. Finally, divine grace came, and some of them, having been trained by our notes and practicing, sang unseen and unheard-of songs within the space of a single month, so confidently at first sight that it became a great spectacle for many. However, I do not know with what face someone who cannot do this could call themselves a musician or a singer. Therefore, I was especially grieved for our singers who, even if they persevered for a hundred years in the study of singing, could never sing even the simplest antiphon on their own. They were always learning, as the Apostle says, and never coming to the knowledge of the truth. Therefore, desiring to spend our useful study for the common good, I condensed with brevity some of the many musical arguments that I believed would benefit singers. I did not consider those things which are less helpful for singing or those that are less valuable to understand from what is said. I did not care if some envied them, as long as they benefited the discipline of others.

Chapter I: What one should do who prepares oneself for the discipline of music.

Sound is the uninterrupted vibration of the air until it reaches the ear. Consonance is the harmony of dissimilar voices brought together into one. Tropes are arrangements of notes that differ in order, gravity, or acuteness. Constitution is a complete body of modulation consisting of the combination of consonances, such as the diapason, diatessaron, or bis diapason. Harmony is the faculty that evaluates the differences between high and low sounds based on reason. Consonant voices are those that, when combined, produce mixed and sweet sounds. Dissonant voices are those that do not. A musician is someone who, through reasoned reflection, assumes the knowledge of singing not as a service to the body but as a command of speculation.

What one should do who prepares oneself for the discipline of music.

Therefore, whoever seeks our discipline should learn some songs described by our notes, exercise their hand on the monochord, and frequently meditate on our rules until, through knowledge of the nature and power of the voices, they can sing unfamiliar songs as if they were familiar. But since voices, which are the foundations of this art, are better viewed on the monochord, let us first see how art, imitating nature, differentiated them on the same instrument.

Chapter II: What notes are and what kinds, or how many.

The notes on the monochord are as follows. Firstly, the Greek gamma, added by moderns. Then, seven grave letters of the alphabet, hence marked with capital letters, in this way: A B C D E F G. After these, the same seven letters are repeated in acute accents, but described with smaller letters. Among these, however, we place the letter b between a and B, which we make round, and we quadrangularize the other one, in this way: a b [sqb] c d e f g. We add the same letters with various figures for the tetrachord above the acute, in which bb [sqb][sqb] is likewise duplicated, in this way: aa bb [sqb][sqb] cc dd. Many consider these to be superfluous, but we prefer to have more than to have less. Therefore, all twenty-one are made in this way: [Gamma] A B C D E F G a b [sqb] c d e f g aa bb [sqb][sqb] cc dd. Their arrangement is perplexing, either tacit or excessively obscure, to the learned, but it is briefly and fully explained to children.

Chapter III: On their arrangement on the monochord.

The first note, Gamma, is fixed at the beginning. The space of the string is divided into nine parts, and at the end of the first ninth part, place the letter A, which all the ancients used as a starting point. Similarly, collect from A to the end of the ninth part, and join the letter B. Then, going back to Gamma, divide it into four parts until the end, and you will find C at the end of the first part. Similarly, using the same division of four, as we found C with Gamma, you will find D with A, E with B, F with C, and G with D. With e.a and F with b, place the round note. All the following notes can be easily collected by halving the similar ones. You could proceed infinitely up or down, but the precepts of the art restrain you. I have presented one of the many and diverse divisions of the monochord, which, if applied to one, can be grasped without hesitation, especially since it is of such great utility that it is easily understood and hardly forgotten once understood.

Another way of dividing follows, which is less connected to memory but more quickly composed on the monochord. When you take the first nine steps from Gamma to the end, the first step will end in A, the second is empty, the third in D, the fourth is empty, the fifth in a, the sixth in d, the seventh in a, and the rest are empty. Similarly, when you divide from A to the end into nine parts, the first step will end in B, the second is empty, the third in E, the fourth is empty, the fifth in [sqb], the sixth in e, the seventh in B, and the rest are empty. Also, when you divide Gamma to the end into four parts, the first step will end in C, the second in G, the third in g, and the fourth will end in A. Similarly, from f to the end of C, also with four steps, the first step will end in f, the second in c, the third in cc, and the fourth will end at f. Finally, from bb to the end of f with four steps, the first step will end in .b, the second in f, and the rest are empty. The two methods of these rules are sufficient for the arrangement of the notes, the former being easier to remember, and the latter faster to execute. All the methods of division will be revealed briefly in the following chapters.

Chapter IV: In what six ways voices can be joined together.

After arranging the voices, a greater or lesser distance can be observed between one voice and another, such as between Gamma and A, and between A and B, respectively. The greater distance is called a tone, and the lesser is called a semitone, which is half a tone. When there are two tones and one semitone between two voices, it is called a whole tone and a half, or ditone, such as from C to E. When there is only one tone and one semitone between two voices, it is called a half ditone, such as from D to F. A diatessaron is when there are two whole tones and one semitone between two voices, such as from A to D or from B to E. A diapente is one tone larger, with three whole tones and one semitone between any two voices, such as from A to D or from B to C. These are the six consonances of the voices: tone, semitone, ditone, half ditone, diatessaron, and diapente. No voice is ever joined to another in any other way in singing, either by stretching or relaxing. In addition, there is the seventh consonance, the diapason, which is seldom used and is counted less than the others. Its origin and nature will be found by diligent investigation in the following chapters. There is also the diesis, which is a certain lowering of the voice, but it is never used except when the fourth or seventh voice is raised in the fifth and first, respectively. Therefore, we have altogether omitted to speak of it. Since the whole harmony is formed by so few elements, it is very useful to commit them deeply to memory, and never to cease practicing until they are fully felt and known in singing, so that with these keys, one can skillfully possess the art of singing.

Chapter V: On the diapason and why there are only seven notes.

The diapason is the interval in which the diatessaron and diapente are joined. For since there is a diatessaron from A to D, and a diapente from the same D to a high A, the diapason exists from A to the other A. Its right is to have the same letter on both sides, such as from B to [sqb], from [Gamma] to C, from D to d, and so on. Just as both voices are notated with the same letter, so throughout they are held and believed to be of the same quality and perfect similarity. For just as we repeat the same seven days after finishing them, so we represent and say the same first and eighth voices always with the same figures, because they naturally harmonize with each other. For example, D and d are both lowered by a tone and a semitone and by two tones, and raised by a tone and a semitone and by two tones. Hence, in singing, two or three or more singers, as far as possible, can begin and sing the same antiphon through this type of different voices, and you will be amazed that the same voices, in different places, have not changed. They will produce the same sound, whether grave, acute, or super-acute, in a unique way, like this:

[Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, II 784, f.6r; text: aa, [sqb][sqb], cc, a, [sqb], c, g, A, B, C, [Gamma], G, Summi regis archangele Michael.] [GUIMICB 01GF]

Also, if you sing the same antiphon with partly grave and partly acute sounds, or change it as much as you like in this way, the same unity of voices will appear. Therefore, the poet spoke truly when he said that there are seven distinct voices because even if there are more, there is no addition of others, but a renewal and repetition of the same voices. For this reason, we have represented all the sounds with seven letters according to Boethius and the ancient musicians, whereas some modern ones have recklessly placed only four signs, representing the fifth and the fifth note with the same character everywhere, although it is undoubtedly true that some sounds are completely discordant with their fifths and no sound concords perfectly with its fifth. For no voice concords perfectly with another except for the octave.

Chapter VI: Also on divisions and their interpretation.

To summarize briefly the division of the monochord, the diapason runs in two steps to the end, the diapente in three, the diatessaron in four, and the tone in nine. The larger the number of steps, the shorter the distance between them. Besides these four, no other divisions can be found. The diapason is so named because it includes all the notes, either because it has all the voices or because in ancient times, eight strings were made for the lyre with it. In this division, a heavier voice has two acute steps and one grave step, like A and a. The diapente includes five voices in its space, like a D in a, and its heavier voice has three grave steps and two acute steps. The diatessaron sounds with four voices and its heavier voice has four grave steps and three acute steps, like a D in G. These three species are called “simphonias,” which means sweet couplings of voices because in the diapason, different voices sound as one. The diapente and diatessaron have “diaphoniae,” which means they possess the laws of harmony and make voices sound somewhat similar. The tone derives its name from the act of singing, and the greater voice has nine steps, while the lesser has eight. Semitone, ditone, semiditone, and other combinations of voices do not have any divisions.

Chapter VII. On the affinity of voices through four modes.

Since there are seven voices, including those that are the same, it is enough to explain their affinities through seven modes of different qualities. The first mode is when the voice is lowered by a tone and raised by a tone, a semitone, and two tones, as in the case of A and D. The second mode is when the voice is lowered by two tones, a semitone, and raised by two tones, as in the case of B and E. The third mode is when the voice is lowered by a semitone and two tones, and raised by two tones and a semitone, as in the case of C and F. The fourth mode is when the voice is lowered by a tone and rises by two tones and a semitone, as in the case of G and note. These modes follow a specific order, with the first in A, the second in B, the third in C, and so on. Note that the affinities of these voices are constructed through diatessaron and diapente. For example, A is connected to D through diatessaron, B is connected to G through diapente, and C is connected to F through diapente.

Chapter VIII: On other affinities, and on B and B-flat.

There are other affinities, which are also determined by diatessaron and diapente. Since diapason includes diatessaron and diapente within itself, and contains the same letters on both sides, there is always a letter in the middle of its space that matches the same diatessaron in the grave and the diapente in the acute, as shown in the above figure. For example, a letter that produces harmony in the grave will also produce the same in the acute. Thus, A and E have the same harmony in deposition, while A and a have the same harmony in two tones and a semitone. G also resonates with C and D in the same way. These three species are called simphonias, which are the sweet combinations of voices, because different voices produce the same sound in diapason. Diapente and diatessaron, on the other hand, are called diaphoniae, which possess the rights of the organ and render the voices somewhat similar. The tone is named from intonation, that is, from sound, and is composed of nine larger intervals for the larger voice and eight for the smaller one. However, semitone, ditone, and semiditone, when combined for singing, do not receive division.

B-flat, which is less regular, is also discussed. It is called “adiunctum” or “molle” and has harmony with F. It was added because F could not have harmony with its fourth, B, which is a tritone away. However, do not combine both B’s in the same neume. In the same chant, we use B-flat mostly, in which F or f ends in a lower or higher tone. B-flat seems to transform into G in some instances, sounding like the first A or the second G, while B itself sounds like the third. Therefore, many do not mention it. The other flat sign [square] was generally accepted. If you do not want to use B-flat at all, you can temper the neumes in which it appears, as follows: for F, G, and a [square] c, use G, a, [square], and c, which are of the same mode and have the same regular elevations and depressions as D, e, and F or a [square] c. By clearly distinguishing these elevations and depressions, you eliminate the confusion that is most contrary. We have briefly discussed the similarities of voices because just as similarity is acquired in different things, the very difference that could confuse the mind can also be diminished. United, they are easily understood when divided. Therefore, all modes and distinctions of modes are suitable for these three voices, C, B, and E. Distinctions are what most people call differences. It is called difference because it separates the modes from the authentics, but the term is misused. Thus, all other voices have some harmony with them, either in deposition or elevation, but none of them are similar to others in both. Only in diapason, all their similarities can be found in the figure we present here, which anyone who seeks them can discover.

Chapter IX: Also on the similarity of voices, of which only the diapason is perfect.

The aforementioned voices, according to their similarity, some in deposition, some in elevation, and some in both, create similar neumes, so much so that the knowledge of one reveals the other. However, if there is no similarity shown or if they are of different modes, one voice cannot receive the neume or the chant of the other. If you force it to receive it, it will transform. For example, if someone wanted to begin an antiphon in D, E or F, which are voices of a different mode, he would quickly realize how much transformation would occur. However, in D and a, which are voices of the same mode, we can often begin or end the same chant. I say “often” and not “always” because similarity is only perfect in the diapason. Where different positions of tones and semitones occur, the neumes must also be different. In the aforementioned voices, which are said to be of the same mode, they are found to be dissimilar; for example, D is deposed in tone, while A is in ditone, and so on for the others.

These are the four modes or tropes that are improperly called tones: they are separated from each other by natural diversity, so that one cannot give place to the other in its own position, and each voice may transform or never receive the neume of the other.

Chapter X: Also on modes and on recognizing and correcting false melody.

Dissonance creeps into singing due to falsity when either too much is added or removed from well-proportioned voices, which is done by either weighting down or elevating the notes, as the faulty voices of men do. Or when, following the aforementioned rule, we excessively elevate or lower any mode of neume or pervert it into another mode, or when we begin singing in a place that does not allow for a voice. To clarify this with an example, in the Communion antiphon “Diffusa est gratia,” many singers mistakenly lower the note by a whole tone, where it should have been only a semitone lower, since there is no tone before F. Thus, the end of the antiphon coincides with a note where there is no voice. Therefore, it is the duty of the cantor’s expertise to begin any neume in any place or mode, and to search for similar voices, if necessary. These modes or tropes are called in Greek.

Chapter XI: Which voice and why it takes the lead in singing.

However, even though every voice and mode is used in any given chant, the voice that ends the melody takes the lead. This is because it sounds longer and more sustained, and the preceding voices that are open to various possibilities are thus adapted to it, to the extent that they seem to draw a certain color from it in an amazing way, thanks to the six aforementioned consonances. The other voices must harmonize with the voice that ends the neume. The voice that ends the melody, however, must adhere to the beginnings and ends of all the distinctions. An exception is when the chant ends on E, in which case the beginning of the next chant is often on C, which is a diapente and semitone distance from E, as in this antiphon:

“Teria dies est quo haec facta sunt” [The third day on which these things were done] (c, a, G, [sqb], F, E, D, d) [GUIMICB 02GF]

Moreover, when we hear someone sing, we do not know the mode of the first voice, whether it follows tones or semitones, or any other pattern. But after the melody is finished, we can clearly recognize the mode from what came before. For at the beginning of the chant, we do not know what will follow, but at the end, we see what has preceded. Therefore, the final voice is the one we should focus on. And if we want to add a verse, psalm, or something else to the same melody, we must adapt it to the final voice, not go back to the inspection of the first or other voices. It is also noteworthy that accurate chants add distinctions especially to the final voice. It is no wonder that music rules are derived from the final voice, as almost everywhere in the parts of grammar, we distinguish the force of meaning in the final letters or syllables according to cases, numbers, persons, and tenses. Therefore, because all praise is sung at the end, it is right to say that every chant is subject to it and takes a rule from the mode that resounds last. A fitting deposition for any chant is from the final voice to the fifth, and elevation can be from there up to the octave, although there are often deviations from this rule when we progress to the ninth or tenth. Hence, the final voices are established as D, E, F, and G, because their first bis-combined position grants the aforementioned elevation or deposition. For they have one tetrachord downward of low notes, and two upward of high notes.

Chapter XII: On dividing the four modes into eight

Meanwhile, since the melodies of a single mode, such as protus, vary from grave and plain to sharp and high, verses and psalms, and whatever was to be adapted to the end, could not be suited to the same one and only mode, since if it was grave, it did not agree with the sharp, and if it was sharp, it was discordant with the grave. Therefore, the solution was to divide each mode into two parts, namely sharp and grave, and after dividing the rules, sharp would match sharp, and grave would match grave. The sharp mode was called the authentic or principal mode, while the grave was called the plagal or lateral and minor mode, since the one who stands at my side is lesser than me. However, if he were greater, it would be more appropriate to say that I stand at his side. Therefore, when we say authentic protus and plagal protus, it is the same for the others that were naturally in the voices four in number, but in songs, they became eight. However, the Latin language has incorrectly translated authentic protus and plagal protus to first and second. Authentic deuteros and plagal deuteros became the third, and fourth; authentic tritos and plagal tritos, the fifth and sixth; authentic tetrardos and plagal tetrardos, the seventh and eighth.

Chapter XIII: On recognizing the eight modes by their acuteness and gravity.

Therefore, there are eight modes, just as there are eight parts of speech and eight forms of the Beatitudes, through which all melody flows and is varied by eight different qualities. In order to distinguish them in melodies, certain neumes have also been invented, by which we recognize the mode of the chant, just as we often determine the tunic of someone by the aptness of their body.

For example, when we see this neume with the end of an antiphon, we can be sure that it belongs to the authentic protus mode, and so on for the others. This is also very helpful in the verses of nocturnal responsories, the psalms of the offices, and everything that is prescribed in the formulas of the modes. Those who do not know these neumes will hardly understand any of the things that are said about them. These neumes indicate in which voices the chant of each mode begins or ends more or less frequently, and in which it does not occur at all. For example, in the plagal modes, it is not permitted to extend the beginnings or ends of distinctions to fifths, but it often happens at fourths. In the authentic modes, except for the second, it is not allowed to extend the beginnings and ends of distinctions to sixths. The plagal modes of the protus and tritus begin and end at thirds, while the plagal modes of the deuterus and tetrardus begin and end at fourths. It should also be remembered that, according to the testimony of usual chants, the authentic modes hardly ever descend more than one voice from their end. Among these, the authentic tritus mode seems to do so very rarely due to the imperfect semitone below it. They rise, however, to the octave, ninth, or even tenth. The plagal modes are remitted and intended at fifths, but the intensity and sixth authority are attributed to them, just like in the authentic modes with the ninth and tenth. The plagal modes of protus, deuterus, and tritus sometimes necessarily end on the acute notes a, b, and c. These aforementioned rules are especially observed in antiphons and responsories, whose melodies should be supported by the common rules. Otherwise, you will find many chants in which gravity and acuteness are so confused that it cannot be determined to which mode they belong, whether it is authentic or plagal. Moreover, in the investigation of unknown chants, we are greatly assisted by the use of these neumes and the addition of subjunctions, through which we perceive the property of each sound by the force of tropes. And a trope is a type of melody, which is also called a mode, and which we will still have to speak about.

Chapter XIV: Also on tropes and the law of music.

Those who are skilled in tropes recognize their properties and distinct features immediately upon hearing them, as a skilled person can identify the nationality of people by their appearance, such as a Greek, a Spaniard, a Latin, a German, or a Frenchman. The diversity of tropes corresponds to the diversity of minds, so that one person may delight in the broken leaps of the second authentic mode, while another may prefer the pleasure of the fifth plagal mode. One person may prefer the chatter of the eighth authentic mode, while another may appreciate the sweetness of the second plagal mode. The same applies to the other modes. It is not surprising that the sense of hearing is delighted by the variety of sounds, just as the sense of sight is pleased with the variety of colors, the sense of smell with the variety of scents, and the tongue with the changing flavors. For thus, through the windows of the body, the sweetness of delightful things enters wonderfully into the innermost parts of the heart. Hence it is that, just as certain flavors, odors, and colors affect the health of both body and soul, so do certain sounds, heard by the ear, either diminish or increase it. For it is said that once a frenzied man was cured of his insanity by the singing of Asclepiades the physician, and another person was so excited by the sound of the lyre that he went mad and tried to break into a girl’s bedroom. But then, when the musician changed the mode, he was said to have withdrawn in confusion, filled with remorse. Similarly, David mitigated the demon of Saul with the sound of the lyre, breaking the demonic fury with the powerful force and sweetness of this art. However, this power is fully understood only by divine wisdom, and what we perceive from it is like a riddle. But since we have barely touched upon the virtue of this art, let us consider what things are necessary for good modulation.

Chapter XV: On the convenience or necessity of composing music.

Therefore, just as in meter there are letters, syllables, parts, feet, and verses, so in harmony there are pitches, that is, sounds, of which one, two, or three are fitted into syllables. These syllables alone or doubled make up a neume, that is, a part of a chant, and one or several of them make a distinction, that is, a suitable place for breathing. It should be noted that the whole part is to be compressed, noted, and expressed, but the syllable is more compressed. The tenor, that is, the pause of the last voice, is longer in part, but longest in the distinction. There is a sign of division in these. Therefore, it is necessary that the chant be performed as if with metric feet, and that the other voices have a mora (duration) longer or shorter by half, or a tremble, that is, a variable tenor. Sometimes a long tenor is indicated by a plain virgula added to the letter. Such distribution of neumes must be carefully observed, so that neumes, whether produced by the repetition of the same sound, or the connection of two or more, always correspond either in the number of voices or in the ratio of the tenors. Now equals to equals, then doubles, or triples to simples, and sometimes by a sesquialter or sesquitertian ratio.

[f.13r] And let the musician propose for himself which of these divisions to use for the melody, just as a metrician chooses which feet to use for a verse. However, the musician should not constrain himself to such a strict law, because this art always varies with a reasonable variety in the arrangement of voices. Even if we do not always comprehend this reasonability, it is still considered reasonable because it pleases the mind in which reason resides. But these and similar things are better shown through conversation than through writing.

Likewise, to make equal distinctions like those in verses, and sometimes to repeat them, or vary them with slight changes, is necessary. And when the duplicated parts are very beautiful, having not very different parts and which transform in a similar way through modes or similar intensities, they should be found. Also, reciprocal neumes should return by the same path by which they came, following in their footsteps.

Furthermore, when one neume rises from high notes, another should be inclined and rise from low notes, responding from the gravest. This is like looking at our reflection when we stand before a well. Sometimes one syllable has one or more neumes, and sometimes one neume is divided into several syllables. All these neumes will be varied, depending on whether they begin with the same voice or with a different one, according to the qualities of relaxation and acuteness. Also, almost all distinctions will run towards the principal voice, that is, the final or one that is chosen as the main one, and sometimes the same voice that finishes all the neumes will also finish through several distinctions or even begin, as we can see in the works of Ambrosius, if we are curious enough. However, there are almost prosaic chants that are less observant of these rules, in which there is no care taken if there are larger or smaller parts and distinctions found in places without discretion, like prose. I call metric chants those that we often sing as if we were scanning verses, just as we do when singing in meter. In these, care should be taken not to have too many disyllabic neumes without the addition of trisyllabic or tetrasyllabic ones, for example. For just as lyric poets sometimes combine different feet, those who make music should rationally combine different and distinct neumes. Rational discretion in this matter means that the variety of neumes and distinctions is moderate and reasonable, yet the neumes should always correspond to one another in some similarity, and the distinctions should also correspond to each other, according to the dissimilar similarity, in the way that Ambrosius describes. There is, however, a great similarity between meter and music, since neumes are like feet and distinctions are like verses. For example, this neume proceeds in a dactylic manner, while that one proceeds in a spondaic manner, and another runs like an iambus. Distinctions can be in tetrameter or pentameter or even quasi-hexameter. There are many others like this.

Also, all neumes and words should end at the same time, and the long tenor should not be found in short syllables or the short tenor in long ones, which would be indecent. However, this rarely needs to be taken care of. Likewise, the effect of the song should imitate the outcome of events, so that in sad things, the neumes should be heavy, and in peaceful things, they should be joyful, and in prosperous things, they should be jubilant, just as in the Day of Resurrection, and so on. We often place a heavy or high accent on some voices because we tend to emphasize them with greater or lesser impulse. So much so that the repetition of the same voice often seems to be an elevation or a lowering. Also, in the manner of a running horse, the voices approach the place of respiration less frequently at the end of the distinctions so that they arrive there with a heavy tone, as if to rest after being tired. However, notes should be composed more densely or sparsely as required, and this often indicates a sign of this. Many voices melt like letters so that the beginning of one voice seems to pass clearly to the other without ending. Furthermore, we superimpose a dot as if blotting on the melting voice in this way.

[Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, II 784, f.14v; text: g, f, ga, a, Ad te levaui.] [GUIMICB 03GF]

If you want to express it more fully without melting it, it doesn’t hurt. However, it often pleases more to do this and everything we have said should not be done too rarely or too frequently, but with discretion.

Chapter XVI: On the multiple variety of sounds and neumes.

It should not be surprising why there is such a great variety of different chants composed with so few voices, which, as we have said, are only joined together in six modes through elevation and deposition. Similarly, in poetry, a large number of meters are derived from a small number of feet, and even one meter can be found in many different variations. How this happens can be seen by grammarians, but we should see in what ways we can compose distant neumes from each other. Therefore, the movement of voices, which we said is done in six modes, is done through arsis and thesis, that is, elevation and deposition. All neumes, except for repercussive and simple ones, are formed by the double movement of arsis and thesis. Then arsis and thesis are joined to each other, as well as arsis to arsis and thesis to thesis. Then one is joined to the other, such as arsis to thesis and thesis to arsis, and this joining is done both with similar and dissimilar neumes. Dissimilarity will arise if one neume has more or fewer voices than another due to the aforementioned movements, or if they are more or less connected or disconnected. Then, depending on the degree of relaxation and acuteness, augmentation and diminution, and various qualities of the modes, the positions can be superimposed on each other. Neumes can also be varied in all these ways, as can the distinctions. We provide a description of this to make it easier to understand through the eyes.

[Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, II 784, f.15r; text: Musica motus est vocum, Tonus, Semitonium, Ditonus, Semiditonus, Diatessaron, Diapente, Arsis, Thesis, Iunguntur, Altera alteri, Ipsae sibi, Similiter, Dissimiliter, Prepositae, Secundum laxationis, Suppositae, Acuminis, Interpositae, Augmenti, Appositae, Detrimenti, Mixtae, Modorum uarias qualitates] [GUIMICB 03GF]

Chapter XVII: That everything that is said is reduced to singing.

Now, with these things briefly mentioned, we will give you a very clear example, or rather, a very useful illustration, which has never been heard before. Once you understand this, you can apply it to all the best things. You will be able to see the benefits for yourself and reject anything that seems obscene. Consider, therefore, that as it is written, everything that is said is reduced to song, and everything that is written is represented by letters. However, let us not extend our rule too far. Let us take only five vowels from these same letters, without which no letter or syllable can produce sound. Their combinations are especially significant, as we often see consonant verses that respond to each other in different parts of meter, creating a kind of grammatical symphony. If music is added with a similar response, you will be doubly pleased with the double modulation. So let us take these five vowels, which contribute so much harmony to words, and they will no doubt also contribute to harmony in neumes. Let them be placed in order of monotone letters, and because there are only five, they can be repeated until each sound is assigned its vowel, like this:

[Gamma].A.B.C.D.E.F.G.a.b.[sqb].c.d.e.f.g.aa.[sqb][sqb].cc.dd.
    a.  e.i.o.u.a.e.i.o.    u.  a.e.i.o.u. a.     e.     i. o.

[On f.16r] In this description, notice that all speech is produced with these five letters, and it is also possible to produce five sounds that respond to each other, as we have said. Let us take a phrase and sing its syllables using these sounds, which are shown by the subscripted vowels:

[Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, II 784, f.16r; text: C, D, E, F, G, a, e, i, o, u, Sancte Iohannes meritorum tuorum copias nequeo digne canere] [GUIMICB 04GF]

Therefore, it is certain that this can be done with any phrase. But let us not impose a heavy burden on you. It is difficult for any melody to have only these five vowels, nor should it often try to exceed them. This allows you the freedom to move as you wish, with longer or shorter notes. Now, let us add another line of vowels, but let it be different, beginning with the third position of the first line, like this:

 [Gamma].A.B.C.D.E.F.G.a.[sqb].c.d.e.f.g.aa.bb.cc.dd.
    a.   e.i.o.u.a.e.i.o.  u.  a.e.i.o.u. a. e. i. o.
    i.   o.u.a.e.i.o.u.a.  e.  i.o.u.a.e. i. o. u. a.

[On f.16v] In this case, three subsonic sounds are accompanied by five vowels, with each sound being followed by two vowels. This provides greater freedom, and allows for both longer and shorter notes. And now let us see what melody these vowels have brought to this rhythm:

[Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, II 784, f.16v; text: F, G, a, [sqb], c, d, e, f, i, o, u, Let the tongue restrain itself lest the horror of strife resound, let it cover the sight while fueling it, so as not to drink in vanities.]

For we have left only the last part of this argument, in order to give a four-note melody that suits it. With only these five vowels, a very suitable melody can be made by selecting the most harmonious ones that respond to each other in many ways, filling in the gaps, resolving the compressed parts, contracting the overly long ones, and extending the overly short ones, to create a polished work. Furthermore, I want you to know that in the manner of pure silver, all singing is more colorful the more it is used. And what may seem displeasing to the eye now will later be praised as polished with a file. And due to the diversity of peoples and minds, what one person dislikes, another embraces, and what one person finds pleasing, another prefers the opposite. One person seeks continuity and softness according to their own lazy disposition, while another is soothed by serious and sober songs. Another person is nourished by wild and convoluted torment, like a madman, and each person pronounces that singing much more sonorously, which they approve according to their inherent qualities of mind. All of these things you will not be able to ignore if you immerse yourself in these arguments with diligent practice. Indeed, we must study these arguments until we know them in part, so that we may attain full knowledge. But since brevity is required to pursue these things at length, especially since much can be inferred from them, let us suffice by singing them. Now let us briefly execute the precepts of diaphony.

Chapter XVIII: On the precepts of organum or harmony.

Diaphonia is the sound of disjunct voices, which we call organum, when disjunct voices sound together in both concord and discord. Some use it in such a way that a fourth chord always follows the singer, such as A to D everywhere, if the organum is doubled through the acute A, so that it becomes A D and A resonates with D in a diatessaron, but the acute octave D with both A and a in a diatessaron and diapente, while a resonates with the heavier diapente and diapason. These three species mix so harmoniously in organum that simphoniarum aptatio, that is, the appropriate coupling of voices, is called simphonia, which is used in all singing. The example of this is called diaphonia.

Organum and singing can be doubled as much as one likes through the octave, wherever their harmony is found, the appropriate coupling of simphoniarum will not cease. Having already explained the doubling of voices, let us explain our method of handling the heavy chord that follows the singer. The previous mode of diaphonia is harsh, but ours is soft. We do not admit the semitone and diapente, only the tone, ditone, semiditone, and diatessaron, but the semiditone is reduced in these to the lowest. The diatessaron, however, takes the lead. Diaphonia follows the singing with these four concords. There are other tropes that are suitable, more suitable, or most suitable. Those that make organum through the diatessaron in fourth voices only are suitable, and also the second in B and E. The more suitable ones not only respond to the fourth but also to the third and second, albeit rarely, through the tone and semitone, such as the protus in a and D. The most suitable ones do it more frequently and more sweetly, such as the tetrardus and tritus in C, F, and G. They follow the tone, ditone, and diatessaron. From these, the subsecutor follows the trito, into which either the end of the distinctions comes or the one closest to the finality. However, the subsecutor must never descend unless the lower voices are allowed. For it is never allowed to remove the organum from the lowest trito or the one closest to it. When the lower voices are allowed, the organum should be placed appropriately through the diatessaron. Then, as the gravity of that distinction is abandoned, which cannot be repeated, the subsecutor should return to the previous place it had, so that if it reaches the final voice, it remains there, and if it encounters it decently with the neighboring one above it. The encounter is better made through the tone, not so much through the ditone, and hardly ever through the semitone, as it is more pleasing in that place when the chord follows the singer. However, care must be taken so that it does not happen in the last distinction of simphoniae. Often, when the lower trito voices are allowed, we hold the organum in suspension in the trito. Then, the singer should not make any distinction in the lower voices but should come to the aid of the subsecutor returning to the trito with rapidly running voices, and repel his own and his labors in the higher distinction. Also, when the encounter is made through the tone, the tenor becomes longer so that it partly follows and partly sings along. When the encounter is made through the ditone, it becomes longer, and even through an interrupted note, as long as the following note is short, the meeting with the tone does not stop. This happens when the harmony ends with a deuteron, and if the singer does not expect to descend to the triton, it is useful for the proto to take over the force of the organ and to occur in the subsequent notes and at the end in a decent tone. Also, when more than a diatessaron cannot be joined, if the singer intends to go beyond that, the subsecutor must ascend so that, for example, C follows F, D follows G, E follows A, and so on. Finally, in addition to [sqb], a diatessaron underlies each individual voice. Hence, in the distinctions where it is G, the force of the organ will prevail. This happens if the song descends to F or if it makes a distinction in G. It is followed by G and A in appropriate places. If the song does not end in G, it loses the force of the organ. However, when b rotunda appears in the song F, it will be the original note. And since tritus so dominates diaphonia that it occupies the most suitable place above all others, we see that Gregory rightly loved it more than other notes. He gave it many better principles and many repercussions, so that often if you subtract the tritus from its song, F and C, you seem to have almost half left. Behold, the precepts of diaphonia are given, which if you prove with examples, you will perfectly understand.

Chapter XIX: Proof of the said organum by example.

Therefore we do not remove the organum from trito, whether it ends in that note or in the following ones, as shown in these examples:

[Brussels, Royal Library, II 784, f.18v; music notation: Ipsi soli, E, F, G, D, C]

Here is the ending on trito C.

[f.19r] [Brussels, Royal Library, II 784, f.19r,1; music notation: Seruo fidem. F, G, a, C, D, E]

Here is another distinction in trito F, in which we follow by diatessaron with fourths and the diatessaron is more pleasing than the occursus.

[Brussels, Royal Library, II 784, f.19r,2; music notation: Ipsi me tota. F, E, D, G, C]

Here is another of the same kind.

[Brussels, Royal Library, II 784, f.19r,3; music notation: Deuotione committo, F, G, E, D, C]

Here is a distinction in proto D, in which the occursus of tones is evident at the end. Also, another one:

[Brussels, Royal Library, II 784, f.19r,4; music notation: Homo erat in Ierusalem, C, D, F, E]

Here is a distinction in deutero E, in which the occursus of ditones is evident, either simple or through intermissions. Also, another one:

[Brussels, Royal Library, II 784, f.19r,5; music notation: Veni ad docendum nos uiam prudentiae. C, F, E, D, B, A, [Gamma]]

Here is a distinction in proto A, in which the lower trito C, which is next to the final note D, is admitted, and the previous place is repeated after the gravity is finished, as in this one:

[Brussels, Royal Library, II 784, f.19r,6; music notation: Sexta hora sedit super puteum, F, G, D, a, E, C]

Here is how the organum ascends so that it does not end in the last distinction.

[Brussels, Royal Library, II 784, f.19r,7; music notation: Sexta hora sedit super puteum, F, G, D, a, E, C]

[f.19v] Here is how we hold the suspended organum in trito when the singer admits the higher voices.

[Brussels, Royal Library, II 784, f.19v,1; music notation: Victor ascendit caelos unde descenderat, c, d, a, b, G, f]

Here is how f follows G and a at the end. The same thing can be found in plagal trito, namely, b flat follows c and d just as f follows G and a in this way:

[Brussels, Royal Library, II 784, f.19v,2; music notation: Venite adoremus, e, c, d, b]

Therefore, be curious and practice using these rules if you have simphonia, as these regulations will give you enough knowledge of diaphonia.

Chapter XX: How music was discovered from the sound of hammers.

In ancient times, there were uncertain instruments, and a multitude of singers who were blind [to music]. For no one among them could gather any argument about the differences of voices or describe the symphony. They could never know anything certain about this art, except that divine piety would eventually arrange what follows by its own will.

One day, Phythagoras, a great philosopher, happened to pass by a workshop where five hammers struck upon an anvil. Marveling at the sweet harmony, the philosopher approached and, hoping for some variety in the power of sound and modulation in the hands, changed the hammers. Thus, his power followed each of them. He removed one hammer, which was discordant with the others, and weighed the others, and in a wonderful way, by divine will, the first weighed twelve, the second nine, the third eight, and the fourth six, with weights unknown to me.

Thus, he knew the science of music to be based on the proportion and comparison of numbers. For there was a constitution in four hammers, which now exists in four letters: A, D, E, a. Therefore, if A has twelve and D nine, and they are quaternary in proportion, A has four triplets in twelve and D has three triplets in nine. Behold the diatessaron! Again, if A has twelve and E has eight, it has three quaternary steps in A, and two in E, and the diapente appears. Let there be twelve in A and six in the other a. The half is the duodenary, just as the sharp of the other A is gathered by the half of the acute A. Therefore, the diapason is present.

Thus, when the A to D is diatessaron and to e is diapente, the other A also gives diapason to the other a, and D to e gives a tone. Both A and a sound diatessaron and diapente to either. And E also gives a tone to D, diapente and diatessaron to both A and a. When curious investigators found these things in the above-mentioned numbers, Boethius, the expositor of this art, began to demonstrate the harmony of this art with the proportion of numbers, which was very wonderful and difficult.

What more can be said? By arranging voices according to the aforementioned species, that first Phythagoras composed a four-stringed monochord. Because there is no wantonness in it, but rather carefully open knowledge of the art, it has pleased wise men in general, and to this day, the art has gradually grown by increasing. This is the same teacher which always illuminates human darkness, and whose supreme wisdom is thriving throughout all ages. The end.

at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)