THisffolunu*

is

for

REFERWCE USE ONLY

D OD01 H52B73M

THE
POLYPHONIC PERIOD OF
PARTI

MURTfi

HENRY FRQWDE,

M*A,

FUBU8H1H TO Tim UNIVKM1TY OF OXFORD

LONDON, EDINBURGH

NEW YORE

HISTOKf OF MUSIC
VOL.

THE POLYPHONIC PERIOD.

PART!

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART, 330-1330

BY

H.

E.

WOOLDRIDGE,

8LA0E PROFESSOR OF

JfW

M.A.

ART IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

OXFORD

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

1901

OXFORD
PRINTED AT THE CLARKNDQN PRRSS
IIV

JWRACB HAST,

PWNT8I TO

till

M.A.

tfNJVg8fW

EDITOR'S PREFACE
THE

histories of

music in current use have for the most

a method which is frankly and ostensibly

Their
biographical.
spirit has been largely that of the
Saga or the Epic, rousing our admiration for the achieve-

part adopted

ments of princes and heroes, but leaving us uninformed,

and indeed unconcerned, as to the general government of
the kingdom or the general fortunes of the
a method has no doubt obvious advantages.
it

in

interesting,

it

Such

host.
It is

human,

readily compels our attention,

it

wins

acknowledgement of the debt that we owe

to the great masters.
But at the same time it is liable
to two attendant dangers first, that of ignoring the work

from us a

full

men

second, that of placing genius itself

in a false perspective.
The history of an art, like the

clone

by

lesser

history of a nation, is something

personal prowess and renown-

more than a record of

Tendencies arise from small

they gather strength imperceptibly as they

proceed; they develop, almost by natural growth, to important issues and the great artist has commonly inherited
beginnings

a wealth of past tradition and effort which

his glory and his privilege to administer.

More

especially is this true of music,

it

is

at once

which among

the arts has exhibited the most continuous evolution.

all

Over,

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

VI

work went to provide Palestrina with Ms

of time to a
medium; PurceU succeeded in the fullness
Bach, though he owed much
line of English ancestry

six centuries of

long

and Buxtehude, much to Vivaldi and Couperin,

was under still greater obligation to that steady growth
and progress which the spirit of German church music had

to Pachelbel

maintained since the days of Luther.

Even those changes

which appear the most violent in character the Florentine

the new paths
Revolution, the rise of the Viennese School,
of the Romantic

movement

may

all

be rightly considered

as parts of one comprehensive scheme: sometimes resometimes recalling

adjusting a balance that had fallen askew,

a form of expression that had been temporarily forgotten

or neglected, never wholly breaking the design or striving
at the impossible task of pure innovation.

To trace the

outlines of this

scheme

the main object

is

The biographical method, admirable

in its way and within its limits, has been sufficiently followed
in histories, in monographs, in dictionaries and
elsewhere
of the present work.

encyclopaedias of music.

But these

still

room

leave

for a

complementary treatise which shall deal with the art rather

than the artist, which shall follow its progress through the
interchanges of success and failure, of aspiration and attain-

ment, which shall endeavoui* to illustrate from

its

peculiar

conditions the truth of Emerson's profound saying that 'the

greatest genius

is

the most indebted

man/

In some cases

the labour has proved difficult and obscure, partly from

imperfection of the record, partly from extreme complexity

of causal relations;

any rate the whole ground has

and the facts interpreted with as

at

been surveyed afresh,

little as may be of prejudice or prepossession.
The work has been planned in six volumes.
two,

The

first

by Professor H. E. Wooldridge, deal with the music

EDITOR'S PREFACE

vli

of the Mediaeval Church, one closing with the period of

Modal Counter-

Discant, the other tracing the course of

point

up

to the

work of

Palestrina and his successors

the

by Sir 0. H. H. Parry, follows the line of the early

Monodic movement from its origin in Josquin and Arcadelt

third,

to

its

culmination in Purcell

Maitland,

Handel,

the fourth, by Mr.

J.

A. Fuller

especially with the music of Bach and

with the harmonic counterpoint which is

deals

and

peculiarly characteristic of their time:

Editor, narrates

the

rise

the fifth, by the

and progress of the Viennese

School, and carries from Haydn to Schubert the development of the great instrumental forms the sixth, by Mr. E.
:

Dannreuther, describes that phase of the art which is distinctively known as Romantic, and discusses the formative
conditions which inspired

and Chopin

in

the

Weber

in the theatre,

Schumann

With

Romantic

concert-room.

the

The
stop.
thought
more recent aspects of musical art, though at least as well
worth investigation as those of any preceding age, are
yet too near us for complete and dispassionate judgement.
period

it

has

been

advisable

to

With Brahms and Wagner, with Tchaikovsky and Dvorak

and Richard

Strauss,

we

are

still

liable to the faults of

hasty or ill-considered criticism, and must

generation the task of assigning them their place and
explaining the tendencies through which alone they can be
leave to a future

interpreted.
It is impossible in so brief

an outline even to indicate

the topics of which we propose to treat. Questions of

ethnology, questions of aesthetic, questions even of social
all

convention and popular taste, meet the musical historian

and demand

at any rate acknowledgement,

an
and where possible
attempt at solution. Our object
has been to account, so far as we are able, for the sue-

at every turn,

METHOD OF MUSICAL AET

viii

eessive stages through which

European music has passed

became, to use an obvious analogy, a living language.

The distribution of the work among different hands has
been part of a settled policy, designed to secure for each

since

it

a
period a treatment which shall be not only full but in
There are but few men
special degree sympathetic.

who have

sufficient

breadth of view to deal equally with

of these few
every type and phase of artistic utterance
there are still fewer whose lives would suffice for the
;

requisite

investigation

and research.

Some

of the

facts

have demanded journeys to remote parts of Europe, others

have needed peculiar kinds of knowledge or experience,

and though we may gladly admit that England contains

writers who alone could have accomplished the whole, it
has seemed advisable to aim at such efficiency as

may be

secured by a combination of labour.

There remain a few words to say on the particular scope

and purport of the present volume. Starting from the

recorded system of the Greek modes it finds the first

germ of polyphony in the magadising practice described by

Aristotle and Athenaeus, and traces the apparent modifications of the system to its adoption in the Latin Church.
It
St.

thence proceeds to estimate the position and work of

Ambrose, to compare the basis of the earliest Christian

hymns and antiphons with that of their Greek originals,

and to point out the inveterate error which still speaks of
the Ecclesiastical modes as Gregorian. By this route it
reaches

and

its first

plagal,

artistic,

resting-point in the distinction of authentic

and in the

treatises,

of Aurelian and of

scientific

rather

John Scotus Erigena.

than

new

taken with the introduction of Organum or

departure
Diaphony, first in the strict form of the Musica Enchiriadis,
then with the greater freedom of Guido's Micrologus, and
is

EDITOR'S PREFACE
so through the alternations of theory

ix

and practice from the

Winchester Troper to Cotto and Guy of Ohalis. Next

comes the introduction of measured music, and the establish-

ment of a

fixed

and

intelligible

rhythm

tentatively in the

Discantus Positio Vulgaris, more firmly in Franco of Cologne,

reaching a temporary climax with Walter Odington. From
the practice of Discant takes its origin, the early
notation develops into a metrical scheme, and the art of
this

music passes into a phase more consonant with modern

A special part of the
principles and modern theories.

volume

is

devoted to rhythmic conventions, and particularly

to the influence of rests or pauses in determining metrical

rules, all of

which bear an important part in rendering the

more flexible and more amenable to

material of music

treatment The devices are still archaic and remote,

the methods rudimentary, the results occasionally harsh and
unfamiliar
but the germ of our metrical system is there,
artistic

and needs but time and experience for its full development. The work of Jean de Garlande is rich in examples,
and

is

supported by an anonymous treatise of the late

now in the British Museum.

thirteenth century,

With the period of Discant

close.

Its later

this

volume comes to

its

chapters are occupied with a description

of the various types of composition current at the time

the Cantilena and Rondel
the Motett ; the Hoquet ; the
:

Conductus, and the

Organum purum.

have been known by

the

name

alone,

illustration,

and

it

is

Of these forms some

some by

little

more than

a piece of conspicuous good

fortune which has placed at Professor Wooldridge's disposal

the MS. of a Notre

Dame

in the Laurentian Library,

choir book, recently discovered

which contains specimens of the

church music in actual use at this period.

It is

probably to the imperfection of the record that

we

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

may

attribute the curious break which separates the

method

that of Counterpoint properly so

called

of Discant from

At any

rate with the

consummation of the former there

of the
appears a natural interval which, in the course
volume from
present work, is taken to separate the first

we

are dealing with conditions

so primitive as almost to justify the famous paradox that
the true ancient history is mediaeval. In the latter we
the second.

In the former

give the purest and

for consumadmiration
noblest pleasure, and can win our
mate skill and complete achievement Yet the age of
shall find artistic

work which can

still

Counterpoint would have been impossible without the age

of Discant; and the tentative and uncertain steps, often
misled, often baffled,,

were destined at

last to find

a way

should venture to the exploration and

conquest of unknown regions. In the cause of art no true
effort is wasted, and the greatest leader is not always he

through which

who

men

enters the promised land.

W. H.

HADOW.

AUTHOR'S PREFATORY NOTE

SINCE the Editor in Ms Preface has referred to my use
marked Plutarch 29. 1, in the Laurentian Library
at Florence, a few words, explaining the exact nature and
extent of the authority of this MS. so far as we understand
it at present, may not be out of place here.
The MS., hitherto generally known as Antiphonariwn
of a MS.,

Mediceum,

consists of a large collection of vocal music, in

two, three, and four parts, in a handwriting which throughout

appears to be of the thirteenth century. It is of great

Importance, not only from the varied and representative

character of its contents, which may be said to constitute
it

the most instructive and valuable record of

its

kind as

yet discovered, but also from the fact, to which the Editor
has referred, that the collection which it contains may be
identified with a series, or part of a series, of six volumes,
known to have formed a part of the musical library of Notre

Dame

of Paris in the middle of the thirteenth century it

displays, therefore, work performed in the very centre of
;

the musical activity of the time during its most brilliant

The identification has been effected by means of
period.

a comparison of the MS. with an account of the JSTotre Dame

series given by the anonymous author of a treatise De

Mensuris

et

Discantu,

now

in the British

Museum

(Royal

MSS. 12. c. 6), who had apparently seen the six volumes in
the cathedral library at Paris. The idea of this comparison

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

Xll

occurred to Dr. Wilhelm Meyer (of Speyer), Professor

of the
in Gottingen, who, in the course of an investigation
Florence MS., connected chiefly with its poetical contents,

first

was struck by the correspondence of the titles of certain

in the anonymous author's account
pieces to those mentioned
Professor

of the Parisian collection.

Meyer published the

results of his investigation in 1898, in a pamphlet entitled

Der Ursprung des Motet? s, and it is to a copy of this work,
sent me, that I am indebted for my
which he himself

kindly

knowledge of the

first

facts.

The description of the Notre Dame

collection, given

by the

anonymous author of the British Museum treatise, may

here be quoted, together with so much of Professor Meyer's
to it, in parallel
analysis of the Florence MS. as corresponds
form

The

Est quoddam vohimen con-

first fascicle of

the

MS.

et

Plutarch 29. 1, (fol. 1-13) contains a collection of four-voiced

continentur colores et pulchri-

compositions, beginning with

Viderunt and Sederunt*

tinens quadrapla, ut Viderunt

Sederunty que composuit

Perotlnus magnus, in quibus

tudines.

Pro maioripartetotius
usu

artis huliis habeatis ipsa in

CTOB qiobiatwfem similibus, &c.

Est et aliud volumen de

quo continentur colores et

in

pulchritudines
tia,

The second

tri-

plicibus maioribus magnis, ut

Alleluia Dies sanctificatus, &c. ;

cum abundan-

and onwards

three -voiced

tains
tions,

de

fascicle (ol. 14
to fol. 65) con-

composi-

beginning with Descendit

celis,

Tanquam sponsm,

Gloria, Alleluia Dies sanctifi-

&c.

catus, &c.

volumen

Tertium
conductis

est

triplicibus^

habentibus,

sicut

de

caudas

Salvatoris

At

folio

lection

of

30 1 begins a colthree-voiced

com-

hodie, et Relegentur ab area,

et similia? in quibus continen-

extending through
about 1 06 pages, and beginning
with Salvatoris hodie and

tur

Relegentur ab area.

puncta

finalia

organi in

positions,

AUTHOR'S PREFATORY NOTE

fine

non ?

xin

versuum, et in quibusdam
quos bonus organista

perfecte scirc tenetur.

Est

et aliud

At folio 263, and continuing

through about ai8 pages,, is a

volumen de du~

plicibus contluctis habentibus

Maria anticaudas, tit

Am

collection of two-voiced com-*

quum,} in dxiplo, ct Pater noster

commiserans, vel Hac in die

nomina plurium conductoruxn^

which Ave Maria

antiquum is found at fol. 384,
Pater noster commiserans at
fol. 37 8^ and Hac in die rege

et similia*

nato at

positions* in

reye nato in quo continentur

y

fol.

333.

The

text of

this last composition is made

up of the initial phrases of the

conducts
folios

Est

et qxiintxxm
et

occurring

between

$63 and 313.

volumen de

quadruplicibuB

triplicibus
et cluplicibus sine cauda3 quod
solebat esae multum in usu

inter

minorcs

cantores*

et

simiUa.

Eat

ct

^extum volxxmen de

Beginning with the

organo in duple, ut ludea et

lerm&lemj et Constante, &c.

fascicle of the

pluria alia volumina re

periunturj sed in diversitatibus

ordinationxtm cantus et melodie^ sicut simpliccs conduct!

alia plura
; et mint millia

ettote*

laici

qxiibus

omnibus

in

sixth

at folio 65^

and continuing through about

$38 pageSj is a collection of
two -voiced compositions^ of
which the first two are ludea
et Jerusalem and Comtantes

Et

do

MS.

suis

Mbris vel voluminibus plenius

patet.

Elsewhere in his treatise the author of the British Musexim

that the first and second volumes of the
MS* Informs

collection described

by him display the same form of com-

position as the sixth, that

Organvm punm,

is

to Bay the form

known

as

while the third and fourth are said, in

METHOD OP MUSICAL ART

3d?

the account iteelf just given, to contain the examples of

a form known as Comlmtm.

Although thewe two forma are

often referred to by the theorist** of the thirteenth century,

only a very few specimens of Orgamm pnrum^ and none

at all of Conductm have been hitherto known to oxwt now,
;

however, we ee that in the Florence MS, we POBBOHB a great

number of works in both foniw, for two, three, and four

Whether the Florence MB,

voicea,

contain*)

the whole,

or only a jirt> of the collection deHcribed in the IMtinh

MuHeum
Meyer

MH,,

we cannot

at present certainly way

of opinion that

ta

dfccoveroci,

much more

and that especially

in a

Wolfonbiittel (marked HelmHtedt

of

it

are to bo found*

Also

it

ntill

MH.

Profctwor
tt>

be

hi the library of

028) important portions

utill

the fascicles of which the Florence MB,

actually portion**

remainH

doubtful whether

composed are
of the Notre Dame choir bookn, or whether
IB

they are only contemporary copies of the originals ; though,

since the beauty of the MB* would noem to exclude the

we may porhapt* fairly Huppone that the

Laurtmtian Library poBHenweH the actual ucoren which were
uned by the PariHiaii Hingera

idea of a copy*

The Florence MH*

not dwcribedj
alia*

alm> containn

though

perhaps

much

IKS

in hw ^iillliii
Mimeum MH. Among

included

by the author of the IMfcinh

may

intcreHting nuimc

mentioned a collection of Motattn, remturkablo

method of notation and for the stricter

of their form^ extracts from which will IMS found in their
proper place in the proaent volume. For the? identification

for their early

othom fomiirly printed by

M. do Coniiemaker~with pwwageH of Fliiiiwmg^ I am
indebted to the learning ami kiftduewi of the Kov, W*

of

tlieir

tenorH

an well

of

Frere,

1,

WOOLDKIDGJl

CONTENTS
PAGE

INTRODUCTION
THE NATURE OF POLYPHONY

CHAPTER

THE ORIGIN OF POLYPHONY

CHAPTER

II

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

GREEK Music

..

CHAPTER

III

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

GREEK Music

IN THE LATIN

CHURCH

(continued)

...

24

CHAPTER IV
ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY

45

CONTENTS

xvi

I'AllK

CHAPTER V
THE NKW OAOANUM AND THE TRANSITION

TO

MKARURKD Mrsic

CHAPTER

74

VI

DIBCANT on MEASUEED MTHJC

L THE MsAHuiiRt) NOTATION AND

ITH

RELATION TO

THE POLYPHONIC PERIOD

OF MUSIC
INTRODUCTION
THE NATURE OF POLYPHONY
IN considering the development
sound, regarded

as

a material

of the resources of pure

artistic treatment, the

for

phenomena may be seen as arranging themselves in three

main divisions or periods, each representing a totally distinct
phase of artistic activity in relation to the material and a
different

The

view of

its capabilities.

period represents that phase in which the beauty

to be obtained from the material is perceived only as
consisting
in certain arrangements of consecutive simple sounds; the
first

aim of the

artist is

single,

and

its

outcome

is

the coherent

individual utterance, or Melody.

This was the music of the
old Greeks and is still the music of all eastern people.
The second period is that in which the mind awakes to

the possibility of

new beauty

to

be

obtained

by com-

bining different individual utterances simultaneously; and in

this phase the aim of the artist is twofold, for he seeks to
adjust the mutual relations of the separate melodies in such
a manner as not only to elicit the full effect of their combination but to preserve at the
WOOLDKIDGE

same time a

relative

independence

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

%
for each

the outcome

is

a complete union, maintained upon

the principle of an absolute equality between the individual

and the collective elements of the composition, and this is

Polyphony.

The

third, or strictly

we now

are,

Harmonic

the period in which

period,,

in which the principle of

represents the phase

the individual
equality between

and the

collective

elements

has been abandoned, and melody, even when apparently most

and self-developed,

free

is

by harmonic

controlled

entirely

considerations.

Of

these three periods that with which

cerned

is

we

are chiefly con-

The gradual

the second, the period of Polyphony,

and of the rules which

development of the separate melodies
govern their simultaneous
artist's

of the capabilities of his

perception

combined

employment, the growth of the

nature, and of the degree in

be

effectively applied

puntal Music from

in

it,

its rise

which

scientific

material of

treatment

iti

may

the progress, in short, of contra-

onward to

complete constitution as a Fine Art,

in our

new

which belongs to

sounds, of the special beauty

its

first

perfection

and

the subject indicated

is

title,

In the beginning of our work a close connexion will bf

seen as existing between the Polyphonic and Melodic periods*

was from the older system that Polyphony received

the whole of its original technical means, a rational scale and
since

it

a theory of the

consonance and dissonance of

intervals respectively;

towards the

the imminence of the

Harmonic period

it

will

be necessary to point out

phenomena

of

close,

varicra*

on the other hand*

will

that

its

be perceived* and

many

of

the later

Polyphony which appear as inconsfctont and

insubordinate are signs of its approach.

OHAPTEE

THE ORIGIN OF POLYPHOiNY

THE origin of Polyphony lies no doubt in the reduplication

of the individual utterance or melody by mixed voices in the
choral song.

The

effect of this reduplication

would naturally

be perceived as more agreeable than that of the singing of

equal voices, and recognition of the double sound as the
source of pleasure, demonstration of the real character of the
interval, and conscious use of it as a form of art, might well

be the

The

steps in the process of evolution.

first sign of a direct advance towards

first

to be found

among

They had

the Greeks.

Polyphony

is

taken note of the

particular effect created by the simultaneous employment of

the voices of men and children or of certain voices and instru-

ments in the same melody, and already in Aristotle's time

had given it the name of Antiphony^ contrasting it with the
less pleasing

effect

of

equal voices or instruments of

like

pitch which they called Homophony; and they were moreover

perfectly aware of its real nature as consisting in the consonance of the octave 1
Furthermore, there seems to be
of
sort
of
some
evidence
conception of its use as an artistic
.

form, for while the effect

1

'Why

Is

itself

was

defined as antiphony the

fiymphonons singing (antiphony) more agreeable than

Homophony?

For antiphony is
Is it not because antiphony i the consonance of the octave P
born of the voices of young boys and men whose tones are distant from each
other as mfa from

%Pfe'

(the highest

and lowest notes of the octave

Aristotelian Problems, xix. 39,

scale).

METHOD OF MUSICAL AET

4
practice of
1

dizing

it

received a special

This

name seems

a fortuitous mixture
resulting in

of

to

called

maga-

imply something more than

of

voices

the

the consonance

name and was

men and

of the octave,

children,

and suggests a

conscious process with an aesthetic purpose ; the magadis

was a harp-like instrument of many strings which would
2
admit of the reduplication of a melody , and we may perhaps
suppose that the effect of the natural unconscious mingling

of voices in chorus being often

upon the magadls

imitated

by the deliberate artifice of striking each note of the melody

in octaves B, vocal antiphony became at length in turn a conscious process taking its

Be

name from

the instrumental imitation.

may, the essential fact of the employment by the Greeks of the octave progression under the name
of magadizing is certain, and that it was consciously employed
this, however, as

as a distinct

means

it

of aesthetic pleasure is probable.

Homophony, the consonance of the unison, could hardly

have been supposed to offer the material for a separate form,
Yet the
since in unison the voices are indlstingulahabk.
Greeks evidently conceived of consonance, suitable for nimnltaneous singing, as something so smooth as to render the
distinction between the voices only very slightly perceptible,
and it is no doubt for this reason that in Aritotle s time, as
s

we

learn from the Problems^ the consonances of the fourth

and

fifth, in

sung

which the distinction

simultaneously,

difference

is

Antiphony,

perceptible while

very obvioun, were not

in which
the fact of

is

the consonance

in

an mnooth

of the octave ii often magadized.'

Arbt. /*k xlx, #j.
(HolmholtZi S&m&U^n$ qf Towt, txL 1895, j
337) my* tlmt the
ifcrmgs of this initrnmont wore divided by a bridge* at (mo-third of tholr ltif Ihu
And in the later theorists the little bridges which were u*td for the dtvlnkm
1

'

Mr,

The <nsowwice
Ellin

monocted were often called magafct*

Pindar, in Ms scolion to Hiero, <lorilKi thu sound of tlia
of two klndu of tew%
res|K>nsive, because it gives a ooticord, at the
wa
imwely those of men and boys.* A&$$m&w, xlr* 36, Frwn thl
old
gather that the recognition of the oonoord of the oetftto
Fiiwt^ i*
of the

s c

od?%

WM m

clrc,

522 B.C.

THE ORIGIN OF POLYPHONY

as unison^ alone provided a suitable

medium

for the

maga-

dizing process

Thus

it

be seen that the Greek practice with respect

will

employment of mixed voices which is here described,

though important from our present point of view, does not
really depart from the essentially melodic principles of the
to the

period to which it belongs ; for it is clear that the especial

suitability of the octave progression for its purpose consisted
in the fact that in

it

the obviously different voices were in

same

note, and it is evident also that the

idea that voices could be permitted to sing obviously different
notes simultaneously, even though those notes might be
effect singing the

technically

consonant, was

not

entertained.

The Greeks,

who employed and defined antiphony had not formed

even the slightest conception of polyphonic music in its true
sense; yet inasmuch as the essential principle of that music,

therefore,

the equal union of the individual and collective elements, is

actually present in antiphony, we may say that the rudimentary form

of

art

which as we have seen was

known

as

magadizing was in fact the first parent of Polyphony.

The conclusions at which we have just arrived are founded
almost entirely upon the evidence of the Aristotelian Problems? and represent chiefly, therefore, the Greek practice as
existed in the fourth century B.C.;

it

but

it

has sometimes

been supposed that the actual development of the principle

of Polyphony,, though not to be traced in Greek music of
the great period, might well have been begun in that of later

the consonance of the octave the only one which is sting P for in
Is it not because this
is magadlssed, brat not the others.
oomonfuoock alone is antlphonous ? For in the antiphones, when one of the two
the same effect is produced as in the case of the other, so that
notes is
'

Why

is

faet this confonance

sung
a single sound of this consonance being sung the entire consonance is sung; and
when the two sounds are wing, or if one is taken by the voice and the other by
the flute, the sum effect is produced as if one were given alone. This is why this
eonsonsffloe is the only on which is sung, because the antiphones have the sound
of a single not,* JWsl JFVefr. six. 18.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

and perhaps through the experimental use of the consonances of the fourth and fifth.
It will be evident from what has been said that no further

times;

progress in the direction of Polyphony could be made until

the intervals of the fourth and fifth had been recognized as
for the magadizing process ; this would
next logical step towards the new form of
the
be
obviously

media

possible

art,

andj by accustoming the ear to the difference between the

which were technically consonant, would

other sounds^ necessarily arising from
endure
prepare
the independent movement of polyphonic melodies* which
voices

in intervals
it

to

were demonstrable in theory as dissonant*

Historians therefore have looked eagerly into the
of the later

Greek

works

theorists aiid the later literature generally!

the hope of finding some reference to the practice of

magadizing fourths and fifths $ recently however this hope

in

has been abandoned, and

is

it

is

now acknowledged

that there

no reason to suppose that the Greeks ever proceeded in

of magadizing beyond the consonance of the

the practice
octave.

And

indeed this result of the inquiry might have been

The governing principles of Greek art were ici

deeply established, and the details of its practice were BO
closely connected with those principles, that there wan no nnmi

expected.

for the development of

when exhausted

new

essential

forms within

it

even

the system maintained

its authority, and

only
upon its absolute decay and dissolution did such forms arise*
Greek music, therefore, whose task was the evolution of
a rational scale and of the melodies to which its various forms
might give birth, must naturally, even in its decline^ have

neglected the development of a principle so foreign to its

purpose as that which we now sea to be actually contained in the magadizing process. To us this
process appears
as the beginning of all the riches that we
in the
;
vital

older world

it

could lead to nothing* and

though

it

might be

THE ORIGIN OF POLYPHONY

reasoned about, and used with pleasure as a kind of art form,

it could not be more at last than it was at first
the exact
reduplication of a melody at the distance of an octave.

In the decay and dissolution, therefore, of Greek music we

must look for the development of the new principle.
Nor
must we look for it among the Greeks themselves ; the ebbing
life of the old system was to be received and
appropriated by
new races, Italians and northern people, and the development
and constitution of Polyphony, under which form Music was
next to flourish, was to be the work of a new era,

CHAPTER

II

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

OBBBK MUSIC

its

passing on to consider the work of the new era In

most important aspect that namely in which it is seen as

discovering and developing the

we must pause

for a

moment

new

principle of

Polyphony-

to consider the actual technical

resources of Music at the time of

its adoption by the Italians ;

and we must inquire not only what those resources were,
but also what were their relative degrees of vitality tit that

moment.

The

Italians, as

we

shall

see,,

did not adopt those

may suggest a

resources in their entirety,, and our inquiry

reason for this fact.

The

basis of

Music

is

of course the

Scale,

which

select*

possible sounds those which are moat suitable to the

purposes of melody,, and arranges them in a rational order of

from

all

It will not be necessary for our present purport*

to trace the growth of the scale from the original tcttraehord,

progression.

which

at first appeared as the natural limit of

powIWb malody,

to the full double-octave

system* including all the sound*

within the natural compass of human voice*, which
for
the Greeks its final and standard form ; we may at

proceed to consider

it

in its complete shape,

shown upon the opposite page, with the

note and its modern equivalent

old

which

ii

name

of

here

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

THE DOUBLE-OCTAVE SCALE, OR PERFECT IMMUTABLE
SYSTEM OF THE GREEKS
/

Kete Hyporbolaidn

a
Tone

Paranete Hyperbolai6n

Tone
Trite Hyperbolaite

f
Semitone

e
i

Ton A Diazewis
Paranete Diozeugmendn

d'

*d

Ton
5

Ton

Trite DiezeugmenOn

Note Synemmendn

&

Paranete Synemmendn

Ton

Bemiton

b b7

Paramoso

Trite

Synemmen6n

Semitone

a Mese
Tona

G Lichanos Mes^n
Tone

Tetracbordon

F Parhypate Mes^n

Semitone

E Hypate Mesdn
Ton

D Liehanos Hypat6n
Ton

T^twtchordow Hypatdn

C PaAypate Hypatfin
Semitone

B Hypate HypaWn

A ProBlambanomenos

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

io

The

original octave scale of the

Greeks was composed of the

two disjunct tetrachords

Mes6n and Diczcugmcndn, and

cluded the notes between

and e ; and these notes were

infirst

named

simply, Hypate, Parhypate^ Lichanos* Mese, in the

lower tetrachortlj and Paramese, Trite, Paranete, Note, in the
l
Upon the extension of the system by the addition
upper one
of a tetrachord at each end of the scale the names given to the
.

notes in the original tetrachords were again adopted in those

which had been conjoined with them, but the distinctive name
of each tetrachord of the full system

of

surname

was now added as a kind

to all the notes within that portion of the scale,

as the table shows.

This was the Greater Perfect System of the Greeks; the

Lesser Perfect System was based upon the ancient sevenof the two conjunct tetrachordn
the tetrachord Hypatdn being afterwards added as in the Greater System; and the union of

stringed

scale

consisting

Mesdn and Synemmenfin,

these two systems, with

banomenos,
constituted

the

the addition of the note Proslam*

low A,

the

Perfect

the

double

octave,

Immutable System

shown

in

to

complete

our

illustration.

In this union of systems it will be seen that both modulation

and exact transposition to the fourth above or fifth below are
rendered possible; for it is evident that if any aeries of eight
notes proceeding by way of the tetrachord Diemigmenftn be
repeated in the fourth above or fifth below proceeding
way of the tetrachord SyncmmenOn, the intervals in, Ixrth
will occur in the

Of

the

same

various

appear to have been

order*

intervals

from the

contained
earliest

in

this

scale

some

times perceived as con-

sonant and some as dissonant* the ear being the judge

in the sixth century B*C Pythagoras discovered* or a*
1

by

but

The Greek names of notes wcra tlio names of tha strings cif tlie lyrw, and wt
descriptive not of their pitch tot of their relative potlfcte in iho inittrumeoti tto
lowest stating of the Ijm thoroforo wtmcbd tli higluwt
of tkt

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

think learned

from

the

Egyptian

priests,

the

law which

governs them and brings them within the compass

retical

He

knowledge.

proclaimed the remarkable

of theofact,

of

which

the proof existed in his famous

experiments with
stretched strings of different
lengths, that the ratios of the

intervals perceived as consonant could all be

expressed by the
numbers, I, 2, 3, 4. His method of demonstration was after-

wards improved and rendered more exact

by the invention
of the monochorcl, and his law
now
be
stated
as follows.
may
If a string be divided into two
a
in such

parts by
bridge,
two consonant sounds when struck, the
length of those parts will be in the ratio of two of the four

manner

as to give

smallest whole

If the bridge be so
numbers.
placed that
two-thirds of the string lie to the
right and one-third to the
left, so that the two lengths are in the ratio 2:1,
they
produce the interval of the octave, the greater length giving
the deeper note. If the bridge be so
placed that three-fifths

of the string lie to the right and two-fifths to the left the
ratio of the two
lengths is 3:2, and the interval produced

the fifth.

the bridge be again shifted to a

position
which gives four-sevenths on the right and three-sevenths on
the left the ratio is 4 : 3, and the interval is the
fourth ; thus
is

If

Diapason (8va).

,
;

Jfridfc*

Diapouto (sth).
(

Diatessaron

(4th)*.

The remaining Intervals contained in the Octave, which

were perceived as dissonant, require higher numbers to express

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

12
their ratios.

Those

intervals therefore

whose

ratios

are the

most simple -were also for the Greeks the most consonant.
The division of the scale into tones and semitones shown
in our full-page illustration is proper to the diatonic genus,
the oldest kind of music, for in this genus the tetrachord

the interval of the perfect fourth was composed of a semitone and two tones, the semitone being always in the lowest
be explained in passing that in
And here it

may

place.

both of the
genera the number, order and names,,
the same^
was
in
contained
notes
of
the
and
tetrachords
them,
all

the

and that the distinction between one genus and another consisted entirely in the manner in which the tetrachord was
while

divided;

Hypate Hypat6n

therefore^

Hypate Meson,

Mese, &c., the limiting notes of the various tetrachords,

were fixed, the remaining notes, Parhypate and Lichanos in
the lower tetrachords and Trite and Paranete in the upper
were
ones, were movable, that is to say their intervals
according to the genus employed, and upon this
difference depended the peculiar emotional quality or ethos
different

of each genus.
With the detailed

characteristics

work has

of

the chromatic and

course nothing to do;

enharmonic genera
it will be sufficient to point out that although for the older
Greeks they formed one of the most important of technical
resources they played probably no part, or at all events no
this

of

appreciable part, in music at the time of its inheritance by

Even during the period of their development
the Italians.

and perfection as means of musical expression a period which

appears to have been identical with the great or classical
period

of

Greek

art

of other kinds

they must have been

found, considered as practical methods, exceedingly complex

and difficult in performance, and their gradual disuse may

have been in great part due to this cause; but whether this
be so, or whether it be that the particular kind of expression
obtained by the constant juxtaposition of minute and excessive

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

intervals,

failed

which

is

13

characteristic of the scales of these genera,

to

appears to be the fact that

time (the second century A.D.)
they
had fallen to a great extent out of employment, and from
the brief and perfunctory manner in which they are treated

by degrees

already

of

please,

it

in Ptolemy's

by the

latest classical writers

on Music, Martianus Capella

century A.D.) and Boetius

(sixth century A. D.), we may

even perhaps conclude that this decline in favour had in their
time reached the point of general neglect.
(fifth

Another technical resource possessed by the Greeks which

the chromatic and enharmonic genera was passing at

like

this
,,

time out of use, or was at

to the full extent of its capacity,

por

all
is

events

no longer used

to be found in the keys

schemes of transposition.
These keys afforded a method,
to
our
own,
analogous
by means of which all scales

"4* closely

,j-

ffl

might be raised or lowered to any pitch at pleasure ; the scale

of E for example might be taken on F, Ff , G, &c., or on D$,

D, C|, &c., the system proceeding upwards or downwards

by semitones. This change was not effected empirically,
but by means of a definite supposed transposition of the
whole of the Greater Perfect System to the pitch required,
*

to

any semitone, that

to say, contained in the

compass of
r\ the octave scale ; since therefore the octave divided into semiis

tones contained thirteen possible notes

it

consisted also

of

(T thirteen keys or recognized modes of transposition. The keys

were formerly only seven, but the system was completed by
f^

Aristoxenus during the classical period ; later two others were

added at the upper end of the system, but these, though they
may have been found of use practically, possessed no theoretic
value, being only repetitions of

This

system of keys, like

genera, had

been regarded

important means

two already

existing.

the chromatic and enharmonic

in

the

classical

period

as

an

of expression, for there can be little doubt

that the older Greeks attached a special ethical value to the

particular pitch at

which a melody was sung, a value which

14

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

TABLE OF THE GREEK KEYS

* The seven

oldest keys.

The modern equivalents are here shown, for the sake of convenience, in the
notation of our chromatic scale A-a; it must, however, be observed that in
the Greek notation the system
for the Hypodorian scale,

is in the Hypolydian
key, which gives
and so upwards hy semitones.

J?

minor

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

we

now

are

not

very well

to

able

15

but which

appreciate,

and

apparently was by them

generally
clearly perceived
recognized; it is evident, however, from Ptolemy's treatment
of the subject that in his time, about A. D. 100, the particular

key in which a melody should be sung was no longer regarded

as a matter of special solicitude, and that it was left to be
decided entirely by the taste or convenience of the performer.
The chief proof of the failure of the Aristoxenean system
of keys to maintain its

be

perhaps to

is

authority

found

criticizing it, proposes as

Ptolemy,
a substitute the well-known system of Modes or Species of
This system may be regarded in two
the diatonic scale.

in the

fact

that

points of view;

after

as affording

either, that is to say,

an im-

would appear
proved method of transposition
was the aspect chiefly insisted upon by Ptolemy or, on the
and

this

it

The
other hand, as the source of distinct rules of melody.
of
seven
diatonic double-octave scale is of course susceptible
different

octachordal sections, each

the two semitonic intervals in a

new

of

which

position

and

will

display

will therefore,

or keynote,
create a new and special scale and a special character of
melody in each scale; thus each section of the double-octave
becomes in itself a rule of melody founded upon the

if

the

first

note of each section be taken as

its final

system

in relation to the final note,

particular order of its intervals
the
and this was undoubtedly
aspect in which the system of

Modes

or Species of the octave presented

posers of the

Graeco-Roman

period.

itself to

Whether

it

the com-

was

at this

time in any sense a new aspect

Certainly
the conception of the octave as consisting of seven species
did not originate even with Ptolemy; it had existed long
it is difficult

to say.

and had been applied not only to the diatonic

but also to the enharmonic scale by older writers, in whose
works moreover the names adopted by Ptolemy for the seven
before his time,

which were those of the seven oldest keys, are also

But the history of this conception, and the
be found.

species,

to

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

i6

THE SEVEN MODES OB SPECIES SHOWN AS SECTIONS OF THE

SEVEN OLDEST KEYS, FEOM WHICH THEY AEE NAMED
MIXOLYDIAK KEY.

LYDUN KEY.
Species.

PHBTGIAIT KEY.

DOEIAN KEY.
Species.

KJEY.

KEY.

HYPODOEIAN KEY.

-A-

Species.

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

17

THE SEVEN MODES OB SPECIES BEDUCED TO THE FUNDAMENTAL SCALE OP A AND SHOWN AS SECTIONS OF
THAT SCALE
MlXOIYDIAH

LYDIAIT

PHBYGIAIT

.....

o ^ q

DOBIAN"

HYPOLYDIAK
-

__

^..^ .

rj

>-J-

^Oa Q

rr

..

[I

= ~" J
I

HYPODOBIAM"

32=

WO OLD RIDGE

yy'

.^

.*,...

^ cy^Q

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

18

between the species

involved in

some

doctrine of

the

theoretical

which

connexion

the

of

nature

and

the

seems

keys in

to

have

older times,

existed
is

still

and the question whether the

was at first much more than a

obscurity,
species

whether more than one species was

how many were employed, is
use, and if so
of discussion among writers upon Greek

proposition,

actually in

the subject

still

discussion which,

music

the

failing

discovery of

many

more specimens of that music than we at present possess,

are
If, however, those
will hardly be satisfactorily concluded.
seven
of
who maintain that in the earlier proposition

right

the

species

element

in

character

theoretical

Ptolemy's

predominates,

consist in his demonstration

of

its

the

novel

conception would
and his
practical value;

treatment of

this

Modes as a technical means superior to

recognition of the
of the
the keys, and his adoption of the names of the notes
scale for the notation of each special scale,
original complete
as events of the highest importance
be
then
should
regarded

in the history of music.

The

question,

which naturally

arises,

whether

all

the

Modes

were of equal practical value for the later composers as rules

of melody, may be partly answered by a reference to the
as proper to the Cithara, since
generally recognized
instrument supplied both the accompaniment to the

scales
this

songs and the instrumental solo, which

were at this time the prevailing musical forms. The citharodic
Modes are generally said to be five the Dorian, the Hyponarrative

and

lyric

or Aeolian, the Phrygian,

phrygian or lastian, the Hypodorian
and the Lydian; the Modes omitted are the Hypolydian, in

a tritone, and the Mixolydian, in which

seems to have
imperfect ; the Hypolydian, however,

which the fourth

the

fifth is

is

been allowed in practice.

The melodies
final

final),

written in these scales ranged between the

octave (with liberty to take the note next below the

and ended upon the final ; but two varieties were recog-

and

its

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

19

which the melody ended upon

nized, the intense lastian, in

the third of the scale, and the related lastian, in which the
range was extended to the fourth below the final; and it

would appear that these two

varieties

A hybrid
Hypolydian scale.
lastian and the Aeolian^ and called

for the

were also recognized

scale,

combining the

lastaeolian,

was

also

in use.

Of

the seven existing specimens of Greek music which are

of sufficient length to give a clear indication of their scales,

two are written in the Aeolian, one in the lastian, one in the

relaxed

lastian,

and

three in

the Dorian.

All,

with one

exception, belong to the Graeco-R-oman period.

The following table shows the Citharodic Modes with their
practical variations in relation to the existing compositions

MIXOLYDIAN

No

LYDIAN

"No example.

PHBYGHAN

No example.

DOEIAN

Three examples the Hymns to Apollo and to

the Muse, and (?) the Hymn to Apollo found

example.

at Delphi.

No example.

HYPOLYDIAN
INTENSE HYPOLYDIAN

One of the

No example.

One example; the

little instrumental pieces given by

Bellerman's Anonymus would seem to he in

this scale.

RELAXED HYPOLYDIAN
HYPOPHRYGHAN OK IASTIAN

little

inscription discovered

by Mr. Ramsay, beginning "Offov

INTENSE IASTIAN

....

RELAXED IASTIAN
IASTAEOLIAN

....

HYPODOEIAN OB AEOLIAN

fgs

<j>aivov.

No example.
One example

No

the

Hymn to Nemesis.

example.

Two

examples ; the instrumental pieces given

the
Anonymus (three) ; and the music to
by
the first Pythic of Pindar.

C 2

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

As

to refer to

of the

be necessary for the purpose of

will

It

some

Hymns

is

of the details of

Graeco-Roman

comparison
one

practice,

here given in modern notation.

HYMN

TO THE MUSE.

DOBIAK.

& HI
Q

n.

tear

av

dp

dur

<F$)V

prj

^
-

J
KoA,

irpo~jca0-

TT-sM-

ft

7*

rt

-gy
Aa

cd

rep

ai

irvav,

ero

5<5

ra,

E&
Hat

rovs

/KC

crro -

vcfip

ra/>

<rr!

dvt

/zoi.

be observed that, together with the change of rhythm,

at the words KoAAio'Treta (ro<f>a a change takes place in the
It will

which now extends its range to the fourth below

This seems to point to the fact that relaxed scales
not officially recognized were sometimes employed.
melody

also,

the final.

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

It will

be evident from

means of Greek

this brief survey of

ai

the technical

music that already in the second century A.D.

had taken place in the practical methods of

a great change
the art, and that
dealing with the materials of

two important
was
held in the
music
of
the
ethos
resources, upon which
classical period largely to depend, were passing out of use,
while their place was partly occupied by another of totally
This view of the situation is home
different scope and value.
f
The main object of
out by a recent writer of authority.
Monro 1, c was to
Mr.
the
of
reform
scales/ says
Ptolemy's

of scales, each characterized by a particular

provide a new set
succession of intervals, while the pitch was left to take care
And it is clear, especially from the specimens which
of itself.

Ptolemy gives of the

scales in use at his time, that

he was

what already existed, and

only endeavouring to systematize
the
with
into
developments of practice.
harmony
bring theory
must suppose, therefore, that the musical feeling which
of key came to have less influence
sought variety in differences
musicians began to discover,
that
and
on the
art,

We

practical

or to appreciate more than they had done, the use of different

fe
modes " or forms of the octave scale.

the comparative
Along with this change we have to note
of the tetradivisions
disuse of the Enharmonic and Chromatic
chord. The Enharmonic, according to Ptolemy, had ceased to
'

be employed. Of the three varieties of Chromatic given by

Aristoxenus only one remains on Ptolemy's list, and that the
one which in the scheme of Aristoxenus involved no interval
less

than a semitone.

And

although Ptolemy distinguished

at least three varieties of Diatonic,

one of
others

these

was admitted

being confined

to

in

the

it is

worth notice that only

the tuning of the lyre

more

elaborate cithara.

the

In

music was rapidly approaching the

Ptolemy's time, therefore,
forms are based upon a single scale
stage in which all its
1

The Modes of Ancient Greek Mwic.

Oxford, 1894.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

22

the natural diatonic scale of

modem Europe/

We

can hardly

be wrong in supposing that the tendency here described

continued in increasing proportion.
devote a moments consideration to the
Finally, we may
of music, regarded from the point of view
probable condition
of its aesthetic value, at the time of its adoption by the Italians.

The materials for a judgement are extremely scanty, and if

we have to deplore the absence of examples in our attempts
to make clear to ourselves points of technique still somewhat
in endeavouring to realize
obscure, even more must we do so
the gradual changes which undoubtedly took place in melody
as a consequence of the natural progress of the art ; for while

growth of technique we are assisted by

a number of theoretical treatises of different dates which leave
few points unexplained, in attempting to form

in considering the

comparatively
an estimate of the aesthetic condition of the art at any parEven
ticular time we derive far less help from these sources*

from

these, however, considered as guides to the

contemporary

to the purpose
practice, we may gather something
in mind the artistic principle that the aesthetic

if

we

bear

quality of

production in any phase of art is always highest in that period

in which the technical means proper to the phase are most
Since, therefore, the treatise of Aristoxenus, the
developed.

contemporary and pupil of Aristotle, most clearly reveals to us

the existence of this period, we may conclude that in or about
his

time Greek music, having reached the highest point of

technical development suitable to its nature,

the

summit

principle

we

of

aesthetic

significance

and

had

also attained

upon the same

should conclude that later treatises, such as that

means in use are seen as restricted

of Ptolemy, in which the

in

number and

scope,

and the

latest of

all,

such as that of

Boetius, which are obviously merely scholastic compilations

and are scarcely suggestive of any contemporary practice whatever, indicate the periods of decline

and decay,

But a stronger conviction of the decadent character of music

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

23

at the time of its adoption

by the Italians may be gained from

a consideration of the influence which chiefly
operates in the
rise and progress of a great creative
epoch the general
aesthetic impulse, arising out of a new view of the
capabilities
of all artistic materials, which inspires the special structures
of the various forms with life and supplies the force which is

required for their development. In this aspect all the arts

are seen as advancing together, and as nearly abreast as the
special conditions of each structure will allow.
Together they
rise to

a relative perfection, which is for each the

complete
the powers of its special material as perceived

utilization of

in

the particular epoch, and together,

when

their

work

is

accomplished, they rapidly decline.

This phenomenon was witnessed in the great creative period
of European art; in the interval between the years 1530 and

1600 each of its various forms had reached its culminating

point, and during the fifty years which followed all failed
through the exhaustion of the impulse which had raised them.
In all that we know of Greek art the operation of the same
law is to be observed, and there is no reason to suppose that
in that part of it which we do not know the law was broken,
or that the history of Greek music, if we could complete it,
would afford the solitary exception. Indeed it is as certain

as anything can be of
if

which we have not absolute

proof, that

a sufficient historical series of examples could be discovered,

the later specimens would be found to exhibit the same degradation, in sentiment, energy, and beauty, which is evident in

the contemporary work in other

to us.

fields

which has come down

CHAPTER

III

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

(continued)

GREEK MUSIC IN THE LATIN CHURCH

THE

beginning of the

new

era

may

be said to be marked,

by the public recognition and

and
its
ritual worship, which thenceof
Christianity
triumph
in our present point of

view^

forward might develop in

At

moment

secxirity.

the conditions with respect to music

in Italy would appear to have been exactly those which arc
most favourable to the rise of a new phase of artistic activity,
this

all

Not only was a new field of labour prepared in the ritual of

the Church^ and a fresh impulse supplied by the new religion,
but it must also be remembered that the Italians had tin yet
expressed nothing of their

own

in music,,

which for them had

always been an exotic art professed and performed by Greek*^

they themselves had attempted anything* the attempt had
been a mere imitation of the Greeks; considered, therefore,
or

if

in relation to the expressive part of

race,

music they were a new

though perfectly familiar with the great prevailing theory

of composition*
Thus on the one hand we see the occasion
or impulse acting upon the untried nice, and on the other,,

ready for adoption, technical resources still excellent and a

method still sound which their actual possessors could no longer
develop, contenting themselves with the employment of old

We

forms to no new purpose and with decreasing energy*

should expect therefore to find that the natural effect of the

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

25

conjunction of these two conditions was at once evident in

the music o
the public worship, and that this was soon
enriched with native compositions animated by a new and
energetic spirit; for although it is clear that the chants and

fragments of melody which had been used by the Church in

its depressed condition were reverently
preserved, it is difficult
to suppose that liberty and honour could fail to produce
great
expansion and much inclination towards original work.

We

should

not,

however, expect to find that any great

at once apparent in the art of

change was on this account

music; on the contrary, the
at first

entirely

early

Church must have been

dependent upon the examples

afforded

by

existing forms in its attempts, towards individual expression.

We may admit of course that its view of these may have

been governed by a distinct principle of selection 5 the secular

and degraded ceremonial forms would naturally have been
rejected as unworthy of imitation,

and models would be looked

for in the graver kinds of music, in the

hymns

to the gods

and the long narrative cantatas of the Graeco-Roman citharodi,

but it will still remain none the less evident that the music
of the Christian ritual, from the nature of the conditions under

which

it

came

resembled in

on around

it

into being,

its
;

And

for a long time have strongly

general outlines the music which was going

we should expect

traces, at least,
efforts of the

must

of the

therefore to find deeply-marked

Graeco-Roman

practice in the

first

Church*

turning to the oldest Christian compositions, the

Hymns

and Antiphons of the Office, of which the earliest examples

date from the end of the fourth century, we find these expectations fully justified, not only as regards the number of
melodies, which is very considerable, but also as regards their

technique, which differs in no important respect from that of

In both the same scales are
the current pagan lyric song.

employed, and

(if

we may judge from

Greek examples) the same

scales

the small

number

of

were neglected $ in both the

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

36

melodic range, the points of repose

the scale, and often
the actual formulae, are identical; in short we find in Christian

music the old music continued, with just that degree of difference which might be expected in the work of a new race
which has something new to express.
This view of the early Christian music, in which it presents
an illustration of the law of complete continuity in artistic effort, has hitherto been obscured by the
to us so forcible

Greek Modes- Phrygian,

and
Dorian, Hypolydian,
Hypophrygian imposed upon the
Church by St. Ambrose, and of a great revision and introecclesiastical tradition of a rule of four

duction of four

new Modes by

Gregory. But this tradition

That the hymns composed by

St.

can no longer be maintained.

St.

Ambrose

known

are the earliest specimens of Christian

composition
to exist is undoubted, but that
they can have conntituted

an imposed
for

it is

rule, or

any part of such a

rule, is

most improbable,

clear that the scales

employed in these compositions

are nothing more than the scales of the Grneco-llonmn citharodi, and that the Hymns conform in all respects to the current
classical practice; moreover, the
story of the

and adoption of the plagal forms

modes,
that

is

now

contradicted

the Christian

Gregorian revinion,

of the supposed
original four

by the recently discovered

music as exhibited

in

the

fact

Antiphouary

continued upon the old classical basis, without

any change
of importance, certainly until the end of the seventh
century,
or nearly a hundred years after the time of St.
Gregory,
1
possibly until about the year goo .

Examples

of all the scales to be

found

in the earliest

are here given (from

Gevaert) in modern notation.
the Dorian or
species of the octave ; the lastian or

and

hymns
They are

specie^

the relaxed lastian

descending a fourth below the final; the
intense lastian ending
upon the third of the scab j the Aeolian
1
Wo, ow<5 the demonstration, of those
Important fact* to M, F, A* ttavntirt,
whose XtopteAnKQH dam le chant d& l
$glia& Latim (1895) the *holo imbjivt
for the first time put in a
and esdtmuijtivoly treated.
proper

hi

%M

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

or

27

and the lastaeolian, or combined lastian and

species;

Aeolian, in both of its forms.

It will be observed
(compare the
given above of the scales of the existing Greek compositions) that of the Mixolydian or B species, the Lydian or

list

species, the

or

Phrygian or

species, the

Ae-ter

na

hymns

Et mar -ty- ruin

inu

no-ra

fe-ren-tes de

bi-tas

Cliris-ti

and the Hypolydian

species,

contain no examples.

vie

to - ri - as

1221

Iiau-dos

IASTIAN,

ca-na-mus men

- ti -

bus.

relaxed.

^cgT

--y-ca';

^^rJ

Trm-i-tas Et

be-a-ta

lux

Lae-tis

prin

-o
-

XT

ci-pa-lis

&

ni-tas

'

Iain sol re -ce

dit ig

ne

us

In - fun - de a-mo-rem cor

di

IASTIAK, normal.

Ao

tor

ne rex

al

- tis - si -

me

Re-demp-tor et

fi-

de

- li -

um

3E
Quomors so-lu-ta
IASTIAN,

Con-di

Chris - te

de-pe-rit

Da-tur tri-una-pnus gra-ti

ae.

int&nse.

tor al

me

re-demp tor

si -

de-rum

om - ni - um

Ae-ter

Ex - au

na lux cre-den

di pre - ces sup

ti-um

pli

cum.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

28

AEOMAS-.

Be

us

ere

tor

Di-em do-co-ro

The two

om

lu

ni

um

mi-no

Po

- li -

Noo-tem

quo roe

a<> -

po

tor

rin

v&

ti

#ra

-ana

ti

11.

following examples are laatacolian ; the first begins

and ends in the Aeolian, the second begins in

in the lastian

the Aeolian and ends in the lastian intense.

AEOMAK.

'.a
]

._,

Os

Vo-nx re-domp-tor gea-ti-'um

ton

- tto

IASTIAN.

par- turn Vir

gi

ul

IAKOMAN.

1331^-Zn
om

Mi

-re

tur

Ac

-tor

no re

no

sacs -

cu-luxn,

rum con-di - tor

Ta-liH par-txis (lu-cct

Noo-tou

<li -

<jui

\uu.

gin

lAHTUK.

IABTIAK*

Et

w<jw*

I)t>

torn -po- rum

das

Ut

tem-po-ra

nl -

lo-vcu fas

ti-dt

uia.

Of

the Antiphons it will be sufficient for our prenent

pnrpone
to note that they exhibit the same scales as the
hymnB, with

the addition of the Hypolyclian

this scale appears in all its

and examples of each are here given.

Om-nes

an

ge

- li

iua

lauda-to

Bd-mi-mim do coo-H*

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

RELAXED HYPOLYDIAN.

Vo

da

bis

turn est nos-se

mys - te

- ri -

urn reg-ni

Be

i.

INTENSE HYPOLYDIAN.

^T^ ^^
1

Con-so

di

We

have

la -

mi

now

con

Bo - mi

cit

Christian music

ni

so

la

nus

mi

De

- -

us

ni

po-pu

ves

le

me

us

- ter.

seen that the similarity between the

first

and the Greek contemporary practice was

complete as regards the technical basis : we may next, before

passing on, point out a few of those differences in the character

and design of the Christian melodies, which, as we have said,

we should expect to find in the work of a new race with
something new to utter.
In the first place, as regards the general character of
expression,

we

are struck

by

their greater simplicity as

their

com-

pared with Greek examples, a simplicity arising not from

timidity in the composer, but from the nature of the new
kept in view. The intention and value of a Greek composition, both words and music,
conditions and the

was purely

artistic,

new

object

now

and the aim of the composer was directed

towards the perfect rendering of the general poetic character

of the words, and even to exact verbal expression ; the aim of
the Christian composer was entirely different, for the intention
and value of the words set by him is not artistic but religious.

venerated texts of the ritual do not invite a critical appreciation of their aesthetic merit; indeed, their effect in the

The

assembled congregation is often quite independent of the actual

sense of the words employed, and merely because they are
both arouse
sacred, and proper to the common worship, they
the exact
not
is
It
and serve to express it.
religious feeling

METHOD OP MUSICAL ART

but this general religious

character of the words therefore,

common

fervour animating the whole congregation, that the Christian composer seeks to render in the
music to which the texts are to be sung. Hence the greater

sentiment, this

simplicity

and breadth of

music., in

his

which the dry, odd

phrases and the artistic preoccupation of the Greek hymns

give place to a smooth and flowing melody, the expression of

a sustained enthusiasm, but controlled by the * meek heart and

*
due reverence proper to the place and occasion of public

Hence

worship.

also its general adaptability,

and the freedom

which enables the singer to set the same melody to many texts.
Another difference, arising out of the nature of the new
in

sentiment, consists

religious

tenderness of the Christian

Roman

the

melody*

greater

sweetnea

and

For instance, the old

seen in the examples of citharodic song, In

the employment, as a matter of course, of melodic passages
in which the interval of the tritone is paramount, thus;-

hardness

is

HYMN TO

HELIOS.

BOBIAK.

T*

ffrov - <rw

ITT

17

HYMN TO

NFMFSI8.

IASTIAK.
f

"I

Xa

Ac

61

An examination of the new music, on the other hand, revealg

a striking difference in this respect. It is true that pannages
in which the tritone though indirect is still sufficiently strident
are not

unknown

in early Christian melodies, but

they

occur

Dorian and Hypolydian modes,

where the interval forms a part of the modal fifth,, and where,
chiefly in compositions in the

therefore,

if

the essential character of the

Mode

is

to

be pre-

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

31

served. It is difficult to avoid them, for the earlier melodies

seldom ranged beyond the fifth ; in the melodies of the lastian
and Aeolian modes, however, the fifths of which do not contain
this interval, such passages are
comparatively rare, and it is
to
the
ease with which the tritone
probahly owing
may be

avoided in these modes that the enormous

majority of the
1
are
in
written
them
.
This
early compositions
change of

music ; and
be said that the tendency towards the disuse of the

feeling, then, is especially characteristic of Christian

it

may

from a dawning sense of its harsh

and unsympathetic character, continued to increase
among the
Christian composers, and that the
of
the tetraemployment

tritone, proceeding evidently

chord synemmen6n, by means of which

in certain

modes

frequent

this tendency,

likely to display

it,

might be avoided
became by degrees more
it

however, was generally kept in check,

even in the construction of polyphonic melodies, by respect for

received scales of the modes and for their individual

the

character, and

by fear of confusion.

In the cases of two modes only was this attitude of reverence for the exact scale of the mode systematically abandoned.

When

the full range of the Aeolian was employed, it seems to

have been usual, in ornate melodies, to raise the sixth of the
scale in certain figures, thus

de

Ion

gin

-----

quo, &c.

1 '
Sur prbs de 1 200 antiennes contenues dans le tonarius de R<%inon, le dorien
L* Pollen et Tiastien relacn<
et 1'hypolydien n'en re*unissent guere que 160.
s^mploient, h. Fexclusion de toutes les atitres formes niodales, dans lea monodies

de la messe

elites

Fractw.*

Gevaert, M&o$4e Antique,

<&c.,

p. 98 (note).

It is important to remember that the lastian is the nearest approach to our

modern major scale made by, the ancients in serious music, and that the Aeolian is

actually our

modern minor

scale descending.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

3*

Also when the

range of the Relaxed Hypolydian (C-c)

full

was employed the highest note but one of the range

always depressed, thus

coe

saa

gui

nem

(b)

was

su

-----

um

fu

Es, &e.

do

Kt

ru&t,

4e

Already, In the year 900^ this last practice the effect of

is to create our modern major scalewas extended to

which

the normal Hypolydian^ and was continued

throughout the polyphonic period.

in

both scales

Another indication of the new tendency towards sweetness and

smoothness is to be seen in the abandonment of the excessive
interval of the

major

sixth.

This interval occurs at least three

times in the existing Greek compositions ; iu the whole of the

early Christian music there seems to be only one example of it,
and that doubtful^ and it was soon definitely excluded by rule.

Such, then>

is

the true

Ambrosian 9 music.

It will

be seen

from the table here given that its modes are tight in number,
and that they are all included within the modal fifth of the
ancient Dorian^ the oldest

known musical

scale*

Final B, Intense lastian.

A, Aeolian.
A, Intense Hypolydian.

lastian,

G, Relaxed lastian*
F, Hypolydian,
F> Relaxed Hypolydian,
Ej Dorian.

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

33

would appear that not only the theory of

composition
these modes., but the whole of the melodies
also, were

It

in

at first preserved
entirely by oral tradition,, referred probably
to the sanction of the
college of chanters founded by Leo the

Great (440), for there is no trace at this time either of written

music or of ecclesiastical treatises upon
theory; but the system
would seem to have continued,
notwithstanding, intact and
in

full vigour

until

the great catastrophe of the

year 547,

which swept away the last vestiges of the ancient

world, and
in which the classical
From
theory of music disappeared.
this date onwards for
many years melodies of
great beauty,
written in the old scales, were added to the ritual
but it is
;
certain that already, about the
year 600, composers were

writing in ignorance of theoretical principles,, and that all

memory of the names, nature, and origin of the modes in
use was entirely lost 1 .

No

documents

exist to

enlighten

us as to the course of

music during a period of two hundred and

the

was

fifty years after

date just mentioned,
we
"know
that the ritual
though
enriched during this period with the fine additions

already referred to, which prove that composers were active,

and that the art in spite of every apparent hindrance was
But at length, about the middle of the ninth
advancing.
century, appeared the earliest known theoretical treatise
written by a churchman- the Musica Disciplina of Aurelian

Cassiodoras, who wrote his XnsUtutiones Musicae about the year 500, had
evidently a competent knowledge of the old theory, and moreover, in a, letter to
Bootixts,, ho even explains carefully his own view of the ethos of the principal
modes in use, which he calls "by their Graeco-Roman names, Aeolian, lastian, &c, ;

but

St.

Isidore, writing one

hundred years

later in the time of St.

clearly reveals the complete ignorance of his time.

(collected from his Originum sive etymofogiatrurn, libri JTJ3T,

Gregory,

His dicta upon music

and printed by Gerbert

in the great collection Scriptor&s ecclesiastici de musica sacra potissimum) are

chiefly
crude and misleading paraphrases of passages from Cassiodorus and others, from
which it is evident that the signification of the terms employed had completely
Modes are not mentioned by him, and keys and genera are
escaped him.

confounded together.

WOOLDRIDGE

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

34

Thus in the

known

oarlieat troatisos.

Tlio correct form,

to the mediaeval thooriflts.

TWtfrta,

WOH apparently

writing <ii*ly in
the thirteenth century, givoa Tetrardus*, Hicronytxiuw do Moravia, in the middle
of the same century, advances as far as Tatardm ; Walter Odiugton, whono troatlw
never

Pwvado-AriHtotlti,

dates probably from 1300, or rather later, wjfcurnn to Totrardw.

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

of

35

Reome^in

which we find a new theory of

eight modes
more or less systematic manner.
The modes indicated by Aurelian which are in fact the

presented to us in a

true ecclesiastical or

'

Gregorian

modes

in their first

form

are in suhstance the same as

before; a great change, however,
has now taken place in the method of their
presentation ; the
old names have
and
are
disappeared
replaced by numbers,
some of the modes have been
transposed, and the whole

system has been rearranged.

It

may be

well therefore, before

proceeding further, to give the details of the new system, as

they are displayed in the compositions of this period, together
with the probable method of their evolution from the Graeco-

Roman

modes.

Here

These may be seen upon the opposite

page.

be noticed that the four

primary or standard
scales of the old system, the
Dorian, Hypolydian, lastian,
and Aeolian (transposed a fifth
lower), occupy the leading
positions in the new system under the generic title of
Authentic or Governing modes.
also receive new
it

will

They

names; the transposed Aeolian is called the first

Protus
the Dorian becomes the
mode,
second, Deuterus ; the
Hypolydian the third, Tritus ; and the lastian the fourth or
particular

The secondary or derived scales, the c intense 3 and

forms of the lastian and
Hypolydian, are now called
Plagal or Oblique modes, and each is coupled with an Authentic
Tetrartus.

'

relaxed

mode; the Intense Hypolydian becomes Plagius

Intense

Plagius

lastian
Triti,

Plagius Deuteri,

the

Relaxed

Proti, the

Hypolydian

and the Relaxed lastian Plagius TetrartL

The terminology of this system sufficiently

proves that its
was Greek; moreover, Aurelian himself
expressly
c
f
declares the fact.
Those/ he says, who do not relish my
source

doctrine, or think

to find

errors therein,

the distinctions here mentioned,

discipline of music, are of Greek
all

Gerbert, Scriptores, vol.

must he

told that

and indeed the whole

The history of
origin/
i.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

36
the system

obscure^ but since the

is

echoSy

compiled

said to

it is

John of Damascus about the year

it was elaborated by the Graeco-

St.

by

we may suppose

trace of

first

liturgical song, called Qcto-

have been found in a collection of

that

700,
moreover, there
Syrian Church during the seventh century
seems to be good reason for the belief that it was imposed
;

upon the Western Church by one of the Graeco-Sicilian Popes,

perhaps by Agatho himself (678-68^), who in known to have
effected the definitive regulation of the melodies of the office 1 .
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that

new system must

important aspect of the old

have arisen

of

consideration

the

scales,

relaxed

which

forms of

is

suggested by

the

by means

lastiau
is

and

perceived,

which the melody,

confined within the compass of an octave and still

accessory to the standard scale,

still

In this aspect a subordinate scale

Hypolydian.
while

the idea of the

from the perception of a highly

of

preserving the character proper to the standard scale an a consequence of the special order of its intervals, ranges through
a different series of sounds.

The new theory

modes
the scheme thus
of eight

appears to have been an attempt to reali'/e

suggested by means of a rearrangement of the materials exist-

The lastian and Hypolydian being

ing in the old system.
already supplied with subordinates, each ranging a fourth below
the standard final, the theorist proceeds to accommodate the
two

'

intense

scales, as

well

as

may

be, to

the transposed

Aeolian and to the Dorian.

The system thus evolved is defective. It is true that if we

choose to consider the finals of the two intense* scales an the
tf

governing notes, and assume in each case that the scale begins
upon the final instead of upon the second note below it-

which in the

intense* scales

is

the true

initial

it is

postuhlo

by transposing them a fifth lower to make them fit into the

empty places and pass for the two required plagal modes,

But the

result

not

is
1

satisfactory

See G-ovaort, KlZqpft

the

AnMgu,

$c*

new modes

thus

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

37

TABLE OF THE EIGHT ECCLESIASTICAL OR GREGORIAN

MODES IN THEIR FIRST OR GRAECO-SYRIAN FORM
AUTHENTIC TETBAETTTS
Mode VII.
Q

(Old lastian;

(Find of

known

later as

(Old Relaxed lastian;

species.)

known

later

PLAQ-ITTS TBITI?

Mode V.

(Final of

Mode

F species.)

known

later as

PiiAGitrs

DETJTEEI;

known

as

later

Mode IV.

(Old Intense lastian

transposed

upon

(Old

later as

intense "form.)

BETJTEEITS;

Mode

known

(Old Relaxed Hypolydian ;

species.)

III.

AtrTHENTtrs

species.)

VI.

(Old Hypolydian ;

(Old Dorian;

later as

intense 'form.)

ATTTHBNTUS TEITFS;

Mode

known

PIAQ-IUS TETEABTI;
Mode VIII.

?EOOTSj

known

later

Aeolian;

fifth lower.)

PEOTI

Mode

species,

transposed

(Old

range Q-g final

}

and beginning

known

later

as

II.

Intense

fmal

fifth Zower,

the final)

as

I.

A;

"beginning

Hypolydian;

range

transposed a fifth lower ,

upon

the

final)

F-f,

and

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

38

obtained do not perform the same office with regard to their

'
or old relaxed
respective authentic modes as the true Plugal
tf

scales with regard to the Authentic Writ-its

fact of transposition

no way
below the

in

alters

and Tetrartus ; the

the

scale,

nor docs

final create a true

a range of a third
Plagal
character, such as is possessed by a 'relaxed' scale, while
the alteration of the initial note creates a difference which
is

just sufficient

Plagius Proti and

to cause confusion

Plagw

and no more; the new

Deutcri therefore remain essentially

and Hypolydian, and have no real connexion with the

which they arc coupled. Furthermore the neceswith
modes

lastian

of employing the tetrachord syuemmenon in the three

transposed scales was in itself destructive of the symmetry

sity

system, and in the case of Plaglus Dvuterl it even

creates a false fifth, as will he seen from the Table given

of the

upon the previous page.

system so illogical and unsatisfactory as this could not

long be maintained,, and musician^ guided probably by
Boetius, found in the old classic species the basis of a reform.

This reform was by no means drastic or violent.

The

leading

feature of the Gracco-Syriau scheme, the system of authentic

and plagal modes, which was evidently firmly established, and

which had no doubt revealed itself as the meann of greatly
enlarging the resources of melody, was retained ; three of its
authentic modes also, the Deuterus, Tritus, and TetrarttiH, being

recognized as identical with the K, F, and

Hpeeiew of the
Greeks, were left untouched; the Authentic Protu, however,
was altered by the elimination of the Bi?, and wan made to
coniform

entirely

Tritus

to

the

and Tetrartus

species
of

of

the

(ireekw.

The

the

Graeco-Syriun nclieme
old
relaxed
and
lastian
relaxed
(the
llypolydian) wore ulno
preserved, and the principle upon which they hud been con-

Plagal

to say the division of the original scale, at

the fifth and the removal of the tetrachord an octave lower,

structed, that is

was adopted

as the

model for the reform of the Plagal Deuterus

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

TABLE OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL MODES IN

THEIR FINAL FORM
AUTHENTIC.

Mode

PLAGAIr.

Mode

I.

II.

Formerly AUTHENTIC PKOTTTS.

Formerly PIAGITJS PEOTI.

Mode

Mode IV.

III.

Formerly AtrTUE'NWS PEUTEBUS,

Formerly PLAGITTS DETTTEEI.

Mode V.

Mode VI.

Formerly AUTHENTITS TEITUS.

Formerly PLACHXTS TEITI.

Mode VIII.

Mode VII.
.Formerly AtJTHENTtrs

TETBAMUS.

Formerly PLAGHTIS TETEAETI.

39

40

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

and Protus.

By means

of these

musicians were

alterations

put into possession of a consistent and uniform system.,

preserved its authority and its usefulness until within
paratively recent times,, and the influence of which
be perceived even in our own day.

The

preliminary part of our work

is

now

is

which

com-

still

concluded.

to

We

have marked the origin of the polyphonic principle in the

Melodic period of music, we have noted its undeveloped and
dormant existence during the whole of that period, and we

have exhibited the growth meanwhile of the technical materials

which were to be adopted by it upon its eventual waking
and first activity; we are therefore prepared to consider its
actual rise and

the period at

progress,,

which

may

which we have now

be said

arrived*

to

But

date
here,,

from
before

passing on, a final question of considerable interest presents

itself, with respect to the circumstances which had at length
rendered possible the development of the polyphonic principle.

This principle, which we saw to be entirely foreign to the

now to be adopted by the Christian

and
to
become
the
essential characteristic of their
composers,
work.
Yet we have seen that hitherto Christian music hud

nature of Greek music, was

been, as

same

regards

its

as the Greek.

outward manifestation, practically the

This fact was very apparent

iu

our brief

survey of the system which was to supply Polyphony with its

material; we then perceived the complete continuity of the
art through the point of junction

Christian worlds;

between the Antique and

we saw

that certain resources^ once

highly
the
were
Greeks,
prized by
passing out of use during the period

which gave

rise to Christian

music; and we found that the

Christian composers, neglecting those resources,

adopted exactly
those which were most employed by the
practitioner!* of their

own

time,

and that their music conforms to the

practitioners not

only in this

regards comparatively minute

technical resemblance being

rules of thorn*

general respect,
details.

but also a

The connexion and

new mumr

thus complete, the

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

would seem

ment

at first sight to offer as

little

room

of the polyphonic principle as the old.

41

for the
develop-

Down

to the

ninth century, the work of the Latin Church

being musically
speaking nothing but the reanimation and rehabilitation of
the dying art of the Greeks,, Christian music,
equally with the
Greek, illustrates strictly the melodic principle, and seems
equally with the Greek to exclude every other.
then,,
it
may be asked, did Christian music eventually develop new
forms impossible to the Greek? Why, when it had reached

Why

the culminating point of its advance upon the old melodic

basis, did it not at once fall, like the Greek, into a condition
of stagnation and decay, the natural lot of
every art which
to
its
possibilities proper
original technical

has exhausted the

What special inward force enlarged its scope,

developed Polyphony, and created the magnificent epoch which
closed with Palestrina?

resources

The mainspring

of the whole development of music by the

and northern people lies of course in the fact that in
music the new races found for the first time an art to cultivate ;

Italians

and

cultivation, in

these circumstances, was sure

later to reveal fresh

exhausted material.

sooner or

technical possibilities in the apparently

The question might therefore be answered

way by a reference to the freshness and abounding

the new race, and every succeeding advance during

in a general

energy of

the five centuries which followed might also be considered as

an effect of the original impulse. But a more particular answer

should be given. The perception of these fresh possibilities was

not absolutely spontaneous, nor due to the mere observation

by an

untried race of the inherent powers of the material, nor

now arise merely because it was at this time

a possible new form of technique. An occasion or impulse
was also necessary. The development of an art is not casual,
did Polyphony

but moves in obedience to certain laws based upon the natural

the
correspondence existing between its two main constituents,

powers of

its

material on the one hand, and the properties of

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

4*

the object to be represented on the other ; it may occur either

through the perception of some new property in the object,
and resulting in
suggestive of a new treatment of the material

and an enlargement of the technical

resources, or conversely through the discovery of some new
technical means for which the object is then seen to provide
a

new form

suitable

of expression

employment.

In the art of music

therefore,, as in all

others,, not only a new technical means., but a new quality or

in order to set forprinciple in the object must be perceived

ward a new development and

the art of music

to create a

new epoch, and

finds its object in the world of feeling

nince

and

sentiment, the principle which we seek, corresponding to the

its complete
possible new form of technique, and finding
in
character,
expression only in that form, must be emotional

But

in

what

direction are

we

to look for the rise of

such

a principle 5 what recent circumstance in the history of music

can be seen as able or likely to originate it ?
In our present point of view, the controlling circumstance in
the history of music at this period was undoubtedly the
employment of its resources in the public worship of the

Church. But for this circumstance music would probably not

have been, as it was,, the first of the arts to rise again in Italy.
Had music upon its adoption by the Italians remained a secular
pastime,

it is

difficult to see

when

or by what

means

its

fresh

growth could have been begun ; it might have lain for an

indefinite period in the same condition as the formative arts,

which remained for many centuries after the recognition of

Christianity ineffective and ignorant of their true direction.

But music was never unsure of

its

aim.

From

found in the public worship of the Church a

suitable to its fresh development
tion, a

new kind

new range

use,
ciple

which

is

first

it

exactly
of representa-

of emotion to express.

Here, then, in this circumstance of

we may

the
field

its

new

ecclesiastical

look to find the source of the emotional printo be seen as chiefly animating Christian music,

THE MATERIALS OF POLYPHONY

the inward force which at the

scope and continued

moment

critical

enlarged

with fresh vigour; and

with the essential principle of

it

identify

its life

43
its

we may

Christian

public

worship, a principle unknown to the Greeks and impossible

of application in the formative arts even when
they were
devoted to religious uses the congregational principle.

We
Church

have seen that music upon its first adoption by the

at once surrendered itself to the expression of congreto the utterance, that

gational feeling

is

to say, of the general

we saw

sentiment of the assembled community;

abandoned the old Greek

principle,

individual utterance preoccupied

created a

general

thus

that of the purely

is

artistic

problem, and

of song of greater breadth and of more

in which
the individual
utterance,
application,

the

represent

common

the

by

collective

manifestation of
its

it

new kind

now governed

in

which

by the

that

state

of

is

fervour,

mind;

brought

and in

this

to
first

the

congregational principle, as perceived

main or general aspect, Christian music found the

inspiration

which enabled

task, the exhibition of a

it

new

to

perform

perfection

its

first

important

upon the old melodic

basis.

But

it

principle

is

evident that the influence of the congregational

upon music could not be exhausted

in its first effects

the expression of its immense essential energy must inevitably

be continued in some new phase of activity, and its further

development was certain. Moreover, the actual direction of

this development towards the more comprehensive expression

common

worship, a closer yet more ideal representation

The congreof the assembled community, is clearly indicated.

of the

gation was

now

to

be manifested in

its

particularity,

and

though still perceived as collective and united in virtue of the

common act of worship, was to be recognized also in its
individual and manifold elements
therefore were

now

the individual utterances

to be seen as various yet united in one

whole, as distinct yet blended in a general consonance.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

44

The musical

expi*ession of this further

development of the

recognition of two elements.,

congregational principle-,
For it is
and
variety
unity, belongs entirely to Polyphony.
clear that the old technical symbol of the union of the individual
this

and

collective elements

which was suitable to the Greek and

the reduplication of the melody at the

early Christian music
which the different voices are in effect
in
distance of an octave,
singing the same note, will not suffice for the expression of the
of variety, which requires that the voices shall
be singing obviously different notes 5 translated into terms of

new element

technique., therefore, the new clement implies separate parts

for different kinds of voices, and the juxtaposition of distinct

melodies.

On

the other

hand, the

necessity for consonance,, remains,

element of

and the

unity.,

distinct

the

melodies

must be controlled by the laws of musical agreement; the movements of the individual voice, which formerly
ranged at will among the sounds of the scale, must now
become subject throughout to the consideration of regard for
others, through which alone the general concord can be maintained,, and the musician, renouncing the freedom upon which
the beauty of much of his former work depended, must write
henceforward in obedience to strict law. Thus Christian music
entered upon the path of contrapuntal composition,, which was
to be its second and greater task, and the circumstances having
at length become favourable to its development the dormant
principle of Polyphony became active.

therefore

CHAPTER IV
ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY

WE

of course suppose that the Greek

practice of
magadizing, in which as we have seen lay the fundamental

may

principle of Polyphony,

was continued

in the Latin

Church,

and that the simultaneous utterance of the melody by the

voices of boys and men was recognized by the Italians, as
by
the Greeks, as a distinct musical effect, arising from a series
of repetitions of the consonance of the octave.
But no advance

apparently beyond the

Greek

position

with regard

practice was made during the earlier period

of the Church, and we look in vain, in the

to

this

of the history
treatises

upon

music by Christian writers down to the seventh century, for

any clear proof of the definite acceptance of magadizing as an
means, or for any acknowledgement of the change of
principle, the transfer of the idea of consonance from melody

artistic

to harmony, which

is

actually involved in

its

adoption.

It

was

no doubt during the two centuries which followed, centuries

sterile in respect of literary production but fruitful and significant with regard to music, that these necessary first steps
forward in the direction of Polyphony were made ; for in the
treatises written after the reawakening of literary
the close of the ninth century, we find distinct
towards
effort,
a
form of art called organizing, which consisted
reference to
earliest

in

the singing of concords by concurrent voices, and also

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

46

a definition of consonance revealing for the first time that

view of its nature in which it is seen as existing not between
1
intervals but between simultaneous sounds .

would

It

of
appear,, therefore, that the practice

symphonious

singing and playing^ called organizing., which pi'obably at this

time prevailed both within and without the Church, was now

no longer regarded by the

1

theoxists with

The utterances of some of the ninth century

Aurelum. of Rrfomtf and

Cousscmakcr in his

as

writers, however, finch

M. dc

of Auxcrre (though these are quoted by

Romy

IKatoire de

indifference as an

VHarmonio au Moyen Age

making mention

of

simultaneous singing- of concords), leave UH iu considerable dovihfc, owing to

the ambiguity of their language, with respect to their recognition of music
of more than one voice.
When for instance Aureliau says, In harmonica
1

'

graven soni acutis

(xnusica) quidom considoratio manet sonorum, uti
congrucntoi* copxilati compag-em officiant voeum/ or Homy, Harmonia cnt eonaonavttia ot coadunatio voeum/ both may well bo following older writers, both
Hcilieot

Greek and Latin, who use the word Harmonia in a general sonst\ or, if specially,
to denote melody.
Vox also, in the older writers signifies the note, and lUluHums
to the mutual adaptation, mixture and blending of notes in one whole would in
their

works refer to the construction of songs for a single

voice.

In the absence

not supplied, the intention of AuroHan

and Bomy is not clear. But Regino (Abbot of "Prmn in 892) loavos UH in no
doubt as to his meaning, and, though he makos no mention of special forms of
simultaneous singing of concords, defines consonance and dissonance, from the
therefore of further definition., which

is

polyphonic point of view, in an extremely clear and interesting manner, thus

*
vootun tu
BilBnitur autem ita consonantia ; consonantia ost disttimiliutn inter
:

unum

redacta concordia.

AH tor;

suaviter unifonniterque auribus

consonantia ost acuti soni gravinqno mtHtura,

Et contra diHsonantia <8t duortim

accidans.

ibimt permistorum ad aurom vonicns aspora attjuo iniucun<la

Consonantiam vero licet annum sonsus diiudlcet, ratio ianutn per
Quotions onim duae chordae intonduntur, et una ex his gravius, ltra

sonorum

p(ir*

cussio.

resonat, siniulquo pulnae roddunt poruiistiun quodammodf) et wtavmu

duac(|,uo voces in unum quasi eoniurietae coaloscunt, tune fit* oa <|aod dicitur
consonantia.
Cum voro shnul pulsis sibi quisquo contrairo nititur, n<ui pt*ruuHct*nt

ad aurein nuavem atquo nnum ex duobus compoHitinn nonmn, ttau* ei t|tuu>

DK Jfar monica Iwttittriiono, "to.
dieitur dissonantia/
Huebald (monk of St. Amand, bovn about 840) is even more explicit
Alhul
enhn et eonsonantia, aliud intovvalluiA*
Oonsonantiti Hiquidi^m ost dnorum
sonorum rata et concordabilis permixtio, qnae non alitcsr conHUi<l>it nisi duo altrui*
*

in unam simul modulation<^n eonvemant, tit fit <unm vtrilm

vox paritor aonuorint, vel etiam iu eo quod eotwiusto orgmusationom
fie Harmonica Institution*.
vocant.'
sociiH editi soni

puerilis

worthy of remark that the name here given by the Prankish writer to the
is, like that given to it by tho old Owiek,
an adaptation of the name of the instrument upon which it might be imitated
It

is

practice of symphonious singing

or accompanied.

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY

47

accident or pleasant trick of performance, but was beginning

to engage their serious attention

and

to reveal

of the important principles contained in

nition of

its

some glimpses

No

it.

formal recog-

methods, however, seems to have been accorded

end of the following century, when a writer, supposed

to be Otger or Odo 3 abbot of St. Pons de Tomieres in Provence,
until the

in a treatise called

Hucbald of

Musica Enchiriadis

(until lately ascribed to

Amand), fraakly accepts the whole system in

existing state as a part of music, and presents it in the
form of a completely regulated procedure.
commentary
St.

its

upon

this

exhibits

work, of similar date, called Scholia Enchiriadis,

of the same material in the form of a dialogue

much

between master and pupil,

in

simpler style and with more

numerous examples.

From

these sources

direction of

we

discover that the advance in the

Polyphony which

at this time

had already been

effected by practical musicians was even greater than might

have been supposed ; for not only is it evident that in addition

to the old magadized

and
in

fifth

octave the consonances of the fourth

were now sung in

two parts and

parallel

movement, both simply

and four

in various combinations of three

voices, but it appears that a

new and more complex kind

of

symphonious performance, in which concord is mingled with

discord, and in which the organizing voices may almost be
said to display a certain measure of independence^ was also
in use.

Moreover the view of consonance in which

it

is

seen as

consecutive sounds
existing rather between simultaneous than
is now firmly established and developed ; the consonances are
described under the

name

of symphonies

of the new view of them and of

their

to the practice of symphonious singing^

num

new

and the origin both

is

traced

is called

Orga-

designation

which

or Diaphony.

have often been made, and indeed even quite

between the things
recently, to establish a real distinction

Attempts

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

48

by these two names ; and this attempt has generally

been directed towards an expression of the difference existing
between that kind of music which was composed entirely of

signified

and that which admitted the presence of dissimilar concords and the union of concord with discord,, and

similar concords

sometimes one and sometimes the other has been called either

Diaphony but it must be said that in the works

of the old writers, from whom alone our knowledge of the
subject is derived, no such distinction is to be observed ;

Organum

or

indeed, these authors

are always

of misapprehension, to insist

most

upon the

careful, as

if

in fear

fact that both

names

signify the same thing, and that they are in fact nothing
more than alternative appellations of the music, of whatever

kind, which consisted in the symphonious utterance of separate

And indeed, for the contemporary musician, the
voices 1 .
difference between the
in

no respect

two kinds of music then prevailing was

names, the
it
nor
does
;
appear
invention the freer sort was considered as in

significant or suggestive of distinct

one kind arising naturally out of the other

that at

its first

intrinsically better or

any way

more agreeable

to the ear than

us, however, and from our present point of

parent.
view, a difference of the most vital kind is easily perceived ;

For

its

for while the strict kind of

Organum

or Diaphony

is

evidently

no more than a logical extension of the ancient practice of

id quo proprio

symphoniao dtcuntur

e-t

simt, id

C,H<J

qualiter

wuidm

Haoc numquo out quam

iuvicom canondo habeunt, proHoquamur.
Diaphoniaiu cantilonuxn, vol annuoto Organum, vocamuH.*- MUHIMI Hnrhinndw*
cap xiii.
Diaphonia- vocum disiuiictio Honat, quam no Organum vocamuK, cum
voces

soflo

'

dishmctao ab invieom voces ot concorditor

diBBonanfc, ot diBHOTuuitoH concordant.'-

*
Knt orgo IMaplwma anigrua vocuitt
ad minus per duos cfintanioH agltur; iia Hciruuit, ut alU>ro
rcctam modulationom ti'tionto, alter per alionon HOHOH apto circuiyii, ot in Hingulta
Qui canotidi
respivationlbuH ambo in oadom voc,6 v<d per diapaHon convoiiiant.
modtiH vulgax'ilor Organum dicitmr, oo quod vox humnna aptu diHHouanH Rimilt
tudinom oxprimat mstrumcnti quod Organum vocatw. Intorprutatur auiwn Oia-

Guido Aretinus,

Microloffusj

cap.

xvlii.

diesonautia, quac

pbonia dualiH vox vol diBSotiantia.' -lobannos Cotto, Mtui'tot, cap, xxiix, JiiMtonaniti
should bo mentioned, in those writers signifies nothing uioro than dissimilar in

it

sound.

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY
magadizing, in which the individual element
was overpowered by the collective element and

49
of Polyphony

sacrificed to

it,

in

the freer kind the individual element at

length receives
recognition, if not an opportunity for development.
The consonances or symphonies upon which the whole

system depended were six in number ; three simple, the Octave,

Fifth, and Fourth, and three composite, the double Octave,
the Octave with the Fifth, and the Octave with the Fourth.
Corresponding to these two kinds of symphonies or consonances the strict Organum or
Diaphony was also of two
kinds; simple, or consisting of the simple consonance sung
by two voices, and composite, in which one or both voices
were doubled at various intervals, thus
creating composite
consonances and different combinations of voices.

These methods may best be illustrated

by examples taken
from the Musica Enchiriadis and the Scholia Enchiriadis.
It

perhaps be assumed that the parallel movement of

no
separate exhibition, and we may proceed at once to consider

may

the simple consonances and of the double octave needs

an example of the composite Diaphony of the

it is

by

Fifth.

Here

to be observed that

the simple consonance first uttered

the vox principalis, singing the
melody or subject, and the

vox organalis, singing the accompaniment

in parallel

movement with the

the vox principalis

subject,

is

in the fifth

below

embellished in two

doubled at the octave below, and

the vox organatts at the octave above, thus at once
giving rise

ways

is

to three new intervals,

namely, the octave and the fourth,
which are now heard advancing in parallel movement both
above and below the original fifth, and the octave with the
fourth, which is perceived as existing between the extreme
voices.

It is of course obvious that

had an organum

of three

parts been desired one only of the original voices would have
been doubled, and the octave would then have been the limit-

ing interval of the composition ; this will be evident from the

arrangement of the brackets in our illustration.
WOOLDRIDGE

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

THE

COMPOSITE.

FIFTI1,

Fox organalis doubled

glo

ri

(Mus.

JBnchirictdis*')

y?-

-7*3

Sit

abow,

at the 8t>e

Bo

mi

ni

in

sao

cu

la

Fox principcdis.

rnrz
Sit

SIMPLE.

glo

ri

Do

mi

ni

in

sao

cu

la

ri

Bo - mi

ni

in

aao

cu

la

ni

in

sao

cu

Vox organalis*

Sit

glo

Vox principals doulled

at the

-jC2-_JCZII..C

Sit

glo

ri

Bo

mi

la

a
lae

ta

- bi

tur

Do

ini -

mis

IE

po

ri -

bun

BU

^
lae

ta

- bi

tur

J)o

mi

ims

in

lao

ta - bi

tur

Bo

mi

was

in

bio

ta

tur

Do

mi

nm

bi

in

po

po

po

is.

"'c? 11

ri -

bus

Ktt

IB.

ri -

bun

is.

ri -

btw

su

is,

In the case of the composite Diaphony of the Fourth the

doubling of the two original voiees at the Octave gives
the consonances of the Fifth

and Octave above and below

the simple Diaphonjr, the Octave with the Fifth being

perceived between the extreme parts.

now

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY
THE FOURTH, COMPOSITE.
Vox organalis

Tu pa

doubled, at the $ve above,

tris

sem

sem

sem

(Mis. Enchiriadis.}

ter

nus

es

fi

li -

us.

pi

ter

nus

es

fi

li -

us.

pi

ter

nus es

fi

li -

us.

fi

li -

us.

pi

Vox principalis.

THE

Tu

FOTTBTH,
SIMPLE.

pa

tris

Vox organalis.

Tu pa

tris

Vox principalis doubled at

Tu pa

tris

sem

pi

the Bve "below.

ter

nus es

question of considerable importance is raised by this

example. It will be observed that, as a result of the regular
movement of the Diaphony of Diatessaron,, the discordant
interval of the Tritone

Fourth

twice heard, sung between

will also be obvious that the
is

the two original voices, and it

interval of the Imperfect Fifth, although

it

did not occur in our

previous example, must be of equally possible occurrence in the

Diaphony of Diapente, for in that method F in the upper
voice must be accompanied by B \ in the lower as certainly as
B in the upper voice must in the Diaphony of Diatessaron be
fc|

accompanied by F in the lower. What then at this time, it

may be asked, was the method of dealing in performance with
Were they sung as they are written, or
these two intervals ?
were they made perfect by the substitution of Bb for B t), or was
the phrase containing them altered in some other manner ?
With regard to the treatment of the discord of the Imperfect Fifth,

mation

it

may

be answered,

the treatises

we

are without distinct infor-

from which we derive our knowledge of

E 2

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

52

Organum

or Diaphony do not clearly refer to the use of this

interval or to

any

difficulty

which might be

occurrence between two voices;

its

said to arise

indeed,

wo

from

are told on

the other hand not only that the Diaphony of Diapeate was
heard with pleasure 1 , but that it was regarded, from the point
of view of continuous consonance, as only second in perfection

With regard to the

treatment of the Tritone Fourth, however, we are not left in
doubt, except indeed with respect to the consistency of the
to the

symphony

of the octave

author of the EncMriadis

work he has

said of our

itself

for although in chap. xiv. of his

example of the Fourth composite that

the voices will be perceived as sounding agreeably together",

in chap. xvii. we are told that the symphony of Diutessaron,

regarded from the point of view of continuous consonance,

is, on account of the Tritone (which as we have seen occurs

our example), so defective as to be often quite unsuitable

In this point of view the
for Diaphony, without alteration.
in

Tritone, which

may occur

and impossible, and

its

in all scales,

avoidance

is

is

realised as discordant

regarded as a necessity.

Accordingly we find that when in the Diaphony of Diatessanm

the regular movement of the vox organalis would give rise to

movement is abandoned,
method adopted 4
method was based upon the facts which

the interval of the Tritone, regular

and an

alternative

This alternative

were understood as governing the existence of the Tritone.

For the writers of this period the interval arose out of the
rationibus lioo duae Bymphonioo

(ilia

composite form) variaH miflcont duiiuwjuo cantilenas/

u

doubled diuphoiiuni of the

Mtw. finch iritulht, cap. xiv,

Tgitur absolutisHnno in, diapason eymphouia maiorti jrao cactorta pcrfo-cUoue

Socunda ab hac cwt y;mphonia diapuuto/
diversae ad invicom voces resonant,
Ibid., cap. xvii.
8

Sontios liuiusinodi proportionmn voces S'uaviter

ad invicom

[Link]**

Ibid,,

cap. xiv.
4
'At in diatosnaron* quoniam non per mnnom Honortwn Auriom qimrtin locii
Ruaviter sibi plithongi concordant, idoo noc absolute ut in cttotnrin flyntphoniaca
oilitur cantilena.
Ergo in hoc gonoro cantiouin ua (juadaju lego vocibua vowa
divinitus accoimuodantur.'
Ibid., cap, xvii.

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY

53

conjunction of the minor third of one tetrachord with the major

second of another 1 , thus
:

I
t

The vox

organalis, therefore, can never go below the fourth

sound of the lower tetrachord.

In those cases in which the

vox principalis begins in such a manner that the vox organalis

cannot accompany at the Fourth without passing below this
fourth sound, then the vox organalis must begin upon the
same note as the principalis and hold it until it is possible to
follow the principalis at the Fourth; and in the same way
the organalis must also close in unison when the close of the
3
principalis will not admit of an accompaniment at the Fourth .

The method

well

is

shown

in the following

example

FREE ORGANUM; THE FOURTH, SIMPLE.

Vox

(Mus. Enchiriadis.*)

principalis.

\
Ilex

coe

li

Bo

mi

no

ma

ris

tin

di

so

ni

'
1
Per omnem cnim sononxm serietn tritus subqnartiis (the tnird sound of the
lower tetrachord) doutero (the second sound of the tetrachord next ahove) solus a
solus diatessaron symphoniae
symphonia deficit, ct inconsonus ci efficittir, eo quod
niensuram oxcodens, tribus integris tonis a praefato sono elongatur, cui extat

subquartus.'
2

scale,
it

Mus. Enchiriadis, cap.

xvii.

remembered that in the lowest tetrachord of the Graeco-Syrian

was flat ; in the Greek scale
apparently still in use at this time, the B

It will he

was natural,

vocatur
'Quapropfcer et vox, quae organalis dicitur, vocem alteram, quae
ut in quolibet tetrachordo, in qualibet
coniitari
modo
eo
solet,
principalis,
3

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

54

Ti

ta

ni

nis

ti

di

squa

li

di

so

quo

li

I
Te ku

mi

(lino,

qui tofcrardo OHt

*

Ad

les

vorao,

oi"

fa

mu -

fla-gi-tant

division

HubHCiCxindtis.*

(JIBew?

coeli,

xao

va

du

Us ve

of the song*),

<fec.),

no-ran-do

pi

ma-lw.

ncc infra tctrarduxu

triti

soni

- in

sonnm

mcoiiKomintia,

cap. xvii.

facile aontitur,

&c. ot Titanic nUidi,

li-bo-ra-ro

- TI - IB

bfuit. JSnchiriaditi t

hanc doscriptionum canondo

iiionibfid

li

ncc inclioationo Icvotur, obatanto

doHcoudflit poaitionc,
1

iu-bo-aB

So

partictila

quomodo

si(;ut finl>txiH

in descriptiB

dnobuH

ti<wtrduin HOUUIII,

vox roaponsuiu incipcrc 11011 potent, ita Htibtus (xm<Unti non vakst
positions progrodi, ot ob hoe in iixxalitato poBitioimm a voco princlpali occu))otur,
in utmtn convcniant, qnod modo altiora, nxodo 8uxuxuiHxora loca,
xxt axnboo
organalifii

otganiwn potat.'
M

'

Ibid., cap. xvii.

Quomadniodum

in

totrardutn C, arcbounx

bixxis
1),

priorxbus tnombriH, prixnao twin Hyllabac^ q\mc Honant

roHponntxiu orgauah) Hub totrardo non

dunterum M,

habcnt, videlicet proptor douteri soni incouNonantiam ad Hontnn trittnn, qui

tetrardo oat flubccnudus ; sic et in soquontibus hia comxuatibuH (2^ humiltw, &,c,^
6 So vwbvas,
&.), dum oxcelBioris oxstcnt Uwatiouin ac, poHitioniH, colniori qucxjuo
loco,

oadom

lego et

organum

noquxt, fled
invouxt.'

coarctatur.

Similitor

oxixxxx

in tribtiH priticipalibnn

0, arclxoo A, deuioro B, vox organalis rite nub tetwirdo

moram in oodoxn ag-it, dum in subBOCundo OIUB ratuxn runponsum

HOUXH, tctrardo

Ibid., cap, xviii.

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY
It

may

55

be observed that sometimes, as an alternative

method,

the lower voice takes the

major third or the perfect fifth to the
B 3, as here, at the words famuli, flagitant, modulis, and variis.

In addition to the foregoing example the author

gives, as
a further illustration of the influence of the Tritone
upon the
of the
Diaphony of Diatessaron, a number of
transpositions

chant-fragment Tu Patris, &c., as follows

TONTJS PEOTTJS.

Tu

pa

tris

sem

pi

ter

nus

es

fi

li

us.

With respect to this example it is pointed out that,

although
a consonant opening is possible, a
corresponding treatment of
the close is out of the question, owing to the occurrence of E
in the melody, to

which the organal response

TONTJS DETTTBETTS

Tu

pa

- tris

is

Bb.

(playalis).

sein

pi

ter

nus

es

fi

li

us.

Here is shown the proper treatment of the organal response,

which cannot proceed regularly either at the opening or at the
close.

TOKTJB TBITUB.

In

Tu

pa

this

mode, we are

tris

sem

pi

told,

ter

nus

es

fi

no organal response

li

us.

is possible,

probably because of the occurrence of the Tritone between

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

56

the reciting note of the melody and an

accompaniment in the
fourth below.
TETRABBTTS.

'T\i

pa

sem

tria

pi

tor

iras

os

fl

11

us.

Here the response cannot

conveniently descend at all into
its proper
region, the second note in the opening and the last
note but one before the close
involving- the discordance of the

Tritone

if

strictly

accompanied.

The proper treatment

is

shown.

Such then are the views of the author of Musica EncUrmdis

with respect to the symphony of Diatessaron and to the manner
of dealing with the false interval of the Tritone which is
peculiar
it.
He recognizes the discordance of the Tritone as the
cause of a distinct inferiority in the
symphony of Diatcssaron
as compared with those of
and
Diapente
Diapason, and he lays
down the rules of a method which avoids the use of the offend-

to

ing interval.
It is

worthy of remark that the author of the commentary

called Scholia Mnchiriadis, while also

recognising the inferiority
of the symphony of Diatcssaron from the
point of view of
parallel singing, and adopting the rules already given for
the treatment of Diaphony in that
interval, assigns a different reason for the freedom of the vox
He
orgunalis.

makes no mention of the Tritone, but on the other hand

draws our attention to the fact that whereas
of Diapason both voices

in the

symphony

are

singing absolutely in the same

mode and in the symphony of Diapente almost
absolutely
so, in that of Diatessaron the difference of mode is obvious

and

unmifltakeablej

priety

of

this

and

we

combination

learn
of

that

two

it

is

different

the

impro-

modes

or

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY

57

species of the scale, throughout the whole of a composition.,

in his view gives rise to the
necessity for a free treat-

which

ment 1
It

would appear from

when

this treatise that

strictly parallel

fourths are given in the

contemporary works as examples of
the composite Diaphony of Diatessaron
they must be considered

either

as

or

merely theoretical

method which was already

passing out

as

representing a
for in the

of

use.,

combinations exhibited in the author's own

illustrations of

the treatment of this interval the vox

organalis is always, and
its reduplication
often, free; this will be evident from the
following selected specimens

THE FOURTH, SIMPLE.

Vox principals.

Nos

(ScMia EncMriadis.)

vi

qui

vi

mus be

ne

di

ci

mus Bo

mi-

Quare in Biatessaron symplionia vox organalis sic absolute

voce principalj non potest, sicut in sympnoniis aliis? Magister.
Quoniam, ut dictum est, per quartanas regiones non iidem tropi reperiuntur,
Discipulus.

eonvenire

cum

diversorumque troporum modi per totum simul ire nequeunt^ ideo in diatessaron
symphonia non per totum vox prmcipalis voxque organalis quartana regione
consentiunt.

troporum

sit

Discipulus.

Velleni quoque dinoscere,

genus dissimile

Magister.

quomodo per quartana loca

sive enim uno tono

!Facile id senties

altius transpoaatur, seu quarto loco inferius,, modus diversi tropi aperto auditu
fit discermbilis.
Canatur ad infra scriptum modum :

'Discipulus.

Biscerno plane,

bane transpositione

transire.'

tonum autentum protum

Sc?iolia Enchiriadis.

in

autentum deuterum

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

mine

hoc

ox

ex

_ .9

^,

et

us

nunc

hoc

us

et

in

que

sac

cu

lum.

sae

cu

lum.

^_
-

in

que

THE FOURTH, COMPOSITE.

;

nrganaUs doubled

$ve above.

at the

(Scholia JSnchirictdis.)

:.j>i

..^

r.

Nos
Vox

^ mus

vi

vi

nxus

be

ne

- <li

ci -

Do -

qui

vi

vi

tans

be

no

di

- ci -

mus Do -

ini

qui

vi

vi -

mus

"bo

ne

di - ci

mun Do

mi - nuiu

qui

ini -

principal-is.

Nos

miua

Fox organaUs.

3Sfos

ex

hoc

nunc

ct

ua

quo

ex

hoe

nunc

ot

us

quo

ox

hoc

nunc

efc

us

quo

sac

cu

lum.

in

aae

cu

lum,

in

sao

cu

lum.

in

~C7

The

following example

is

especially interesting, since

it

con-

an alteration not only in the

in
but
the
oryanalUy
reduplication of the prindpatts also

tains, if the notes given are correct,

B 1? in Gorbort, but it scorns inoro probable that C vfw

other examples. The printing o* thcso specimens in Gorbert is

* ThoBo four notes are

intended, a

iti

th

often far from correct.

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY

59

THE FOURTH^ COMPOSITE.

Vox

principalis.

JSfos

(Scholia Bnchiriadis,}

ex

hoc

nunc

ex

hoc

nunc

ex

hoc

nunc

mus

vi - vi -

qui

et

us

C*
et

C?
us

que

et

us

que

que

-<je5>-

ne

be

mus Do

- ci -

di

cu

in

sae

1^-

--

in

sae

cu

in

sae

cu

-^>-

mi - num

lum.

--

luin.

lum.

THE FOURTH, COMPOSITE.

Vox principalis doubled

Nos
Vox

qui

vi

at the Sve.

vi

mus be

(Scholia EncMriadis.)

ne

di

ne

di

ne

ci -

mus Do

mi -num

organcdis doubled at the 8fe.

Kos

qui

vi

vi

mus be

ci

mi-num

mus Do

mus Do

mi-num

mus Do

mi-num

Vox principalis.

&IIZQ

:gg^g:i^:ir3!s^^

__,

_^

"Nbfl

Vox

qui

vi-mus be

vi -

vi-mus be

vi

di - ci

Q-^^ng^izsEz:

organalis.

g.

ie
Nos
* Thus in Gerbert.

qui

ne

di

- ci -

It is of course possible that this is

passage should repeat the upper principalis exactly.

a mistake, and that the

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

60

The

ex

hoc

nunc

et

us

que

in.

sae

cu

luin.

ex

hoc

nunc

et

us

que

in

sao

cu

lum.

date at which the free kind

developed from

the

method^ arising as

it

Organum was

of

first

unknown^ but its

does out of inconveniences due entirely
strict

is

of

course

It has hitherto been generally supposed that the free Organum was entirely
confined to the simple or two- voiced form, and that the treatment of the composite
forms was Ktrictly parallel ; even M, Gevacrt, in the chapter upon Organum and
1

Diaphony included

as

au appendix in hi* M'.!o$e Antique,

dr..,

1895

(in

which he

also attempts to asMign a different signification to each of thene terms), KOOIUH to

*
Oit&AOTM proprenutnt dit, une [Link]
countenance the notion in his definitions
:

h dcMx wix, cowpofioo

(iwttrc

wfo former

curious error

in

d'tntftrvctllGt*

siwuUanvs divors ;

I/A

PTAI'HONH?

probably to be found in

M.

fa

d&wx

trots

ou

The

origin oC this
de CouHttomakor'K JZiuwowvj sur ffmbald,

tl'uno succession de consonances icknttquc.^

Paris, 1841, in which he has wrongly translated the examples just given above
in the text, exhibiting tlicm as strictly parallel thro'ity/iout.
Neither the examples

themnelvcB as given in the original treatiHO, nor thc% old writer 'H [Link] description
of which they are illuKtrations, present any difHcnlty whatever ; wo can thenrfore
only suppose that in dealing with this part of the Mubjcct, M. de CouHnemaker,

having read IIIH author with less attention than uBual, asaumed that the parallelism
of the Organuni of the Octave and Fifth, which in in fact Htrict, wan continued in
that of the Fourth, and that he thus wrote mechanically, without reference to the
text of the Scholia,, examples which ho unfortunately declares to bo thone actually
given as illustrations in that work. Thowc misleading example of the Menwiw
ur Ilucbald were reproduced without alteration by M. do CoxiRBemaker in his
et SGS Trails,, Paris, 1845 (P), and again in his very important //Moire
I'MarmoniQ au Moyen Age^ Paris, 1852, which has ever since been universally
accepted, and upon the whole with good reason, as the highest autliority upon its

IXucbald
d<i

subject.

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY
to the nature of the scale,

may

61

very well be of almost equal

Indeed, if the

age with that of the purely parallel movement.

passage so often quoted from the Divisio Naturae of

Scotus Erigena 1 can be supposed to throw light upon the
subject,, it would seem that the free Organum of the Fourth
difficult

may already have been in existence about the middle of the

ninth century, that is to say, about one hundred and fifty
years before the probable date of the Enchiriadis ; for the
writer's

description

of the

alternate

separation

and coming

the voices

quite admits of application to this

method. Apart from this doubtful passage, however, there
seems to be no actual reference to the free Organum until

together of

the period at which we have now arrived, when it was described

as a part of the general account of Organum in the treatises
which have just been considered.

Two other works of this date ought to be mentioned a

MS. now in the Cathedral Library at Cologne 2, and another
which in some MSS. of the Enchiriadis that of Paris for
instance

takes the place of the chapters

xiii.

to xviii.

which

were printed in the editions of Gerbert and de Coussemaker 3 .

In these works the free Organum, of the Fourth is chiefly
discussed, and by the author of the Paris MS. the organizing
of the Fifth

is

not allowed; in most respects, however, they

we have examined

conform so closely to the treatises which

that

it

has not been thought necessary to describe them.

possess of the methods of

The next account which we

or Diaphony is contained in the Micrologus of

Guiclo of Arezzo, written about one hundred years later than

Organum

the Scholia Enchiriadis, during the

first half,

that

is

to say,

1
conficitur dam
Organicum melos ex diversis qualitatibus et quantitatibus
viritim separatinxqtte sentiuntur voces longe a se discrepantibiis intensionis et
remissionis proportionibus segregatae dum vero sibi invicem coaptantur secundum
certas rationabilesqiie artis musicae regulas per singulos tropos naturalem quandam

dulcedinem reddentibus.
2

See Eucbaltfs Echte und uwchte Schriften, &c. 9 by Hans Miiller, 1884.

Cousse. Script,

ii.

74.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

6a

In the system described in this work

of the eleventh century.

no very great progress beyond the former one

We

is

apparent,

note, for instance,, that the old strict forms of

may

com-

posite Diaphony were evidently still held in some esteem,, for

Guido mentions three as in use in his time, and these appear

from

and from a single example

his description

known forms
voices

moreover,

it

all

Guido adds that the reduplications

may

in

all

cases be

carried

possibilities of the material

use,

is

events not in theory,

of the simple

out to the

full

Diaphony

extent of the

1
.

Diaphony was still at this time in

both by Guido and by others it was
antiquated, and that the free kind was altogether

But although the

it

be the well-

Diaphony
would seem that musicians were not

confined to these three forms, or at

for

to

of Diatessaron for three

of the strict

strict

clear that

considered as

This preference marks the advance, real though

small, which had been made during the century which had
elapsed since the time of Otger ; for while formerly musicians

preferred.

had perceived

freedom of Diaphony only the advantages

for the* sake of which it had been invented, means, that is to
in the

say, of avoiding certain inconsonances

were now inclined to see in

definitely preferred it for its

and inconveniences, they

intrinsic merits, and

it

distinct

own

sake 2

so that its rules

were

now no

longer merely sufficient for the avoidance of the Tritonc

or of the parallelism of two different modes, but were also,
though very tentatively, directed towards the production of
a series of combined sounds, not necessarily concords, of which

the ear might approve and of which apparently

the principal judge.

With
in the

1 e

respect to the

newer or

Potes et cantum

care per diapason;

aptatio non
2

Superior

was

to

be

number of voices employed at this time

kind of Diaphony, it may be said that

cum organo

ubicumque

cfissabit.*

free

it

et

organum cum

cmm

cantxi,

quantum

eius concordia fuorit, dicta

libuorit, dupli-

symphoiiiarum

Hicrologus, cap. xviii.

nempe diaphoniae modus durus

est, noster

veto wollte/

Ibid.

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY

63

although the very concise directions given by Guido refer

entirely to the conduct of the organal voice, and the examples
are in two parts only, nothing prevents the supposition that
the doubling of parts at the octave was practised in this as
well as in the strict or parallel form; Guido nowhere forbids

and indeed the manner, for instance, in which he passes

from the discussion of the strict Diaphony to consider the
it,

freer kind

seems almost to imply that the two were by no

f
totally distinct.
Having now/ he says in effect,

means
*

sufficiently explained the duplication of the voices,

treat

more

particularly of

lower (or organal) voice 1 /

we may

our method of dealing with the

Moreover, we have already seen

that the practice of doubling the parts in free Diaphony was

apparently common in the time of Otger, and it is difficult
to suppose that a method which had been firmly established

one hundred years previously, a method based upon existing

principles and at the same time in no way opposed to the
natural progress and development of the art, should have
been discontinued in the time of Guido.
Passing however from this point, which is perhaps not very
important, we may go on to consider the method of treating
the organal voice which

given in the Micrologus.

The symphony of the Fourth is still the foundation of the
free Diaphony, and it now moreover constitutes the extreme
limit of separation

is

between the voices 2,

for the perfect fifth

which we have seen in the older music

is no longer allowed.
those
were used and those
both
which
intervals,
which were neglected, are the same as before, but a change

The remaining

'Cum

itaque iam satis

vocum

patefacta

sit

duplicatio,

gravcm a canente

The
Micrologus, cap. xviii.
succentum, more quo nos utimur, explieemus.'
expression 'more quo nos utixnur/ and also another already quoted, 'nosier vero
mollis/ may refer either to the
to the Italian as distinguished

modern as opposed to the ancient practice,

from the Northern or Prankish methods

or
of

organizing.
a

'Cum

plus diatessaron seitmgi non liceat, opus est, cum plus se cantor
G sequatur F, et J> sequatur (?, et

intenderit, subsecutor ascendat, ut videlicet

sequatur

a, et

reliqua/

Micrologus, cap. xviii.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

64

if*

of considerable importance in the point of view from which

they are to he considered has taken place; for whereas

formerly they were unnamed and regarded as chance juxtapositions of the voices due to the conduct of the lower voice
in ohedience to a certain rule, they are

character and receive their

true

difference moreover are

points of

some extent the subject

to

now

proper
studied,

seen in their

appellations

their

and they hecome

of choice 1 .

Nevertheless the actual existence of these intervals

is

still

due, as before, to the observance

by the lower voice of that

rule of practice which forbids its descent below a certain
note of the tetrachord governing the melody or any particular
section of

it

which

may

be in question.

It will

be remembered

that the notes indicated by this rule in the time of Otger were

in the upper tetrachord

and

in the lower,

and that they

were then the fourth sounds of their respective tetrachords.

The system of tetrachords which explains this has already been

shown

and an excellent example of the application

under the old conditions was given in the two-

(p. 53),

of the rule

part composition

Re%

coeli

Domine, where for instance, in the

iubeas flagitant

is seen as governed
concluding
by the upper tetrachord and variis liberare malis by the lower,

sections, se

the vox organalis in neither case descending below the fourth

sound. But the tetrachords implied in Guidons Diaphony

arranged in a different manner from those of his pre-

are

decessors

thus

they are conjunct, and their scale begins upon

2
,

ZZ2I

=21

Semitonium et diapente non adimttimus ; tonmn vero et ditoirum

(the
et semiditonum (the minor third)
recipmms; sod serniditonura in

major third)

his mfimatiim, diatessaron vero obtinet principatum/

Micrologus, cap. xviii,
2
In Guide's time musicians had returned to the Greek scale, in which the

is

natural.

low

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY
The lower
tetrachord

and C 1

is

limit

now

therefore

the

From this it would seem

now nothing to do with
or

the

organal voice in each

sound,, and the notes are F

third

has

of

65

that the risk of a Tritone Fourth

the prohibition of a descent below

respectively, nor indeed does Guido mention either

that

explanation of the rule or the reason given by the

author of the Scholia Enchiria&is, the
creation, that is to

say, of

parallel

modes of

different

character by the use of

continuous fourths; he puts forward in fact, as

presently see, another explanation altogether, based

we

shall

upon the
manner if the

impossibility of closing in unison in a proper

rule be not observed.

It is certainly a curious circumstance that the three writers

who have

given reasons for this

rule of not
passing

below

certain sounds differ entirely from each other in their

explanations of its necessity, and we are
tempted to inquire whether
the rule may not perhaps have been much older than the

explanations, existing as a tradition of performance, and presenting to the theorists a phenomenon for which
felt

they

themselves bound to give a musical reason.

of view we must not omit a notice of the

M.

Gevaert (Melopee Antique,

tenth century
of the cithara.

found in

<&c.,

And
fact,

in this point

mentioned by

Appendix) that in the

C was

the lowest note both of the

organ and
possible key to the puzzle may perhaps be

circumstance, but it must be remarked that

might account for the rule as regards C, it will not
apparently help us to understand the frequent avoidance of
a descent below G or F.

although

this

it

Returning, however, to the methods of Guido

we

find that his

practical instructions, as a whole, relate partly to the means

of avoiding this passage of the lower voice below the Tritus or

third sound,
1

licet/

and partly

to the formation of closes.

A trito enim infimo aut infiinis proxiine

MicrologuSj cap. xviii.

WOOLDRIDGE

T?

substitute deponi

These

organum

may

mmquam

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

66

perhaps best be shown in his

as follows

own examples

of their application

_^>_

Yic

tor

seen

- lis

coe

dit

tin

-de

do

seen

dct.

In this example, in Mode VIII, the melody, ranging almost

entirely above the final, G, is governed by the tetrachord to
which
belongs, and the organal voice is careful not to

We

descend below the third sound of that tetrachord, F.

may
also note that in the occursus, or coming together of the
parts at the end, the unisons upon the two closing notes of
the melody (which are also apparent in several sections of the

former example Rex coeli Domine), are disguised by delaying

the passage of the lower voice 1
In the following example,
however, which is in Mode IV., the older method is adopted.
.

Ho - mo

rat

in

le

ru

sa

1cm.

Ic

ru

sa

1cm,

o
The

variant

effect of

coming

the voices

An

is

given by Guido in order to show the pleasant

to the unison

by way of a major third between

2
.

important example

the office of St. Agnes, in

is

a Diaphony upon the antiphon for

Mode

Cum occursus fit tono, diutinus fit tenor finis, nt i partim sulbscquatur, (it
partim concinatur.' Micrologus, cap. xviii.
a e
Ecce distinctio in deutero E, in qua ditoni occursus, vel simplex vol interimssu8>
1 c

placet/

Ibid.

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY

Ip

si

so

ser

li

In Guidons comment upon the

first

vo

fi

67

section of this

dem

example

he gives his reason for refusing to descend below the Tritus C.

He says that when the melody falls to C, a close in which the
lower voice should move upwards to that note is not possible^
because the occur sus cannot proceed by way either of a tone
or major third with the upper voice, but only by the semitone
or minor third, which are not allowed 1 .
His difficulty may be
illustrated thus:

Guidons reasons would seem to require further explanation.

It is sufficiently clear, however, that for

him

it is

the

which

and we must suppose, since

note from Guido's point of view is

creates the necessity for the rule,

no other objection

to this

obvious, that the

real

'

leading
1

'

quality.

cause of

its

This, however,

unsuitability lay

Guido does not

in

its

say, nor

Ecce finis distinctionis in trito C, a quo non deponinrus organum, qnia non
sub se tonum vel ditonum, quibus fit occursus, sed habet semiditomim, per

haliet

quern non fit occnrsus/ Micrologus, cap. xviii.

*
Occursus'tono melius fit, ditono non adeo, semiditonoque

nunquam/

Ibid.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

68

does he apply his objection to the corresponding note E in the

tetrachord next above, which renders the occursus from below

upon F equally

impossible.

This kind of omission, perhaps not always unintentional,, is

rather characteristic of Guidons comments upon his illustra-

With

tions.

respect, for

to

instance,

the second

and

third

which we are now examining, we may

final notes are
perhaps suppose that the manner in which the
accompanied is due to the fact that the closes are of a light
sections of the example

and passing character but we receive no information on this

point from Guido 5 he merely indicates the fact that the lower
voice moves chiefly in fourths, and that the parts do not come
'The Diaphony of Diatessaron/ he says, f is here
together.
:;

y
With respect to the last
more pleasing than the occur$us.
section no difficulty arises, and we are content to be told to
notice the close upon the final of the mode, and the satisfactory

manner

in which the occursus

is

conducted by the interval of

a tone between the voices.

The examples which remain

to

noticed

In the

especially to exceptions or licenses.

we may

be

first,

refer

in

more

Mode

I,

observe an instance of the forbidden descent of the

organal voice below the Tritus C. No reason is given or

excuse offered, but Guido points out that the voice after this

escapade to

A returns

at once to

in order to secure a proper

position in the approaching occursus.

Vc

- ixi

ad

do

cen

dum

nos

vx

am

pru dea

- ti -

ao

=
The
is to

timely arrival of the organal voice upon the note which

form the lower member of the occursus is also seen in the

following example, in

Mode VI

but a more striking feature

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY
of this close

Tritus

touches

69

the maintenance of the organal voice upon the

is

while the melody in its long concluding flourish

the corresponding note in the lower tetrachord,

Tritus C.

gsE
:

ta

ho

ra

se-dit su-per

pu-te-um

BE

_22I

more remarkable instance

of this

last

which

device,, in

held throughout upon the Tritus F> while the

plagal melody pursues its course both above and below and
the Tritus C 3 is next
finally ends in the lower tetrachord upon

the

Organum

given.

is

From

Guidons

comment upon

it,

joined to

some pre-

gather that the melody in such cases was

to be sung very quickly, and that no pause suggestive of a
1
melodic close was to be made until the final occursus .

vious remarks^

Sex

ta

we

lio

ra

se

dit su

per
I

p=3
c_i

These

last

pu-te-mn

&

<~2 -

.:____:!_-

&

F^
HM

Ln

7""

r^T"
,,m

and may
us the actual contemporary method of

two examples are extremely

interesting,

possibly present to
organizing the more florid figures of ecclesiastical melody.
Guidons final example, which he describes as being in

VI, illustrates a method of closing suitably from below

the
upper C, by the use of the tetrachord synemmenon,
upon

Mode

1 *
Saepe autem cum inf eriores trito voces cantor admiserit, organum suspension
tenenras in trito ; tune vero opus est ut in inferioribus distinctionem cantor non
trito redeundo subfaciat, sed discurrentibus cum celeritate vocibns praestolanti

veniat, et suuni et illius facta in superioribus distinctione repellat/

cap. xviii.

Micrologust

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

?o

*
giving B b in the lower voice ; his illustration, therefore., is
written in the upper octave, to which in the Greek scale the

alternative

Bb

belongs, instead of in the lower, as

is

usual with

him.

Ve

ni

te

do

mus.

re

Guidons examples,, and his comments upon them, have here

beeil exhibited at some length., in order to establish,, as clearly
as

may

be, the truth of the statement

made

above, namely, that

the free Diaphony was in the beginning of the eleventh century

already preferred for its own sake, arid that the ear was now

And

in fact often the real judge of its success.

we may

this

gather not only from the character of the examples themselves,

but also from the nature of such rules as are given ; for these
are

chiefly

practical,

and, unlike

the

of

rules

the strict

Diaphony which depended upon the old established concords,

based upon no apparent theoretical principle. The ex-

are

them which are attempted are generally vague

and obscure, and even when definite seldom convince us of the
planations of

necessity of the course prescribed.

we can

fully support

feeling

They

see, the rules of a practitioner,

them by an appeal

among men

are in fact, so far as

who can only

to custom,

and

success-

to the general

of experience that in given circumstances

certain combinations will

sound better than certain others.

Regarded in this point of view, Guidons examples and comments would seem to reveal a period of considerable musical
activity of the most promising character, and it might well
be supposed that some further manifestation of the free system

displayed in the Micrologus

sympathy with the beautiful

a system apparently so
florid ecclesiastical

much

melody

in

would

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY
soon have become evident ;

it

might

71

also even be conceived as

by means of successive improvements in this

system the contrapuntal music of later times might suitably
have been developed. But, as a matter of fact, it would
possible that

appear that the actual course of events was by no means such

as we might have expected ; for
already in the works of the

upon Organum who come immediately after Guido

no trace of either of the systems exhibited
by him is to be
writers

found

;
they disappear in fact entirely, and the system which
takes their place is now based
upon a principle unrecognized
and
a
by Guido,
presents
totally new appearance.

This circumstance, which comes upon us with the force of

a surprise, is at first sight somewhat difficult of
explanation.
Yet in the point of view from which we regard the art of

Music we

should

assume, as a probable reason for this

abandonment of Guido's systems, that the path of actual
progress did not lie in the direction which they indicate;

and

which

this assumption,

know

is

in accordance with

all

that

we

of the history of art of all kinds, will in fact be found

to be sufficiently justified if we
shortly examine the nature
of the change which took place and of the
principles which
were involved in it.

Hitherto

we have

regarded the two systems of

Organum

or

Diaphony, the strict and the free, chiefly from the point of
view of the intervals employed ; and we have seen that, while
the strict sort was based entirely upon the traditional concords,
the freer kind admitted sounds which
formerly had been held
to be impossible, because discordant.
have seen, more-

We

over, that in the strict

Organum

the voices were confined in

each composition to one kind of concord, which was sung

under the melody and moved with it continuously throughout,

and that

in the free

sort the introduction of the discordant

sounds among the concords created new and various intervals

between the voices. But we have now to take xiotice of the
fact,

with respect to the free Diaphony, that in addition to

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

72.

the novelty of the mutual situations caused by the hitherto

untried intervals, a new relation of another kind was established between the parts
their

only

possible

method gave
case,

rise

for whereas

progression

was

in the older

newer
and even in one

parallel,

to an oblique movement,,

method

where the oceursus was made by a major

the

third, to

Of these two movements the oblique,

contrary movement.
it
out
as
does
of the characteristic rule of not
arising
passing
below certain
the

parallel.,

sounds,,

is

in fact,

characteristic

and may be said

to

still

though

feature of

mingled with

the free

Diaphony,

be firmly established in that system;

the contrary movement, on the other hand,

is

foreign to the

systems which we have already examined, and is indeed rather

discouraged than otherwise by Guido, who, even when he
admits it, recommends another way of closing as preferable.

The sudden appearance

therefore of the new system which

succeeded
that
of Guido, and in which, as we
immediately
shall see, the influence of the parallel and
oblique movements

minimum and the contrary movement is

the
apparent
leading principle and characteristic feature,
is indicative of a change of the
highest importance in musical
is

reduced to a
as

thought, and marks the beginning of an entirely new view of

the possibilities of the material of part music ; a
view, in
fact,

not suggested by either of the systems

displayed by Guido,

and revealing principles which his methods of

composition
could not from the nature of the case
supply.
Moreover, since
we have seen that the path of progress in
Polyphony must be
considered to lie along that line which tends towards the
preservation of a balance between

the individual clement or

element of variety, and the collective element or element of
unity,

ficial

we must

regard the change of system as entirely benesymphonious singing, because completely

to the art of

destructive of the crashing domination of the collective element

as seen in the strict method of
For the oblique
organizing.
movement of the free Diaphony,
it established the

though

ORGANUM OR DIAPHONY

.73

recognition of the Individual element in Polyphony and gave

rise to a certain measure of progress, was still but an offshoot
of the continuous parallelism of ancient times,, and is therefore
expressive only of a partial independence insufficient for the

development of music ; in the principle of the contrary

movement, on the other hand, and in the unfettered variety of
the vocal progressions to which it gives rise, we recognize the
declaration of individual freedom in the largest measure com-

full

Hence its immepatible with respect for the general law.

diate triumph and supersession of the former system, and
assumption of

its

an

authority which

was

thenceforward

complete.

With

the death of Guido, therefore, about 1050,, and the

new principle of the contrary movement, the

advent of the
first

may

period of part music, the period of Organum or Diaphony,

Its chief task, the first
be said in fact to be closed.

composition from the bonds of the strict

continuous consonance of one kind inherited from the Greeks,
had been accomplished, and the cultivation and development
of the more fruitful elements which had been evolved in the

liberation of the

course of the work were

now

to

be undertaken, upon fresh

/methods, by the succeeding generations.

CHAPTER V
THE NEW ORGANUM AND THE TRANSITION TO

MEASURED MUSIC
ALTHOUGH we may no

dotibt safely conclude, with respect

the new Organum, that it was
of
sources
the original
derived from the free species of the Fourth which was con-

to

sidered in our last chapter, the complete process by which

the actual transition was effected is not only unknown to us,,

but

is

also at first sight

somewhat

difficult to

imagine.

The

in fact very considerable, partly on account of the

difference of principle which., as we have already seen,

change was

wide

between the old and the new kinds of vocal progression,

and partly from the absolute novelty of the symphonious relation now established between the voices; for, as we shall
exists

presently see, the combination of dissonant intervals with consonance of one kind, which constituted the characteristic and
important feature of the older free Organum, entirely dis-

appears in the new system, and gives place to a carefully

Considered
varied mixture of all the traditional concords.
as a whole, therefore, no method could well be more different
from another than the method of the new system from that
of the older one, and we must deplore the absence of the few
links in the chain of description and example which are needed
to

make

clear to us the intermediate phases of so

a development.

remarkable

THE NEW ORGANUM

Our

75

inability to trace the actual process of transition

the old to the

new Organum

from

not due, as might perhaps be

supposed, to the absence of musical treatises during the tranis

but rather to a complete silence with

respect
branch of the subject.
Berno, for instance,, Aribo
Scholasticus, and William of Hirschau, the writers upon music
sitional period^

to this

who immediately

succeeded Guido, all agree in the omission of

account
of
the methods of Organum,, as if indeed it formed
any
in their opinion no true
part of music at all.
The reason for this momentary reaction, for such

seem

to

be,,

from the

warm

interest in

would

it

the subject which

is

evident in Guido, is not

very apparent'; but whatever the
reason may have been, the silence of these writers
deprives
us of the assistance which we have been accustomed hitherto
to receive in a
complete description of contemporary methods
and a full explanation of their purpose. Indeed, we should be
left in

entire

ignorance with respect to the development of

symphonious singing between the date of Guidons death and

the beginning of the twelfth
century, were it not that we are
fortunately able to turn to a few specimens of the work of that
period, composed with a view to practice and quite apart from
theory, from which we may learn something.

Of

these

Organum

the most important perhaps for the

history of

are contained in an

English

MS. known

as the

Winchester Troper, now in the library of

Corpus Christi
College, Cambridge, and dating probably from 1080 at the
certain kyries, alleluias,
latest, in which some of the pieces

and other portions

of the divine service, are

shown

in

two

parts.

Unfortunately the music is noted in neumes, without stave or

clef, a circumstance which renders an exact translation in
full impossible;

but the

MS.

is

useful notwithstanding for our

parallel, oblique, and contrary

be perfectly discerned in it, in situations similar to those which they might occupy in the free

present purpose,

movements can

Organum

since

the

all

of the Fourth, as

we have

seen

it

in the Enchiriadis

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

76

The

and the Scholia.

chief

not at the

closes,

as

MS.

however, of the

Interest,

resides in certain passages of contrary

movement, appearing

had been usual

hitherto,

but

in

the

course of the sentences, and displaying a more elaborate and

extended form than that of the old occursus. The most disthese, perhaps, is contained

tinct of

first

a composition

in

with

text, beginning Alleluya ymera agias/ where the two

5
'
syllables of the word ethnike are treated in the following

Greek

manner

Vox

principalis.

cth

The

actual position of the organal passage in the scale

cannot at present be determined, and the notes have therefore

been shown without a

clef

there can be no doubt, however,

with respect to the fact of contrary movement of a new

kind.
It is to

be hoped that notwithstanding the

stand in the

way

that,

among

which

of translation, the exact nature of the musical

contents of this valuable

become more

difficulties

clear to us

other results,

MS. may
and

the course of time

in

in that case

we may be

it is

not impossible

able to establish, through

the Troper, some connexion between the Organum which

we have already seen and another very remarkable kind^

apparently quite independent of

in the remaining specimens

of

rule,

the

which

practical

is

exemplified

work

of this

period to which reference has been made, and from which

probably the method afterwards called discant, and therefore

the whole of

But the

polyphonic music, was subsequently derived.

consideration of these questions

must be postponed

THE NEW ORGANUM

for the present,

77

and our attention must be given to the new

Organum which appears in the

development of the learned

beginning of the twelfth century.

The

known

earliest

expositions of

the

new Organum

are

contained in the Musica of Johannes Cotto, written about the

noo, and an anonymous

Organum Faciendum, now in

year

treatise of

the

similar date.

Ambrosian

Library

Ad
at

Milan.

The

of these works

first

is

a treatise of the usual learned

and

dignified kind, chiefly devoted to the consideration of music

from the point of view of the single voice, and remarkable for
its dissertations

upon notation and upon the supposed corruption

of the ecclesiastical melodies.

The author, following perhaps

in this respect the example of Guido, devotes
only one short
chapter to the subject of organizing, which it must be said he
somewhat dry and perfunctory manner,
enunciating
and giving no examples. Nevertheless

treats in a

rules very briefly

its

the information which he affords

is of great
importance. The
constructed entirely of consonances,
and the arrangement of these is decided chiefly
by the various
kinds of progression adopted by the voices 1 .
Varieties of

Organum, we

find, is

now

progression therefore form the principal means of the new

Organum and are the chief subject of the author's instructions.

From

ment

of the
is

progression

these

we

voices

is

learn that, although the similar move-

by no means forbidden, a contrary

2
upon the whole preferred ; while crossing of the

parts also is not only allowed, but indeed appears even as

a characteristic feature of the current
system. This latter
fact is evident not only from a
passage contained in Cottons
definition of

Organum

already quoted at p. 48 (note), of the

Organum per consonantias fiat, ipsarum autem constiimtiones per motus

vocum varientur/ Cottonis JMte'ca, cap. xxiii.
2 *
Ea (diapnonia) dhersi diverse utuntur. Caeterum bic facillimus ems usus
est, si

motuum

elevatio, ibi

in.

varietas diligenter consideretur; ut ubi in recta modulations est

organica

fiat depositio, et e converso.'

Ibid,

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

78

present work altero rectam modulationem tenente, alter per

but also from his rules for closing,
alienos sonos apte circueat
direct that if the principal voice comes to a pause among
the grave sounds the organal voice must end at the octave
above,, if the pause be among the acute sounds the organal

which

must descend

upon

or near mese the organal voice

to

at a

close

to the

same

the octave below, while

voice

must come

1
it is clear, therefore,,
part of the scale and end in unison ;
that in certain given circumstances a direct inversion of the
Finally, it may
original relation of the voices must take place.

be said that this author allows the use of two or even three
notes as the equivalent of the single note of plainsong, in
place of the simplex motus or usual note under note proHe probably also intends to sanction the use of
gression.

two or three notes

of the plainsong against one of

a practice which

may sometimes be

observed

organum,

in

Guidons

examples

But

if

Cotto, evidently a

which Berno,

Aribo,

member

and William

of the literary class to

Hirschau

of

belonged,

contemporary Organum imperfectly and in a

grudging spirit which is well displayed in his closing words
describes the

Et

de diaphonia istud tantillum nos dioeisse s'ufficiat the

anonymous writer of the treatise in the Ambrosian Library,

on the other hand, devotes the whole of his work to the subject
of the new practice, and is moreover enthusiastic and bold
even to rashness in his assertion of

Organum
1

indeed

in

Providendum qnoque

dignity

its

merits, exalting

and importance

far

the

above the

ost organizanfci, ut

ai recta modulatio in
gravibtis
canendo per diapason occurrat; sin voro in
cantui autom in niese
acutis, ipse in gravibus per diapason concordiam faciat
vel circa mese pausationes facientx in eadeni voce respondcat/
Cottonis Musica,

nioram

fecerit,

ipse

in

acutis

cap. xxiii.
a

Animadverfcere

simplex

etiam debes, quod quamvis ego

organum posuerim,

cxiilibet

plicare vel triplicare, vel quovis

Ibid.

modo

tannen

in

simplicilms

inotibus

simplicos ittotuB ducompetenter conglobare si voluorit licet*

organizanti

THE NEW ORGANUM

79

plainsong ; his opinion, in fact,, is so entirely opposed to

the ecclesiastical view^ and the possibility of its maintenance

by a

clerical

seems

advocate
the

perhaps suppose
a layman.

author

remote, that we
the treatise to have

so

of

may
been

The principal feature of the work is a classification of the

various elements of the current practice, reduced to five
modes,
which are shortly described by the author.
also are
Examples

given, in

which

be noticed that the vox prmdpalis is

below the vox organalis, instead of above as formerly, and

now

it

may

that the theme taken

by the lower

voice is the

same

in all the

examples.

The

first

Organum

is

mode, he
<

when

says, occurs
2

conjunct /

with the melody), thus

(that

is to

the

note of the

first

say at the unison or octave

*p
Al

In

le

The second mode occurs when

the

first

note

is

disjunct /

The closing words of this treatise, which are in verse, may he compared with
those of Cotto's chapter on Diaphony just given above in the test
:

'

Organum

acquirit totxim

Cantus manet ut subiectus,

sursuni et inferius.

praecedenti gratia

Currit valde delectando,

ut miles f ortissimus.

Quia quod praecedit tantum

minus quam sequentia,

Frangit voces velut princeps,

senior et dominus.

Ut

Qua de causa applicando

sonat multum dulcius.

Ergo organum excedit

Boetius praedixit

sic in dialectica.

maiori potentia/

Coussemaker, Histoire de VHarmonie au Moyen Age, p. 243,

2

'Primus modus organizandi eat quando prima vox copulatur cum praecedenti/
Praecedens in this MS. signifies the voice which sings the melody.
Secundus fit per disiunctionem. ipsius vocis narn differentia est coniunctio

Ihid., p. 232.
3

'

respectu disiunctionis/

Ibid., p. 233,

8o

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

(that is to

say at

thus

the

fourth

or

fifth

with

the

melody),

_^
Al

The
the

*~S

~&~

mode

a.

concerned with the notes which compose

is

the music, proceeding in

of

~&-

~<?-

lu

le

third

body

thus

fourths

and

fifths 1 ,

The statement

the fourth

of

mode

example, which might have helped us,

2
the
.

is

obscure,,

and

its

has been omitted from

MS

The

fifth

mode

arises

of the organal notes

Al

3
,

from the augmentation or diminution

thus:

- le

lu

8558445554145434
1 *
Tertixis modus sumitur a mediis vocibus, quae wratantur per diatcssaron si
sunt in diapente, et e converse/ Coussenaaker, Histoire de VHarmonie au Moyon Ag$,

P- 233.
2

'Quartus

fit

sedab utroque/
3 *

a diverso principle, vel a di verso medio, non tantum ab "uno

Ibid., p. 233.

Quintus per multiplicationem oppositarum vocixm, augendo vel aufereudo.'

Ibid., p. 233.

THE NEW ORGANUM

81

This

classification would seem to be

purely arbitrary and
no real value whatever, since the peculiarities here described
and shown in the examples,
do

of

though undoubtedly distinct,

a sufficiently wide
range of influence upon the
composition as a whole to deserve the name of modes. If, for
instance, the special direction given by the initial interval to
not

command

the progression of the three or four notes which follow and

its influence could seldom extend further
is to constitute
a mode, then modes
be
to
almost any extent,
might
multiplied
and every small form of movement and
of

arrangement
might claim to be placed upon the list. It is in
fact difficult to avoid the conclusion that the author's
scheme
intervals

represents merely a strong desire on his part to dignify the

current practice, for which he
expresses so much admiration,
by exhibiting it in a systematic form similar to that which was

adopted, with good reason, in the learned explanations of the

His failure may be accounted for
by
the fact that no sufficient material for such a scheme as
yet
existed, nor indeed does any such material seem to have
ecclesiastical plainsong.

effectually presented itself to musicians until in comparatively

times, when it was gradually fashioned into the form

modern

of the five orders of counterpoint ;

considered, however, as the
prototype of this fine analysis of music our author's ineffectual

scheme

is
exceedingly interesting.
Besides this attempt at classification the author
puts forward
a number of rules for practical composition; and from

these,

though they are apparently not exhaustive, it is evident that

the contemporary organizers already
possessed a fairly clear
notion of the best method of
proceeding in view of the ideal
of this kind of music, which Cotto defines as the
production
of change and variety in the consonances
means
of the
by

movement

of the voices.

For there

is

no doubt that the rules

are devised quite as much with the

object of securing freedom
and change of movement as in order to create variety of sound.
are told, for instance, that if the unison or octave to the

We

WOOLDRIDGE

Q.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

8$

of the organal
plainsong are employed as the opening notes
*
*
taken should
the
note
next
Mode
voice the author's First

be either

at the fourth or fifth, but that

if

on the other hand

c
the opening note be at the fourth or fifth the author's Second
Mode y it may be followed by the octave in general however^ in passages of moderate length, all notes after the first,
;

except the final which is usually either in unison or at the

octave., should be at the fifth or fourth,, but in passages of
greater length the octave and unison may occasionally be
introduced.

The author supplements these

rules

by

several methodical

sketches of compositions of which he explains the construction

note by note; they are of considerable interest, and one of

them may be given as representative of all.

*
*
If the melody/ says the author,
opens with E followed by
G the organum begins upon the upper octave and then falls
to c
then the melody taking a F G the organum replies with
d a G, and thus both voices come together upon the same note.
Again the melody proceeds with F G E, and the organum
;

starting

ve
through d to effect a conjunction (8 )
and since the melody next rises to G the organum will

from c

upon

e,

again

come

to c,

rises

and the

final close will

be in unison upon

a.

Here again the dicta res, presenting to us as it does the

shadow rather than the substance of instruction, would seem
to be of

little

practical value, but

we have

to

remember that

the frequent repetition of such explanations, applied to a large

number of examples, might very well create in the mind of the
student,

by the constant

direction of attention

upon the various

THE NEW ORGANUM

83

progressions of the voices, a clear idea of the course to be

pursued in

all

Nevertheless

circumstances.

must be admitted that the author's

it

taken as a whole,

text,

the least valuable

portion of his work,
and we willingly turn for a moment to consider the
examples
by themselves, apart that is to say from the author's use of
is

them, and merely as the earliest theoretical specimens of the

new Organum which we possess. And in this
point of view it
is

interesting to note, in the first place, that they both illustrate

laid down by Cotto in his treatise.
It is plain, for
instance, from these examples that while Cottons
fundamental rule that the Organum should be made with

and supplement the axioms

consonances varied by the movement of the voices was

generally
observed, considerable latitude was at the same time
permitted
with respect to the degree of
In the
variety to be employed.
illustration of the author's so-called Third
for
Mode,
example,
the parallel movement occurs five
similar movement
times,

and contrary movement twice; in the illustration of the

so-called Second Mode, on the other
hand, the parallel movement occurs only once, and similar movement
twice, while
twice,

contrary movement is to be found in seven progressions.

In
one or two fragments of composition included in the
treatise,
but not given expressly as illustrations of the
the use of
text,

the contrary movement is seen as still further

extended; as
for instance in the
following specimen, where we may note not
only that the parallel movement has entirely disappeared, but
that with the exception of the

ment
it is

is

similar,

and those

oblique, contrary

Hoc

sit

vo

first

movement

three notes, where the

movewhere

at the junction of the

sections,

is

employed throughout

bis

ter

l"

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

84

of interspecimen also affords an interesting example

that
remarked
will
it
be
for
or crossing of parts,

throughout the
principal^

first

section the organal voice sings below the

and returns to

its

Another kind of interchange

normal position in the second.

is also

to be seen in the

example

Mode, where a device corresponding to

Guido's Organ/urn suspensum is employed; the author, however, gives no particulars with respect to it, and though we

of the so-called Fifth

see that

it

whether

it

was allowed to the organal voice we are not told

might be employed, as in Guido's system, by the

principal, or

whether

this

was forbidden.

The

flourish, it will

executed below the principal, and was probably

sung very quickly, like that below the Organum suspensum.
In two other respects also we observe the signs of a con*
be observed,

is

siderable latitude in the application of the prevailing

In the author's treatment of

rules.

in the upper voice, for instance,

we may

note that he constantly takes that sound as a fourth to

F, correcting the discordance by a flat. The rule, of course
since the old practice of standing still upon C had been given
up was to avoid the tritone by taking B in the upper voice
only as an octave or fifth to the voice below, since the admission of Bi? in the upper voice must, it was feared, lead
its introduction, for organizing
purposes, into
the lower or principal voice, and thus bring about an ever
The author of this
increasing corruption of the plainsong.

inevitably to

however, though he quotes Guido's remarks upon the

use of Bb, in which the device is treated as inadmissible and
treatise,

superfluous

but

also,
*

not only uses the note freely in the upper voice,

though more sparingly,

Sed Gregorio non placet

in the lower.

Quamvis ergo apud quosdam

Patri Ixaec lascivia;

ipsa fiat vocula,

Et modern! sapientes
hanc neque commemorant.

Apud multos

tameix iure

dicitur superflua/
Conssemaker, Histoire de I'Kwrmonte, <fcc., p. 238.

Guido's remarks (taken from the Prologue to Ms Antiphonary) refer of course

only to the melody or principal ; but from Ms own examples of Organum, already

THE NEW ORGANUM

The second

85

instance of latitude in the observance of rule

occurs in the closes of the examples of the so-called Modes,

where we find that Cottons rule for the final conjunction when
the principal ends upon or near to Mese is twice obeyed and
twice neglected, the voices in two cases coming, as enjoined,
to the unison, but in one case also to the fourth and in the
fifth.
This treatment was probably adopted as
a part of the general display of the possibilities of the art
as now constituted, which seems to have been the chief object

other to the

of these examples.

The most

striking feature of this author's exposition of the

new Organum

probably his construction of so many various

one
examples upon
melody. The power to do this was of
course within the reach of all from the moment at which
is

the contrary movement was first devised, but the exhibition

of the method in this and perhaps similar treatises must have
been, for

many

of the

contemporary musicians, a revelation

of unsuspected resources, and of an apparently unlimited field

for the exercise of invention.
For us, on the other hand, the

method of proceeding is not only significant of a great

advance in the art of music, as the result of the new system
of organizing by varied concords, but also points out its future
author's

direction, and already suggests the means by which the

materials of Polyphony were to be completed; and in fact,
as we shall see, existing compositions prove that the first actual

expansion of the polyphonic principle, the addition of a third

real part to the original two^ dates

from

this period,

and that

the fourth part followed soon after.

In passing from this treatise a final example of

upon a comparatively extended scale,

more or

less

complete in

may

itself it affords

its methods,
be given. Being

a better idea of the

given in this work, we may conclude that he preferred a kind in which care was
taken to avoid the B |? in the organal voice also. Only once does this note appear
nor is the formula in which it then occurs put forward as his
in his illustrations
or
even
commended
hy him ; invenies usurpatum is all that he says, you will
own,
;

find it

much

used.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

86

music of the divine worship at this time than could be obtained

It was performed
from the fragments hitherto exhibited.

two

either simply in

parts, or with both voices reduplicated

at the octave.

TROPE OR PARAPHRASE OF THE KYRIE.

(MS. in the Ambrosian Library, Milan.)
IZ3I

Cnnc-ti-po-tens ge-ni-tor De~us

om-ni-cre-a-tor e

Icy- son.

231

158514441
Chris -te

De

- i

splen-dor

1441

158118 8418 58

vir-tus pa-tris-que so-phi

sa-crumspi-ra-mennex-us a-mor-que e
....Q

ley-son.

14151158515

41
1221

Am -bo-rum

^i
----ley-son.

Q_

148 14358 515558 41

That the system here exemplified preserved

its

theoretical

authority, at least during the first half of the century which

followed, seems clear from the evidence of the two treatises

which are next

in

these

to be

works,

mentioned; for the methods displayed

while

they

reveal

certain

characteristics

which may be said to be in advance of anything which we

have as yet seen, are nevertheless in substantial agreement

THE NEW ORGANUM

87

with the doctrine of Cotto and the anonymous author of the

Milan MS.

The

first

of these

works

is

little

of the rules

summary

of composition^ in the old French vernacular, dating

probably
from the beginning of the twelfth century., which^ like the

been printed by M. de Coussemaker

UHarmonie au Moyen Age 1 Compared
works which we have just examined,, its chief points

treatise last described, has

in his Histoire de

with the

of difference are the abolition of the interval of the fourth5

which, as

we

shall

see,

here excluded from the

is

list

of

and the satisfactory and practical character

of the rules for the treatment of the octave and fifth.
possible concords,

We

now no

longer find a

mere

description of the

ments of the notes in a given example, but

actual

move-

definite instructions

for the progression

author calls

We

it,

of the organal voice or rather, as this

the discant* in a certain number of cases.

are told, for instance, that

an upward progression^ the

octave to the

room

first

first

if the
melody begins with
note of discant must be the

note of melody, in order to leave ample

movement of the discant downwards;

for a contrary

while on the other hand,

the melody descends, the discant

in order that the proper contrary

if

upon the fifth,

movement upwards may not create too great a divergence.
Then if the melody proceeds upwards one degree the discant
will fall two from its octave, as shown in the subjoined
example (a); a rise of two notes in the melody is met by
will begin

a fall of one in the discant (b) ; a rise of three notes in the

melody obliges the discant to stand still (c) from lack of room
1

The

original of this little

work

is

in the Bibliothbque Rationale at Paris

in the shape of a marginal addition to a thirteenth century

treatise
(fonds 8. Victor, 813) of which mention will he made presently in the
It covers the margins of about two pages, and is written in a hand which,
text.

where

it exists

though not the same as that of the rest of the MS., is apparently of the same
date. Its doctrine, however, shows it to be a copy of something much older, and in
fact a statement of the practice of the period which we are now considering.
2
The change of word here, however, involves no change of idea-; Discant is only
Biaphony latinized, and Diaphony was of course synonymous with Organum.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

88
to

by

as has been said, is not allowed

(since the fourth,,
this author), and at a rise of four notes in the melody

move

the discant
rises

also,

is

movement, and
and in general, when the
and* there is no room for the contrary

forced to abandon the contrary

moving one note (d);

melody continues

to rise,

recommended

fifths are
progression, parallel

until a descent

The same
in the melody again admits of free treatment.
a
discant upon
descending melody,
principles apply to the
If the
in which the voices begin at the interval of a fifth.
melody falls one note the discant rises two
falls two notes the discant rises one (/);
notes in the melody the discant stands

still

at a fall of four notes the discant descends

(e)

if

the melody

at a fall of three

upon the
one note

fifth (g)

(A),

and

if

the melody continues to descend a discant in fifths is again

recommended as the proper course; but the discanter must
be careful always to close upon the octave.
d.

The

rules

f.

given in the treatise of Guy, abbot of Chalis,

written probably not earlier than the middle of the twelfth

century, reveal a somewhat richer and more complicated
method than that which we have just examined, but no change

We

in the general principles of music.

may indeed note that
the fourth, which was banished in the former treatise, here

appears occasionally, and that the word discant seems to be

unknown

to this author.

The

rules are twenty-one in

number;

they are exceedingly clear and precise in statement, and provide for the conduct of the
organal voice in almost all the
circumstances which could have been likely to arise.

The

various consequences, for instance, of a

beginning at the octave

THE NEW ORGANUM

with a rising melody^ at the fifth with either a rising or a
falling melody^ and at the unison with a falling melody, are
all very fully described^ and generally with two alternatives
for each progression of the plainsong;

to establish a grammatical

method

The

below a stationary note.

in the following examples

attempt also

is

made

of singing both above

THE ORGANUM AT THE OCTAVE.

..........

22=

fj.

Melody

rising.

THE OEGANUM AT THE

FIFTH.

ng.

Melody

rising.

THE ORGANUM AT THE UNISON.

(fo

ORGANUM ABOVE A STATIONARY NOTE.

IE

and

effect of these rules is displayed

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

9o

ORGANUM BELOW A STATIONARY NOTE.

>::

-JCT

The

rules of

Guy

de Chalis,

who

lived^ as

has been said,

during the latter half of the twelfth century, may be taken

probably as representing the perfection of Organunr, considered
simply as a method of extemporizing a second part upon the
plainsong5 entirely in concords, in equal notes with the plainsong^ and mainly in contrary movement; but they must not

be supposed to indicate the limits of music^ either in the time

of their author, or even at a period considerably more remote ;
they exhibit only the work of theory, the careful improvement

upon established lines, the operation

and judgment; the operation of the creative impulse,
working independently upon the same tradition, they ignore.

of the received tradition

of taste

Yet the

creative impulse, already

awaking

to a sense of the indi-

vidual freedom contained in the principle of contrary movement,

had, long before before the embodiment even of the principle in
didactic

form

produced results of the greatest importance for

And this will be evident in a comparison of the system

which we have just examined with the examples of practical
composition which are now to be taken into consideration.
music.

With

the exception of the pieces contained in the Winchester

Troper, the earliest practical compositions which we possess
are the specimens of irregular Organum in contrary movement

THE NEW ORGANUM

91

which have been already referred to as appearing in MSS. of

late eleventh and early twelfth
century date. This Organum is
here called irregular, not only because it conforms neither
to the old rules of which Guido was the latest
exponent, nor
to the more modern system of Cotto, but because it
appears
as

purely

experimental,

consonant

intervals

admitting

which

however

large
are

number of

not

in

in-

any way

distinguished, as regards the principle governing their use,

from the consonances.

Its

immediate source, as has already

cannot be traced at present; it appears, as a perunforeseen

fectly
phenomenon, immediately after the time of
own
whose
Guido,
system reveals no trace either of the principle

been

said,

of contrary

movement, or of any independent use of dissonance.

we shall see, was extended both to liturgical

Its application, as

and

extra-liturgical compositions;

the method therefore was

probably not, as might be supposed, of purely secular origin,

but may have been developed, even to a considerable extent,
within the church.

One of the earliest examples

of this kind of

Organum known to

composition, written in an early twelfth century

hand, interpolated in a Cornish MS. otherwise of the tenth
exist is

century,

little

now

in the Bodlfeian Library (Bodley 573)

the difficulty with respect to

1
.

Here

translation does not arise, for

is in the simple alphabetic notation, in which the

octave of the scale from the lower
upwards is repre-

the piece
first

sented by the letters which denominate the notes, and the

second by a simple continuation of the alphabet. The subject

1
The date (tenth century) given for this little piece at its first appearance in
the Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society's publication The Musical Notation
in their subsequent volume Early English
of the Middle Ages., 1 890, and contimied
Harmony, 1897, under the editorship of the writer of the present work., has now to
be corrected. It was formerly considered that the whole of the MS. Bodley 572
was of the same period ; experts however are at present of opinion that, while the
was inserted after uoo. Yet,
body of the MS. is of. the tenth century, this piece
and the method of its notation, the music
considering both its technical character,
itself would seem to be of the eleventh century.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

of the composition is part of a hymn to St. Stephen, a version
of which occurs in the Sarum Antiphonal, where the passage
is

noted thus:

pur-ga

ais^ it

tos

may be

a pec-ca - tis iun-gat ce

supposed.,

li

ci - vi -

bus

would he the version adopted by

probably of the west country; nevertheless^

a composer

will

it

be seen that in the close and in one or two other portions of the
those
two-part composition the notes given are different from
of the

Sarum use ; while upon

word purgatos

the

The composition

conjunctive notes have been omitted.

follows

few

also a

as

is

UT TUO PBOPITIATUS.

123

Bod. Lib. (Bodley 572).

lig

[Link]

Vox Principal.
b.

h.

_5

[Link]

h.

fg

7B"

TJt

tuo

333

pro
3

tus,

pi

h.

P-

- ti

12364441

in

ter

ven

tu

THE NEW ORGANUM

93

612421 444142
~^j

li

mi

jjy

Ix

......

Do

**"*

[Link]
[Link]

Ix

Car-

258

nus

h.

ga

ezr

nos

pur

tos

1355424133131
k

gag
a

pec

lilx

ca

k
i

[Link] h.h
[Link]

Ixh.h

-----

tis

213341 3541

[Link]

hg

inn

176

lidkl

[Link]

coe

gat

li

fglx

rr-

This composition was the subject of aa interesting article in the ViertdjdhrsDr. Oscar Fleischer, who seems to regard the
schriftfur Musikwissenschaft, 1890, by
work rather as an adaptation than as an original composition. His reconstrnction of
1

the organal part, containing in his view the original subject, deserves to be recorded
here as a monument of ingenuity
:

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

94

This example would seem to be divided by a wide interval

the method of composition if not also in time

as regards

from the Winchester Troper, for the method is now apparently

completely free. The trammels of the parallel and oblique

movements have almost

entirely disappeared,

ment being employed wherever

contrary move-

possible, while all restrictions

also respecting the character of the intervals to

apparently been removed;

be used have

the dissonances of the major and

minor third are now frequently introduced, and indeed would

seem to have become almost as vital a part of the material
of

Organum

as the orthodox concords themselves, while the

major sixth

also

makes here and there a hesitating and

and even the second and the seventh

tentative appearance,

We

are represented.

may

remark, however, that no system

appears in the use of the dissonant intervals, and no trace

of a principle, except such as may be found in the fact that
of

the

discords the third

and

is

that which

is

most frequently

no doubt, was due not

to
its
as
of
the
old
only
position
part
occursus, but also to
a growing feeling with respect to the interval itself which
was soon to bring about a considerable alteration in its
used;

status;

was not
us,

this

use of the third,

on the other hand, the true character of the sixth

at all perceived

for while

we

by the composer

find eight

intervals

of the piece before

of

the

second there

31E

^^==^=^^^^
Dr. Fleischer, having revealed this pleasing melody, is struck
by the pentatonic
its scale, and
suggests that we probably have before us the tune of
some Gaelic folk song, afterwards worked upon by a learned
composer of the
time. This theory of a tune in the upper
part was probably suggested by
the first three sections of the composition, which
give as they stand the same
result as Dr. Fleischer's reconstruction; for his treatment of the
rest, however,
character of

and for
there

is

his speculations with

regard to the whole,
real warrant.

any

it

must be doubted whether

THE NEW ORGANUM

are

four

only

may

Yet amid

sixths.

all

this

95
confusion

we

perceive, from the large number of fourths (sevenemployed, and from the two cases in which they

still

teen)
are used

in

notes of the

movement with three consecutive

melody, that the method of this composition
parallel

originates in the free

Organum

described in the Enchiriadis

and the Scholia.

That the use of

all

sorts of intervals

was not confined to

period seems clear from another specimen,

of rather later date than the last, contained in a MS. in the

England

at this

Bibliotheque Nationale, at Paris (No. 1139). It is noted in

neumes, without clef, but now upon a stave of two lines;
translation
possible, as

some approach to certainty is

indeed M. de Coussemaker seems to have proved

therefore

with

in a rendering published in his Histoire de

Moyen Age, which

is

VHarmonie an

substantially as follows:

MIRA LEGE, MIRO MODO.

Bibl. Nat. Paris

MS.

1139, Histoire de VHarmonie au Moyen Age (Coussemaker),

Monuments, PI. XXIII.

12858585812858 531

31

154

12533 644

1
Ths note covered by the circumflex accent represents the plica, a grace note,
the nature of which will be explained later.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

5S4

6321

6854

135533555 411

do

1=

42333,1
Before passing to an examination of this example

it

may

be well to take note of the fact that the disposition of the

melody or subject in the lower place a circumstance which

was observable

MS.

in the

of the

Ambrosian Library^ and

and that it now

again in our last example^ is seen also here^

represents a change in the

method

general and permanent ; this will

Organum which was both

be evident as we proceed, for
of

in future examples the organal voice will

above the theme.

the old

With

be found always

respect to the reason for this sudden

method we

are at present quite without

the
information; notwithstanding
comparative magnitude of
the change^ its necessity in the view of the contemporary
reversal of

musicians has never apparently been explained,, and it remains

among the many enigmas, still unsolved, which are presented
to us by this period
1050 to 1150 the dark age of poly-

phonic music.

THE NEW ORGANUM

97

The subject of this composition is not, like

ment of ecclesiastical melody arranged in notes

the last, a fragof equal length,

but a metrical song; and

although we may perhaps doubt
whether the words given are those for which it was first
made,
it is evident that the
pleasant melody itself has not been tampered with, and that the whole setting is cast in the original

form

of the subject, which

strains of which four are

is

triple (Trochaic)

regular and one

rhythm in

irregular.

With

respect to the intervals employed in the Organum, it may be

said that they have been chosen with less freedom than those
of the example last given, for we find here no
seventh, and the
seconds are only used in passing. The
important place given
in the former
example to the fourth is now taken by the fifth,
for this interval appears
twenty-two times, and once in parallel
movement above three consecutive notes of the subject ; the
fourth, on the other hand, is only to be found in nine cases.

The

and sixths are used in about the same

proportion

thirds

as in the former example, that

is to say the third seventeen

times and the sixth four times; the unison
appears sixteen
times and the octave eight times. Thus, in
this

comparing
example with the former one, we may notice the important
fact, illustrative no doubt of the influence of theory upon
practical

composition, that the tendency is largely towards

for while in the Ut tuo,
&c., the

an increase of concord;

proportion of concord to discord was less than two to one,

in the Mira lege it is about two and a half to one. This
will appear

Ut

tuo, &c.

Mira

Of

from the following table:

lege.

the example as a whole

WOOLDRIDGE

it

}J

may be

said that

it

resembles

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

98

the former one in a complete absence of rule or system in the

use of the discordant intervals, with however the same
possible

We

exception in the case of the thirds.

may also note that
the device of putting more notes than one against one of the

theme^ or vice versa, increases,, and is more intelligently applied

than in the former example ; and finally that the fifth is now
used in closing, as well as the octave and the unison.
With respect to the reason for the substitution of the
the

for

fourth

as

the governing

interval

of

this

fifth

kind of

Organum, it is difficult to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion.

was probably an innovation, since at present we know of

It

no

free

organum

the result of

and may possibly have been

of the

fifth,

simple

inversion

the former governing

of

interval, arising as a natural consequence from the inversion

of the principal and organal voices.
But whatever the reason

have been, the superior importance of the fifth

afterwards maintained.

may

was

ever

In the confused method of composition revealed in these

examples we see probably the archaic phase of artistic music.

we may hazard

the conjecture, it would seem to

represent
an attempt to employ the inconsonant intervals of the old free
organum in a new manner, and thus to extend the
If

application

of principles

which had already made

their

appearance by

a kind of accident in the pre-artistic

period of symphonious
in
fact
not
singing.
may
perhaps

We

unreasonably suppose

that delight in the variety of sound and

comparative freedom
of progression which were the result of the introduction of the

inconsonant intervals in the free portions of the old

Organum

suggested an attempt to create a similar freedom and variety

in those parts which were still dominated
by the parallel
fourths.

In

this point of

view

it

might perhaps naturally be expected

that in the works of the learned writers

next after Guido,

we should have found

upon Organum coming

traces of some attempt

to regularize the inconsonant

intervals, rather

than a system

THE NEW ORGANUM

99

which excludes them and introduces instead an

arrangement
of mixed concords ; but the course which was
taken
actually

by the theorists will easily be seen to have been the natural

and indeed the only possible one if we
consider, with respect
to the inconsonant intervals, that while the true limits of their

from the point of view in which

they had been
originally adopted, had already been reached, their use had not

application,

resulted in the evolution of

any progressive element. The

introduction of the inconsonant intervals into the old
organum

was in obedience to no essential and fruitful musical

principle,
but merely to a rule
variously explained by different writers,
but arising in any case out of the strict conditions of the old
parallelism which obliges the organal voice from time to time
to hold a certain sound instead of
passing below it ; and it is
the continuance of the
under
these circumstances, by
melody

the

having

which

actually creates the discordant

is in fact
scarcely a free agent,
liberty of choice except in the note before

principal voice,

intervals.

The organal
or

little

no

voice

the close; and though it is evident from Guide's account of

the system that the inconsonant
intervals, thus rather mechani-

had become in his time a source of

pleasure,
for a while the endeavour to advance the art of music

cally introduced,

and that

by a

careful

and

attentive treatment of these intervals

was

undertaken,
equally evident that no real extension of their
or
such
as
could
ever bring about the rational freedom of
use,
it is

the organal voice,

was possible in the old free organum.

pleasure therefore which was evidently taken in the
mere sound of the inconsonant intervals at this time, and
which,
from its preparing the ear to be the judge of
symphonious

The

combinations, had created the appearance of development in

the old free organum, could not hinder the theoretical exclusion
of these intervals, nor maintain them
against the apparent
fact that their use had evolved no
principle capable of exten-

sion; and though practical composers may have had recourse

to experiment with the object of
discovering such a principle,

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

ioo

and so of preserving the inconsonant intervals, it is evident that

the experiments which seem to have heen made were still at
least inconclusive, even

if

they do not lend support to the axiom

that empirical methods are foreign to the true line of progress

In short, we may say that no real place,
in any art whatever.

speaking, for the inconsonant intervals as yet

among the materials of music ; their opportunity indeed

theoretically

existed

had not yet come, and many years were still to elapse before
the principle which actually governs their use could be entirely
perceived.

Reviewing the work of this time, both in

its

theoretical

and

we are chiefly struck by the great progress

made
during a transition extending apparently over
actually
Not only may it be said that an
than
little more
fifty years.

practical aspects,

art of

music now begins to appear, but also that the

already taken up positions of great importance for

art has

its

future

development ; for by the substitution of the contrary movement

for the similar and oblique as the governing mode of pro-

and by the deliberate mixture of discord with concord

even though the true meaning of this latter process was

gression,

not as yet perceived principles were established whose influence not only controlled the methods of the relatively finished
practice which immediately followed, but

was

felt

throughout

the whole of the polyphonic period.

But, striking as the progress thus effected must appear, a
glance at the existing examples of the new artistic music at

once reveals the fact that one very important element of free
composition is still wanting, namely, a musical measure. The

measure of those examples in which measure is present at all

as in all hymns and songs, in simple accordance with that

is,

of the words for

this

method

is

which the music was composed ; but although

sufficient for small pieces, in which one kind

of metre can be maintained without fatigue throughout in all

the parts, it bars the way to any attempt towards extended

or varied compositions, or to the employment of essentially

THE NEW ORGANUM

different kinds of

metre at the same time.

The freedom

ici
there-

which had been bestowed upon music by the principles

of contrary movement and premeditated discord, and which
fore

was manifested in the flowing counter melody or free organal

party was to some extent neutralized by the bonds of similar
rhythm so long as these were maintained; liberation from
these bonds was necessary before any fresh extension of the
music was possible^ and this liberation^ which could

limits of

only be effected by the establishment of a purely musical

standard of measure,, was to be the work of the period which

we

are next to consider.

CHAPTER VI
OB MEASURED MUSIC

DISCASTT

THE MEASURED NOTATION AND

ITS

RELATION

TO FIXED RHYTHMS

THE

wide divergence of the methods of

music from

artistic

Organum, which was exhibited in our

those of strict

chapter, rendered necessary a special distinguishing

the

new system; and

the

last

name

for

name which was

chosen, Discantus,
a double or diverse song, though it indicates nothing that was
not already contained in Organum, not only proved sufficient
for its original purpose but was also continued after the advent
of musical measure.

special

name, Cantus mensurabilis,

was indeed often adopted by many authors, to describe the

music in which measure was present throughout as opposed
to that in which it was either non-existent or only partially
applied, hut the

new name

did not exclude the

and both continued to be used

older one,

indifferently for the

same

purpose.

The

origin of musical

measure

is

to resist the conclusion that it arose

when

metrical

imparting

life

obscure, but

from the

it is difficult

desire, at a time

progression was the only known means of

and purpose to the composition, to employ

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

essentially different kinds of

103

metre in different voices at the

same time.

Originally, as our examples of the early practical

music indicate, a metre of one kind, that is to say essentially
either duple or triple, must have been used either alone or

company with another of the same kind ; and this

method could of course occasion no difficulty, since even

possibly in

when

the metres were different, as for instance in the mixture

of dactyl with spondee-, the proportion

the

attempt

confusion,

to

and

mix duple metre with

it

would

at once be perceived that the only

to accomplish this object, to

way

would be equal; but

triple would create

accommodate the

dactylic

metre for instance to the trochaic or the iambic to the ana-

must be the discovery

paestic,

which the duple and

in

of a

triple

common

musical measure

proportions of these metres

might be blended.
No doubt the singing of several

real parts together in similar

the
metre had
period represented by our last
a
idea of measure, suitable to
established
simple
examples,
the necessities of the case, in which the musical long was in

already, in

'

principle exactly equal to

two metrical breves ; and in fact

references to such a conception of measure are to be found

in the

works of the

cantus Positio

theorists.

Vulgaris, for

The anonymous treatise, Disinstance, given by Jerome of

Moravia as the embodiment of the oldest rules for measured

music, describes the long note which contained three beats
5
1
as e exceeding the measure, because it is more than two ;

and Walter Odington, writing

later, says distinctly that among

f
the
long had two beats or times, as
organists
in the metres 2 \
Moreover, there are material traces of the

the earlier

fact;

at least

one

little

note formula (I* or 8)* held by

all

1 *
Ultra mensuram sunt quae minus quam uno tempore et amplius quam duobus
.
et longa quando longa sequitur ; habet enim
mensurantur, ut semibreves
.

tria

tempora/

2 e

Cousse. Script

94.

priores organistas duo tantum habuerit tempora, sic in

Brevis vero apud priores resoluta est in duas semibreves; apud
modernos, aliquando in tres, aliquando in duas/ Ibid. i. 235.

Longa autem apud

metris.

. .

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

104

the mensuralists to signify a triple proportion,, was

employed
"by certain musicians, even in the latter half of the twelfth

two equal notes 1 ; and

extremely suggestive of a period in which the

century, to express the sequence of

this

custom

figure

is

formed part of a binary system, applicable to either

kind of metre separately.

Apart, however, from these instances, and some others which
seem to reveal the fact that a duple proportion was for some

time struggling to maintain

the triple 2, the

whole of the theoretical and practical work of the twelfth
itself

against

and thirteenth centuries describes and

exemplifies a ternary
scheme. It would appear, therefore, that the more natural

and eventually triumphant kind of measure failed at this time

satisfy the immediate needs of musicians, and gave

to

way

before a system in which the long note was valued as three

or divided into two unequal fractions
a short valued as one,

and a long valued as two

and

that the triple proportion was

thus definitely established as paramount, and was
eventually
extended, with certain modifications, to every kind o musical
equivalence and to all forms of notation.
It is not

uncommonly supposed

that this decision in favour

of a triple as opposed to a
duple proportion was due to the
influence of ecclesiastics, and to their desire to
signify the
participation of music in the adoration of the most holy Trinity.
This notion, however, is quite incorrect, and can
only have
arisen

from a

superficial consideration of the

remarks of the

This formula in its belated use expresses

generally two notes of the tribrach,
or foot of three short beats, a metre akin to the trochaic and
iambic ; formerly
it would have served
equally well to denote either these or the two short notes
of the dactyl or anapaest.
3
In the rules given in the Disc&ntus Positio Vulgaris for
equivalence, we find
that four breves may be the equivalent of the
triple long, or normal long and
breve : ' Super quamlibet notam firmi cantus ad minus due
scilicet
note,

longa

et brevis, vel aliquid his equipottens, ut

guaimr

Irenes,

vel tres

cum

plica brevi,

proferri debent/
3

'Omnes autem note

directam longam/

discantus sunt mensurabiles

per directam

Ibid. Comse. Script,

i.

95.

brevem

et

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

105

theorists with respect to the

In these remarks the two
subject.
ideas are
certainly connected, but the connexion gives rise
to nothing more than an assertion of the
mystical signification
of the ternary
the
in

number;
triple proportion,
fact, being
taken as established, attention is then drawn to the similitude
which exists between it and the
1
And
highest perfection .
indeed it would be
a
strange if practical men,
writing upon
competence, should have been

practical matter within

their

unanimous

an absurdity as

in

so great

this which has been

them ; for no artistic means probably, and
imputed
certainly
none of so much importance as that which we are now considering, was ever yet adopted from inartistic considerations;
and the true explanation of the
of

to

victory

to

if it is

of the

triple

proportion,

be discovered, must be looked for in the conditions

art

itself

moment when

at the

proportion was

first

applied.

The suggestion
measure of

offered

this period

above, namely, that

was probably adopted

the musical

as a

means of

creating a practical agreement between essentially different

kinds of metrical rhythm, finds
great support in a saying of
Walter Odington, that the long note of the
triple proportion,
the key and centre of the new system, derived its
origin from

and anapaestic metres 2 .

The bearing of this
statement upon the question will be
perceived if we consider

the

dactylic

the

manner

in

which these metres, in themselves duple, are

adapted in the mensural system to the accompaniment of the

trochaic and iambic metres, in which the

The metres
shown

side

to

by

be combined and

side in the following

is

rhythm

their adaptations

triple.

may be

manner :

Pseudo-Aristotle, writing in the thirteenth century, in Ms account of the

f
prima super omnes, fens et origo ipsins scientie atque finis/ says:

triple long,
*

Non

immerito ad

ad similitiidinem
i.

270.
3
Ibid.

i.

291.

summam

divine*

refertnr trinitatem,

qttia res

quelibet natnralis

nature ex tribus constat invenitur.'

Cousse.

Script

io6

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

Here it will be seen that in the adaptations the

dactylic
and anapaestic feet maintain their
in
arsis
duple proportion
and thesis, while the new triple measure in each half of the
foot brings the whole in each case into
equality, both in proportion and accent, with two trochees or two iambi*
can

We

hardly suppose that the mensural system here shown could

have been evolved apart from these
adaptations, or that the
perfection with which they are achieved was the result of

chance coincidence, and

Odington's saying that

we may perhaps therefore understand

we owe the triple long to the metres

which he mentions, in the sense that musical measure arose

out of the process here
displayed.
Several examples of composition

belonging apparently to the

period during which the tentative rules of the Discantus Positio

Vulgaris were gradually evolved, and in which

transition

is

displayed the

from poetic to musical measure, are to be found in

Of these the earliest probably is a setting

of the metrical
sequence Verbum bonum et suave, of very early
twelfth century date, which exists in a MS. now in the
various collections.

Library
noted in neumes of a simple character,
upon
a large stave, and with
clefs; there are six verses of words

of Douai.

It is

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

107

and three of music, each verse of music being once repeated

words; the first, third, and sixth are here given,
and all the music. It will be noticed that the composition

to different

contains instances of the equivalence of four breves to the

1
triple long, mentioned in the early treatise .

YEBBUM BONUM ET SUAVE.

Library of Douai.

Mcmuments,

au Moy&n, Age (Coussemaker),

Histoire de I'Harmonie

PL XXIV, XXV.

=f
i.

Ver

bum

bo

Per

ne

ve

mus

il

ti

lud

fit

con

ve

cla

ve

ma

go

1,

su

et

-*y-

31

Chris

quod

Vir

so

num

314135

31

Per

ter

3
1

See note to p. 104.

fi

li

a.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

io8

ft

3.

ve

Ye

Sa

ri

mo

lo

nis,

fc

Ma

vel

ter

Cu

6.

ma

ins

3,

Lau

Sup

Ge

5,

gi

tri

dant

pu

bus

nis

nis

<

pe

nos

3,

do

de

er

mus

ca

pli

lus

um.

ri

men

da

5131
"

&
E

men

"
-

da

tos

nos

com

men

da

5131

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

Tu

ad

to

3ia

ben.

109

da

5-3

IZ5I

Sem

ter

pi

na

gau

di

would appear from this example that the learned doctrine

New Organum had not been altogether without effect
upon the work of the practical artistic composers. Theoretical
It

of the

dissonances are not

now

abolished,

it is

true,

but a method

is

introduced into their treatment which certainly indicates an

approach towards the theoretical position, and an appreciation
of its leading principle.
It will be observed that the incon-

sonant intervals are no longer treated with the same freedom

as in our former examples,, even the thirds for instance
being
not consecutive, but in all cases (except one) both preceded

and followed by one of the orthodox concords; and in

circumstance

we may perhaps

this

perceive a confession of the

theoretically inconsonant nature of the interval.

And, as we

shall see, the principle of treatment here indicated is carried

further in

its

application,

and becomes more

specimens which immediately follow;

clear,

in

the

for in these composi-

displayed not only in a rule of avoiding consecutive

dissonances, but also in the fact that the guarded dissonances

tions

it is

which are allowed now

the rhythm.

was
this
is

fall exclusively

If therefore the

method

upon the weak beat

of

of the piece just given

some degree an approach towards the learned theory,

method of the rather later examples is still more so, for it
in

a confession of the practically unsuitable character of these

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

no

compared with consonances^ since the composer

now admits that they are to be treated lightly, and to be passed

intervals as

over with less emphasis than the entirely satisfying orthodox

concords.

The change

shown

just described is well

in a little

compo-

early years of the twelfth

later hand) now in the Library
a
in
written
century, though
of Lille, and given in facsimile by M. de Coussemaker in his

sition (dating apparently

Histoire de
as follows

from the

VHarmonie au Moyen Age.

may be

It

translated

AGNUS

FILI VIBGINIS.

Library o Lille, Histoire de VHarmonie au Moyen Age (Coussemaker),

Monuments,

Pri

Tu

mi

PL XXVI.

lap

sane

sum

ti

no

pas

mi

cu

nis

um

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

This

the

is

first

can be said that

of our examples of this

period of
it

which

it

written in the original in the square

is

The system which

notation.

in

it

represents

is

however

still

exceedingly primitive, the rule of interpretation being that all

single notes,, whatever their shape, are of one and the same

and that

groups of notes, whatever their number, are

to be valued as
collectively equal to the single note or group
above or below which they stand.
value,,

all

may be well,, before passing on, to draw attention to the

chromatic alterations suggested in the upper part of this
example. These are in accordance with the rule for falsa
It

musica at

which enjoined that the imperfect

this period,

fifth

and the

tritone fourth, occurring as intervals, or

simultaneously
in a situation requiring concord, should be made
perfect by

chromatic extension or diminution l

the considerations which

guided musicians in the application of this rule in discant were

chiefly such as already governed the alteration of plainsong,

namely care for the melody.

Another kind of chromatic

alteration, adopted entirely from

in discant at this period.
existed
plainsong, probably already
1
Et ideo oritur questio ex hoc qnod videlicet que f uit necessitas in musica
considerari de falsa musica, sive de falsa mutatione, cum nullum regulare debeat
'

accipere falsuin, sed potius verum. At quod dicendum est quod mutatio falsa,
sive falsa musica, non est inutilis, imo est necessaria propter bonam consonantiam

inveniendam et malam vitandam. Nam sic dictum est: si velimus habere diapente, de necessitate oportet quod habeamus tres tonos cum semitonio ; ita quod
si

aliqua ngura

non

sit

in

Z>

/a,

jl

est ibi consonantia, sed

mi

(B), et alia in fa ut (P) acuto per naturam, tune

dissonantia

cum

semitonio duplici.

Yerumtamen

potest fieri ibidem per falsam musicam quam appellamus, scilicet quando facimus
de semitonio tonum, vel e converse; non tarnen falsa musica, sed inusitata.*

Anonymus

of the Library of S. Die (Cousse. Script

i.

314).

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

An

be gathered from the examples

appended by Jean de Garlande to his short account o it, which
may perhaps be interpreted as follows
idea of

its

nature

may

Our next example is especially interesting, for it is not only

a very primitive specimen of writing in three parts3 but contains

known to produce imitations

one
of
voice
uttered
by
passages
by another. It is probably
of the same date as our last illustration, since the method of
also the earliest attempt at present

notation

is

single

the same in both

all single notes,

that

is

to say,

same

value, and the groups are equal to the notes,

or otherwise, to which they are
opposed. It will be

are of the

observed that again a large number of discords,

including
several tritone fourths, appear upon the weak beats of the

rhythm, while with five exceptions, four of which are thirds

and sixths^ the strong beats are marked by concord.

CUSTODI NOS.
Bib. Nat. Paris

MS.

Monuments,

Cas

813, Hfefofre de I'Harmonie an

Moyen Age (Coussemaker),

PL XXVII.

to

di

nos

do

mi

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

sub

la -

rum

teg

mi

113

ne

~SE~

g>

Cus

per

to

ter

Om

nos

di

ini

nos

Ut

pu

Z22Z

CUS

WOOLDRIDGE

tO

=221

di

hu

nes

pil

'

^-

ius

'

lam

cu

cu

li

li

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

H4
The

lowest voice

well-known

still

here probably some

takes the theme

the part next above

is
or spiritual song;
composed with direct and sole reference to this, and obeys
therefore the rules of two-part composition ; the upper part or

hymn

governed now by one of the lower

as regards the nature of its
parts and now by the other, both
1
And here again
intervals and the character of its movement .
iriplum

is

it

is

an added

voice,

interesting to

observe that rules which

in

substance

remained in force for three-part compositions throughout the

period next following are to be found clearly recognized in

Concerning the passages of

this early specimen.

it is

this

say to

difficult to

time

is

what

due, unless they

imitation.,

music of

their appearance in the

may

be supposed to represent the

development of accident; their principle, so far as it

was understood, was afterwards displayed in a special form

partial

of composition called the

Rondel/ but in general music the

not frequent. Its full significance was not

in fact perceived until a much later period.

use of imitation

The

is

basis of the mensural system having

and seen to consist in a fundamental

now been

indicated,

triple value,

divisible

two unequal parts, we may

consider the method of notation by means of

primarily either into three equal or

next proceed to

which these values, in all the necessary varieties of their appliThis method, though simple
cation, were visibly expressed.
enough in the early period of its existence, while its purposes
were still confined to the presentation of the cardinal facts of
system, became highly complicated as time
advanced and the system extended, so much so indeed that
an author's explanation of it will frequently be found to

the mensural

constitute the principal part of his treatise;

and

judge from the strength and directness of

the

Qui autem triplum voluerit

if

we may

reproaches

tenorem et discantum,
nou discordat cum discantu, vel converse;
et procedat ulterms per concordantias, mine ascendendo cum tenore vel descendendo, mine cum discantu, ita quod non semper cum altero tantum/ Ars Cantus
ita

quod

si

discordat

cum

Mensurabilis (Cousse. Script

operari, respiciendum est

tenore,

i.

132).

BISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

sometimes

levelled

by learned

theorists

at

115

those of

their

who were

brethren

so unfortunate as to differ from

them,, we
even
may
suppose that considerable warmth of feeling was
sometimes aroused by questions with
respect to the more or
less logical expression in notes of a musical
phrase or formula.

we may often regret that the discussion of these

was so much indulged by the theorists, and carried

Yet, though
questions

on often to the exclusion of information with

regard to other
we would willingly possess, we must admit that

matters which

the discussions were generally founded

upon real distinctions,
and were therefore in a sense
necessary to the building up
of a method of considerable
importance not only for the time
but
also
for
the
future
for the simple
being
$
system, which
in our own day serves for the
presentation of rhythms far more
intricate than any with which the mediaeval
composers were
called

upon

to deal, is
undoubtedly directly derived, through

a continuous process of
pruning and simplification, from the
elaborate finished method of the thirteenth
century.

Notwithstanding, however, the importance in a certain sense

of the matter of these discussions, it is obvious that from the
point of view in which our present inquiry is undertaken
the methods of notation must appear as of
secondary interest,

compared with those of the music which they are intended

to represent.
It has been considered sufficient
therefore, in
the description which is to
the
follow, to exhibit
only

generally accepted
mensural notation

marked

its

forms of

the

first

complete system

of

somewhat obscure phases which

of
period
growth, and the heresies which still
5

the

existed at the time of its final

settlement,
of account.

will

be

left

out

Material signs, by which the long and short notes of the

mensural system might be visibly
distinguished from each
other, were, as we have seen, at first lacking.
The two-voice
parts continued to be written in the notation of the ecclesiastical song, that is to
say in neumes or other signs devoid of
I 2

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

u6

and in the rehearsal of a

special signification as regards time,
discant the values of the individual sounds were defined by
the conductor and committed to the

memory of

the performers 1 .

But when the inconvenience and loss of time which must have
2
been occasioned by this cumbrous method had become, as

we may

suppose,

sufficiently apparent,

material

signs

were

adopted ; and at once two well known figures the first parents
in fact and simple source of our own multiple forms of notation
the long and the breve,

made their appearance

characteristic shapes of these figures

in music.

The

were derived from forms

already existing and well known to musicians; discant was

already noted either, as we have said, in the ecclesiastical system
of neumes, or in

some transitional and

simplified

form of

it,

such

perhaps as that shown by M. de Coussemaker in his facsimile of

the hymn Mir a Lege or the already square shapes of Custodi nos
in the same volume ; and either of these forms would include
the two fundamental signs chiefly used to express notes not

punctum or old grave accent, which signified

a descending note, and the virga or old acute accent, which
was used when the note ascended. These were the two signs,
in ligature, the

hitherto unassociated with the idea of exact duration, which,

the

in

square shapes in which they had last appeared as

now adapted to the new purpose of

unmeasured, musicians

In antiquis libris habebant puncta equivoca nimis, quia simplicia materialia

fuerunt equalia, sed solo intellect!! operabantur dicendo intelligo istam longam,
Anon. Brit. Mus. Royal MSS. (Cousse. Script, i. 344).
intelligo illaro. brevem/
:

It would appear that the same method was pursued with respect to the definition of the intervals employed: 'Maxima pars cognitionis antiquorum fuit in
predictis sine materiali significatione, quod ipsi habebant notitiam concordantiarum

melodie complete, sicut de diapason, diapente, et diatessaron

prout habebant
respectum superioris ad cantum inferiorem, et docebant alios dicendo Audiatis
.

Sed materialem significationem parvam habebant,

superior sic concordat cum puncto inferior! et sufficiebat

vos vel retineatis hoc canendo.

et dicebant

eis/

Punctus

ille

Ibid.

2
<Et nimio tempore laborabant antequam scirent bene aliquid, quod nunc
ex levi ab omnibus laborantibus circa talia percipitur mediantibus predictorum y
ita quod quilibet plus proficerit in una hora quam in septern ante quoad longmn

ire/

Ibid.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

117

expressing time-value; and thenceforward the mrga became

the long a or long note^ and the punctum the brevis or short
note of Discant.

No new

was adopted to express the value of the long

note of three times ; it was considered sufficient to repeat the
longa just shown above., which,, under the same name and with
sign

an understanding respecting the circumstances which were to

give it triple value^ served to designate the complete note> the
foundation and source of the whole system. This note^ in its
or longa perfecta, while
triple sense,, was called longior longa,

the long of two beats was called either longa imperfecta

as needing the addition of another sound to make up the
ternary

number

of the complete note

or longa

recta,,

the true

1
The demonstrations of value, for the music of this period, will be reduced,
of the
according to custom and for the sake of convenience, to one-fourth

original.
3

Longa autem apud

priores oi'ganistas

duo tantuni habuerit tempora,

sic

sed postea ad perfectionem dicitur, ut sit trium temporum ad sinailitudinem beatissime trinitatis quod est summa perfecfcio, diciturque longa hnius-

in metris

inodi perfecta.'
*

Walter Odington,

Longa perfecta prima

Cousse. Script

dicitur et principalis

i.

235.
in ea

nam

omnes

alie

includuntur.

Est enim temarius

Perfecta dicitur eo quod tribus temporibus mensuratur.
numerus inter nuineros perfectissimus pro eo quod a summa trinitate, que vera
.
noinen assumpsit.
Longa vero imperfecta sub fignraest et

pura perfectio,
duo tantum tempora

tione perfecte est,

significat.

Imperfecta quidem pro tanto

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

n8

long *, or sometimes long a directa ; and this was no doubt the

note of the cantus planus in the older binary system. There
were also two other notes of the same name. One was the

a long (either perfect or imperfect) to which a

short stroke was added in order to indicate a grace, included
longa

plica,,

value of the note,

the

in

and taken

either

upon the note

following below or the note following above; in the

the long was

normal

second

position, in the

inverted

The

case

first

and preserved its

ascendens, and was

called longa plica descendens,

it

note

other

was

of

called

the

same name was

the

duplex longa, or longa superabundans, also perhaps a relic

of an older binary system; this note was valued as two
longs,

perfect

nine

beats

or

six

as "the

beats

(not

system

ternary

was used sometimes

three

perfect

would

longs
3

require)

or

and

the compositions of this period to

in

express the tenor or cantus planus, but is seldom, except in

Both
early music, found in the texture of the upper parts.
these notes

system

may

be considered as extraneous to the actual

the plica from

the duplex from

its

its

merely ornamental character, and

binary value.

dicitur quia sine adiutorio brevis precedents vel sequentis nullatenus invenitur.'

Ars Cantus Mensurabilis

1

(GQUSSG. Script,

Recta longa appellatur

ilia

i.

117).

que continet duas rectas breves tantum.*

Jean

de Garlande, Cousse. Script, i. 97.

3 *
Plica "est nota divisionis eiusdem soni in gravem et in acuttim, et debet
formari in gutture cuin epiglotto/ Anon. Quedam de Arte Discantandi, Bib. Nat.
Paris,

MS.

812.

Pseudo-Aristotle gives the time-value of the grace note, namely one beat,
or one-third of the perfect long and half of the imperfect.
Of the longa plica

he says: 'Habet autem

omnem

potestatem regulam et naturam

quam

habet

perfecta longa, nisi quod in corpore duo tempora tenet et unum in membris.'
(Jean de Muris, Speculum Musicae, explains, 'id est in plica vel inflexione). . .
Est plica imperfecta in forma perfecte similis, sed regulam imperfecte tenet
et

naturam, et continet

Script,
8

i.

unum tempus

in corpore, reliquum in

'Duplex longa valet sex tempora.'

Paris,

membris/

Cousse.

273.

MS.

1107.

Anon. De Arte Discantandi, Bib. Nat.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

119

LONGA.

The

two unequal
In
breves alone.

division of the complete long note into

by means of
was again represented,

fractions could also be effected

this case the lesser fraction

as in the

longa-brevis division, by the breve of one time^ the brevis recta,

and the greater by the "brevis attera, valued as two times. The

admitted the grace note, which was

exhibited in the brevis plica,) a figure similar in form to the
long a plica but inyerted in the lateral sense, that is to say,

breve, like the long,

with the longer stroke

now upon

the left side.

BREVIS.

Hitherto

it

has been usual, in the translation of the $Uca into modern notaby a superfluous grace note in

tion, to exhibit a note of full value followed

smaller type; but since the grace note, according to the rules given by the
and encroaches in a fixed

theorists, is to be counted as part of the principal note,

it has been thought desirable

proportion upon the normal duration of that note,
that in our translations and illustrations of value this fact should be clearly
The circumflex accent placed above the grace note is intended to
indicate the other important fact relating to it, namely, the method of pro'
in the throat with the epiglottis/ or as Pseudo-Aristotle more fully
duction,
f

explains,
inclusa,'

per composifcionem epiglotti

cum

repercussione

which seems to have been peculiar to

it.

gutturis

subtiliter

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

The

principle of a triple proportion

brems recta, which was divided into

was

also applied to the

two unequal fractions

represented by two kinds of semibreves^ minor and major;
these5 like the two kinds of breves,, were identical in form,
*

but the

first

was valued as one and the second as two.

also the plica

was admitted.

hand

joined to the lower right

represents the semibreve.

Again

It appears at first as a stroke

side

of

the lozenge which

SEMIBREVIS.

The mutual

relations of the various parts of this

in conclusion be briefly

shown

Semibrevis inaior

Brevis recta

recta vel imperfecta

Longa

perfecta

Semibrevis minor

Brevis altera

Longa

scheme may

in the following diagram

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

The system
and

just described

illogical, for it

must appear

121

as extremely
arbitrary

presents to us on the one

hand notes of
the same form but of different
value, and on the other notes
of different form
having the same value; while the existence
of

two kinds

of breves, brevis recta

and

brevis altera,

which

together perform exactly the same office as the imperfect long

and breve, is an especially
perplexing circumstance, at first
sight impossible to understand.
But we have to rememher
that the mensural
system

was not

first brought forward as a

complete design expressing an independent idea, but that it
probably grew, as has been said, out of the necessity of bringing

the poetic metres, which at first formed the

only rule of
measure, to a common proportion.
have already seen in
what manner the perfect longa, which
according to Walter
Odington had its origin in the dactylic and anapaestic metres,

We

from such an adaptation; and it

may now be
that
the brevis altera also
suggested
be
due
to the same
may

might

arise

and may have been evolved

through the same process.
In this point of view the mensural notation of these metres is
the result of a compromise
by which the figures formerly reprethe
values
of
the
senting
binary
dactyl and anapaest were retained
while the values themselves were
abandoned; the long was
source,

still

represented by a long and the breves by breves, but the

now valued as three, and the two breves necessarily

long was

became unequal in order to make up between them the

triple
proportion. While the figures representing the ternary metres,
meaning in the Gantus Menmetres are represented in it "by a figure
whose original meaning has given place to an arbitrary and
artificial significance.
This will be clear from the example
therefore, preserve their original

surabiliS) the binary

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

Yet

two short times of the binary metres are still

technically breves, and are figured as breves, they still also
retain the name; a distinction however
being necessary, the
since the

unnatural breve receives a special qualification.

In some such way as this probably, that is to
say in the
adaptation of binary forms to the triple proportion, breves of
different value

forming an

were

office

first

perceived as necessary, and as perin its nature from that which

different

pertained to the combination of the breve with the imperfect

long.

This suggestion of the origin of an

important mensural
alteration of a metre may still
appear somewhat

form in the

we take into consideration the enormous

which was exercised upon music at this time
by the
metrical rhythms.
These had already, apparently, before the
improbable, unless

influence

completion of the mensural notation, been reduced, by means

of the common triple proportion, to a
system, of formulae,
called Modes, the
importance of which in the opinion of the
time may be estimated from the fact that it formed a distinct

and complete subject of discussion in

every important treatise,
from the Discantus Positio Vulgaris, before
down to

1150,
Speculatione Musicae of Odington in the first quarter
of the fourteenth
In these modes, used either
century.
singly
or in combination, all music was
theoretically supposed to be
the

De

written, and all the figures devised to represent the duration

of sounds were also considered as
specially
them;

expressing
and the visible

indeed, the connexion between these formulae

which will become fully apparent as

so close that the author of the
great treatise

signs of music,

we

was

ATS Cantus

proceed,

Mensurabilis (generally supposed to be Franco of

Cologne

1
),

The only particulars respecting this writer which we

possess are to be found
in one of the existing copies of his work, a MS. of the
fourteenth century in
the library of S. Di<*, which concludes with the
following words: 'Explicit
magna ars mensurabilis musice Keverendi Viri cuiusdam Domini Pranconis,
Capellani Domini Pape, necnon Preceptoris Domus Coloniensium
hospitalis Sancti
J

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

In

the

123

opening sentence of his chapter upon the mensural

lohannis lerusoKmitani.'

It

would

MS. treatise by Giovanni

him as 'Magister Francho

also appear that in a

Ciconi, in the library of Pisa, mention is

made

of

de Colonia, prothonotarius/ Cousse. VArt Harm., (fee., p. 22.

Very early in the history of this treatise a claim to its authorship was put
forward by another person. Hieronynras de Moravia, a writer of the thirteenth
it which is given in the text of Ms work thus :
Subsequitur positio tertia lohannis, videlicet de Burgundia, ut ex ore ipsius
audivimus, vel, secundum vulgarem opinionem, Franconis de Colonia/ This general
refutation of a common opinion may have been intended by
Hieronyraus to

century, introduces the copy of

'

possess a particular application to a treatise by one Petrus Picardus which he

has also included in his own work. This author from time to time paraphrases

and once writes down without alteration the words of Ars Cantus Mensurabilis j
and though he perplexes us for a moment by giving both Franco and Johannes
as the authorities for his statements, 'dictaque mea arti magistri Pranconis
de Colonia necnon et arbori magistri lohannis de Burgundia, quantumque potero,

conformabo,' yet he eventually makes clear his opinion that Ars Cantus Menby John of Burgundy by his comment upon one of the paraphrases,
*ut in magna arte magistri Franconis prius dicti latius declaratur/ The only

surabilis is not

contribution in fact of John of Burgundy to the treatise of Picardus appears^

in that author's opinion, to be the 'tree* (probably a diagram of the same
na,ture as our own just given above in the text), whose illustrative powers

he refers to several times with evident admiration.

Notwithstanding, however,
the claim of John of Burgundy, ex ore ipsius, recorded by Hieronymus, it is
difficult to resist the conclusion that the common opinion of his contemporaries
was the right one. John of Burgundy, if we may judge from the scarcity

him in the treatises, was of comparatively small reputation,

while the famous work to which he laid claim bears all the marks of a master
of the references to

mind:

it

is

original

enunciation of

its

and

dignified in style, and highly authoritative in the

a work in fact which corresponds in every way

doctrine,

both to the musical reputation of Franco of Cologne (of whom the Anonymus
British Museum says that he was one of the final revisers of the

of the

mensural notation), and to the intellectual qualities implied by his high ecclesiastical position.
Nevertheless, until the claim of John of Burgundy to the
authorship of this treatise, supported as it
disposed of by more direct evidence than

is

by Hieronymus of Moravia,

we

is

present possess, a certain

remain with respect to the common and more
at

small degree of doubt must still

probable opinion. It may be mentioned that two other treatises; Tractatus
de Consonantiis Musicalibus (Cousse. Script, i. 296), and Quedam de Arte Discantandi
(Bib. Nat. Paris, MS. 812) copy
reference to its author.

from Ars Cantus

Mensurabilis, but

make no

Mention should also be made of another very important contemporary work

which is to be found perhaps in its original form in Bib. Nat. Paris, MS. 813,
with the title De Arte Discantandi beginning with the words Gaudent Ir&mtaU
moderni. The contents of this work have been reproduced more or less completely in a considerable

a lohanne
i.

303), in

dicto

number

of treatises

Battoce (Cousse. Script,

De Qantu Mensurabili

(Ibid.

i.
i.

for instance in AbbreviaUo, &c.

292), in Tractatus de Discantu

319), also in the treatise of

(Ibid,

Eobert

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

124

notation as

figures,, defines

Hhe

representation of vocal sound

the modes/
regulated according to some one of
The modes differ slightly in number and arrangement in the
various treatises, but the most usual form of the system
follows

as

is

First (Trochee]

VI"

&c.

TV!

&c.

1" V'

&c.

Second (Iambus)

Third (Dactyl}

Fourth (Ana^

ft

&c.

Fifth (Molossus)

B B

Sixth (Tribracti)

B B

fi

a B B

&c.

&c.

&C.

O
o
>

o,

po

&C.

0-,

o,

o o o
,

r r

r r r

&c.

de Handlo (Ibid. i. 383), and in parts of the treatise of John Hanhoys (Ihid.
403). In all these works the original, which must have been, apparently,
of the same period as Ars Cantus Mensurabilis, but a little earlier in actual date,

i.

ascribed to 'Franco/
This fact formerly created a confusion which is well seen in the fifteenth
century treatise of John Hanboys. This writer evidently thought that Ars
Gantus Mensurabilis and Gaudent brevitate, &c., were from the same hand, since

is

the basis of his treatise, or rather commentary, consists of a compound of both

'
worts, the result however being always ascribed to Franco/ Yet the difference
in style should alone have been sufficient to show that the author could not
be the same in both cases, for whereas the style of Ars Canines Mensurabilis,
is, as has been said, excellent, that of Gaudent brevitate, &c. is dry, methodical,
}

and

less

marked by

literary

quality.

And we

in fact

now know that during

the short period which represents the climax of the mensural system another
Franco, Magister Franco Primus as he is called by the Anonymus of the
British Museum but better known as Franco of Paris, lived and wrote con-

temporaneously with the master of Cologne; if therefore Franco of Cologne

wrote Ars Cantus Mensurabilis in the treatise Gaudent brevitate, &c., we may
probably see the work upon which rests the fame of Pranco of Paris. That they
should have been often confounded need occasion no surprise; not only would

[Link]
The

OR MEASURED MUSIC

125

which were necessary for the guidance of

the
singers through
lahyrinth of the mensural system were,
with respect at all events to notes not in ligature^ neither so
instructions

numerous nor

so complicated as

for the maintenance

might perhaps be supposed

of one object as

paramount throughout

the process of regulation, the production that is to say of a

continuous flow of rhythm upon a basis of equal measures

each containing three beats or times, tended strongly towards

the simplification of his task. In the production of this rhythm,
and therefore in his choice between duple and triple,, or duple

and

single values for notes

of the same shape

or in other

words, in his application of the principles of perfection or

alteration to the written note
he was obliged, it is true, to
consider somewhat carefully the notes immediately antecedent,
and still more carefully those which were immediately to follow,

but the various circumstances affecting his decision were easily

classified, and were provided for in rules not difficult to reThis will be evident from the rules themselves, which
earliest treatises, with the original

member.

are here given from the

examples.

RULES FOR THE LONG.

Showing when it is to be considered as Perfect and valued
as three, and when as Imperfect and valued as two.
i.

The

long,

when

valued as three;

Example

it is

followed by another long,

each will thus make up the

full

is

to be

measure.

the similarity of their names and dates of activity and their promulgation
of the same doctrine tend towards such a result, but the fact also that their
works represent very little that is original, and may rather perhaps he described
as crystallizations of the settled musical thought of their age, must have
tended to invest them with so much of the character of abstractions that even
in their

own time both may

authority.

well have been merged in one idea of supreme

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

FIFTH RHYTHMIC MODE.
(Molossus.)

a.

two

Followed by a single breve the long is to be valued as

the single breve will then complete the substance of the

full note.

Example:
FIRST RHYTHMIC MODE.
(Trochee.)

Bo

3.

mi

Preceded by a single breve the long

ni

is also

laus

to be valued

as two; the breve again destroys the perfection of the long,

and itself completes the substance of the full note. Example :

SECOND RHYTHMIC MODE.

Third subdivision.
(Diiambus and Amphibrach.)

Diex

on

por

rai

je.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

4.

Preceded or followed by either two or three breves, or

their equivalent, the long is valued as three, since either

or three breves will of

full note.

Example

make up

themselves

of two breves interposed

two

the value of a

THIRD RHYTHMIC MODE.

Second

subdivision.

(Dactyl and Choriambus.)

Chief

Example

en

ant.

of three breves, or their equivalent,

interposed

From

the foregoing examples it will be evident that in the

earlier period of discant the value of the long depended largely

upon the nature of the mode actually in use

and also that in general the mode was easily

at the

moment,

distinguishable

but doubtful cases sometimes arose, in which it was uncertain

whether an essentially ternary mode or one of the converted
binary forms was intended, and in such cases a point or
stroke of division, modi divisio, was employed to xlecide the

In the following example, for instance, the four

given notes might indicate either the choriambus the first
question.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

ia8

ordo or subdivision of the third or dactylic mode or a trochee followed by an iambus; the point of division removes

we

doubt, and

all

see that each breve

the

must be taken into the

long nearest to

note represented by
value of two beats only for each long.

full

it,

leaving

RULES FOR THE BREVE.

Showing when it is to be considered as Brevis recta and valued
as one, and when as Brevis altera and valued as two.
i. Two breves, between two longs, or between a pause and
a long, or between a long and the stroke or point of division,
require alteration in order to make up the value of a full note ;

in this case the second breve

valued as two.

becomes brevis altera and

is

Example:

THIRD RHYTHMIC MODE.

Third subdivision.
(Double Dactyl and Choriambus.)

Ma

ri

be

ta

ge

ne

trix.

Three breves, between two longs, &c., are not

subject to
alteration, since together they make up the value of a full note.
2.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

129

3. Four breves, between two longs, or between a pause and

a long, are not subject to alteration, since the first three are
grouped to make up the value of a full note, and the fourth

taken into the fuH note represented by the following long,

which thus becomes imperfect. But four breves, between two
is

longs, with a point or stroke of division between the second

and third, fall under the rule for two breves ; in each pair

the second becomes brevis altera, to

a full note.

make up

the value of

Example:

FOURTH RHYTHMIC MODE.

First subdivision.

(Anapaest and Pyrrhic.)

4. Five breves, between two longs, or between a pause and

a long, require alteration ; the first three are grouped to make
up the value of one full beat, and the fourth and fifth together

the

fifth

another.

becoming brevis altera

make up

the value of

Example
SECOND RHYTHMIC MODE.
:

Fifth subdivision.

(Diiambus.)

L'au-trl

WOOLDRIDGE

er

m'es-ban

oi

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

i go

as

Semibreves also were subject to perfection, counting three

the value of the breve; in general they followed the

same

rule as

the brevis
recta

thus

breves, the semibrevis

altera,

major corresponding to
and the semibrevis minor to the brevis

The pauses

(omissiones vocis rectae), which expressed in

were six in number.

silence the values of the various notes,

They were the pausa

perfecta, extending through three beats

and answering to the perfect long; the pausa imperfecta, of

two beats, occupying the time of the imperfect long or the
double breve ; the pausa brevis, of one beat ; and finally the
pauses of the semibrevis major and semibrevis minor, occupying two-thirds and one-third respectively of the single beat.

The

by which these periods of rest were

exhibited consisted of vertical strokes drawn in proportional
material

signs

length through the spaces of the stave; the pausa perfecta

therefore occupied three spaces, the pausa imperfecta two, the
brevis recta one, the semibrevis major two-thirds, and the
semibrevis minor one-third of a space; the sign of the finis
punctorum, or end of all things, corresponding to the modern

double bar, was drawn through the whole stave. These signs
were also used in a nonmensural sense, as strokes of division ;
sometimes, as we have already seen, to warn the singer of
a
of

change of mode, and sometimes to indicate the group

notes which was to be sung to a particular word or

syllable.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

The mensural system
the

commonly shown in
some such manner as the

of pauses

contemporary treatises

131

in

is

following :-

Thus

far our view of the

work

heen

of the mensuralists has

directed chiefly to the

proportional

regulation of the notes

which, both in the ecclesiastical song and in the measured

discant, represented single sounds adapted to single syllables
of the text.
have now to consider the treatment of other

We

notes, also existing originally in the ecclesiastical

song, of equal
importance with the syllabic notes but devoted to a somewhat
different purpose, which were also
adopted by the mensuralists
and brought into regulation. These are
thefyurae or notes in
ligature, representing groups of sounds, which form so characteristic

a feature of the ancient melodies.

The relation of these figures to the

song was sometimes the same as that

text in the ecclesiastical

of the plain notes, each

figure being then appropriated to a single syllable of ordinary
duration, but sometimes also the syllable was extended

through

more than

natural length often indeed for a considerable

space of time and the figures were grouped in greater number
above it. With regard to their performance, it would
its

appear

that the figurae were, in their

original use, far less subject to
regulation than even the single notes, for these last were to

some extent

controlled

by the rhythm

of the words.

It

is

true that the figure, when

occupying the place of a single
that
is
to
note,
was
say when placed above a
single syllable,

be executed as a whole within the time of that

syllable,
but the quantity of the notes composing it seems to have been
to

exempt from rule; moreover, when the figures were grouped

greater numbers above an extended syllable the whole
passage must have been practically uncontrolled, and the indiin

vidual values of the notes

must have been

indefinable*

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

be given, showing the use of these
one demonstrates the
ecclesiastical song;

Three examples

and the other two the

syllabic,

them

the

in

figures

may

manner

free

of employing

Su

COB

pra

11

Such then was the

ge

nas

ae

ther

is

om

- nes.

original office of the figures adopted

by

the earlier mensuralists to represent the fixed metrical rhythms

which constituted the first regular melodic forms of discant.

In their new employment their relation to the text remained

is to say, they were still placed some-

the same as before ; that

times singly above a syllable of ordinary duration and sometimes

in greater

number above an extended syllable, but their manner

was entirely altered; their exquisite freedom,

of performance
to

which so much of the charm of the

cantus

is

due,

was necessarily

abolished,

florid

ecclesiastical

and every

ligature,

and every note in a ligature, was made to receive a fixed

time value, and a place in the new system of measurement
in triple proportion.

The

principal figures, as they appear in the

mensuralists, with the

their later

shown

works of the

neumes from which they were taken, and

proportional value in modern notation, are here

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

In considering these
clivis,

two

sign or

hand

be observed that in the

or old circumflex accent (acute to grave), as also in its

derivatives, the

note,

figures, it will

133

climacus and the porrectus, the original

stroke leading to the first

neume begins with an upward

and that the second note descends 5 while on the other

and its

in the podatus or anticircumflex (grave to acute),

derivatives the salicus

with the

first

and

torculus, the

neume begins

note, ascending to the second.

teristics are faithfully

at once

These charac-

repeated in the corresponding mensural

forms ; and from this circumstance arose apparently the generic

forms of ligature, which were
qualification of these borrowed
proprietate, or according to the model existing
It will be observed further, from
in the neumatic notation.
said to be

cum

the translations in modern notes, that the figures here given

are appropriated solely to the representation of those forms of
that is to
rhythm in which the first note is short the Iambic,
say,

and the Anapaestic 1 5 and from

this circumstance doubt-

These remarks refer to the settled or so-called Franconian system of notaThere was however an earlier doctrine, that of the Discantus Positio
to which these ligatures of three
Vulgaris, and of Jean de Garlande, according
notes might "be valued as long, hreve, long, thus representing the first or
Trochaic mode of rhythm; but this doctrine had been given up by theorists
1

tion.

before the time of Franco.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

134

est

Omnis ligaturae cum proprietate

arose the rule,

less

brevis

prima.

The

entire appropriation of these figures

by the Iambic and

somewhat
remarkable
if we consider the
Anapaestic rhythms
fact that the system here shown, which includes the two
great
radical forms of ligature together with their main derivatives
may be said, from the mensuralist's point of view,
is

practically

to exhaust the resources of the neurnatic notation.

the reason for this particular appropriation

it is

at present

unknown

to consider a question of

more

these circumstances, were the

sentation of the Trochaic

which the

and

to us,

and

may

we may

Whatever
however

be,

pass on

practical character

at once

What,

in

means employed

for the repreforms

of rhythm, in
Dactylic

note was long?

Clearly, considering the wide difference which exists between
forms in which the first note is short and those in which it is
first

neumes offered nothing suitable to the

purpose, for with the exception of certain purely expressive
and ornamental figures these were but extensions of the rootlong, the remaining

signs, representing a greater

number

of notes,

and were

unfit

for the

demonstration of forms of rhythm

exactly opposite
in character to those which had
already been appropriated to
the principal figures. Two courses,
however, were still open
to the mensuralists, either of which
might provide a method
for the notation of these
rhythms, and both were in fact

One was

adopted.
described,

by means

the actual utilization of the

figures just
an adroit shifting of the musical accent

of

through the interposition of single notes or pauses

was the appropriation

means of an alteration
by the

of certain

new

ligatures

the other

produced by

of the original
figures

older mensuralists,

but used by

already invented
them in a totally

unsystematic manner.

The principle followed by the older mensuralists in the

invention of the ligatures which were now to be used
for
the purpose of
expressing rhythms in which the first note

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

135

was long was a very simple one, and little more than the
inversion of that which governed the adaptation of the original
for in the invented forms, if the ligature began
with the stroke ascending to the first note, the second note
moved upward, and if with the plain note, the note following

figures;

descended; or in another point of view it may be said if the

figure had at first a stroke upon the left it was now deprived
of

it,

one.

if it was originally without a stroke it now received

Hence the qualification applied to figures of this kind,

and

which were said to be

dicted the

sine proprietatey because they contra-

proper forms;

ligaturae sine proprietate

These

figures, in

hence also the

prima

which the

are evidently less useful,

final

rule,

Omnis

est longa.

first

note

and were in

is

an imperfect long,

fact less used, than those

For it will
borrowed directly from the ecclesiastical song*
be seen that, although all are suitable to the Trochaic
measure, the ligatures
Dactylic, of which the
a perfect long.

of
first

cannot express the

note, in the mensural system, is

three

notes

In the notation of the

method which was mentioned above

dactyl, therefore, the

as alternative to the ap-

the adroit shifting of the

propriation of the new figures, namely
musical accent of the original forms, was adopted, and it

be said that even for the representation of the Trochaic

in use.
rhythms the latter method was also most frequently

may

Our

observations

have probably established a

sufficiently

clear idea of the conditional value of the first note in ligature,

proceeding further, shortly summarize them,

and complete the subject with a few words respecting the final

but

we may, before

and intermediary

notes.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

136

In
first

all ligatures

note

is

but long

which begin with an ascending stroke the

short if the second descends

(cum proprietate),
in those

if it

proceeds upwards (sine proprietate) ;

on the other hand which are without a stroke it
the second descends (sine proprietate), but short

upward (cum

is

if it

long

if

proceeds

proprietate).

In imitation of the

classification according to the position

of their first notes these figures

were

also distinguished according

to the position of their finals, and were said to be either cum

This perfection^ which is not
perfectione or sine perfections.

related to the perfection of the triple proportion,,

to those figures in

which the

last note

was placed

was ascribed
either lower

than the preceding note or perpendicularly above it, while

those which consisted of an oblique bar descending^ or in
final was placed in the ordinary manner above the
note
were imperfect. In the examples just given
preceding
above, therefore, all the ligatures are cum perfectione, except

which the

second example.
The effect of this
the
In
figures cum perfectione
very simple.
a
in
those
sine perfectione it was
was
the last note
long;

the

first

two

distinction

All intermediary notes were breves, except in certain

a breve.

cases in

of the

is

which the semibreve was brought into

ligature.

remains therefore to speak of the figures by means of

which the ligature of semibreves was expressed. Their distinguishIt only

the stroke proceeding upwards from the first note 1

and since this is the opposite treatment to that of the

ing feature
(l^),

is

ligature 'with propriety* (I*), the figures are said to be 'with

5

In ligatures of two notes *with opposite

opposite propriety.
5
are
both
semibreves; in ligatures of three notes
propriety
the first two are semibreves, and the last is valued either as
a long or a breve, according to the rules for the
perfection
and imperfection of ligatures; in ligatures of four notes the

sive

'Opposita proprietas est que habet a primo ptrncto tractum ascendentem,

Hgatura ascendat, give descendat.' Walter Odington} Cousse. Script, i. 243.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

137

three just mentioned are

again valued in the same manner,

while the intermediate note is a breve 1 . The theorists seldom
allow the ligature to extend beyond four notes, but in
practice
and six notes together in one figure are sometimes found ;
in these cases, in the
ligature of five notes the former rules
five

hold good for the

intermediate notes

two notes and the final, while the

may be either two breves or a third semifirst

breve and a breve, according to the circumstances ; in

ligatures
of six notes the first two and the final are
again valued as
usual,

while the intermediate

notes

are a third

semibreve

and two breves.

We

may now

proceed to give examples displaying the best

of expressing in ligatures the various modes of rhythm,
according to the highest contemporary authorities; and in

manner

these most of the figures already given above, whether borrowed or invented, and both methods of employing them, will

be found in use.
1 e

Opposita proprietas dnas facit semibreves, quia una non ligatnr, nee plures
due. TJnde si plures evenerint usque ad divisionem, sic fiuntj omnis
perfectio longaj imperfectio autem brevis; omnis vero media brevis, excepta
ea que per oppositam proprietatem semibreviatur/
Walter Odington, Cousse.

quam

Script,

i.

243.

In the older notation, traces of which sometimes appear in the works of the
'
e
theorists, the opposite propriety was applied to the ligature, not o semibreves,
hut of breves. The Anonymus of the British Museum records the fact, and
'
the rule itself is given, by Jean de Garlande. The Anonymus says
Iterato
fuerunt quidam respicientes quod regule supradicte non erant sumcientes, et
:

posuerunt signum proprietatis opposite, ut supradictum est, et dixeront quod

omnis figura, cum opposita proprietate et perfectione, ultima longa et precedentes
Cousse. Script, i. 343.
De Garlande's rule is as follows : * Omnis
ligatura cum proprietate opposita et perfecta, ultima est longa, et omnes precedentes ponuntur pro brevi, si sint ibi plures, sed si sint due tantum non valent
nisi brevem/
Ibid. i. 100.

pro brevi/

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

I3 8

FRANCO OP [Link].

Kt

WAITER

Here we find both methods^ the employment of invented

figures and the shifting of the accent of borrowed ones, recom-

mended by
mode,

in

these high authorities.

which the

first

note

The examples

is short, will

of the second

show the accent

restored to its original position.

SECOND RHYTHMIC MODE.

FKAKCO OP COLOGITB.

(Iambic.)

Ac.

&c.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

WALTER

139

ODINGTOIT.

&c.

&c.

first note is long, we are

already prepared again to find the shifting of the accent.
may also notice the expedients resorted to by composers for
the representation of the perfection of the initial note, which

In the third mode, in which the

We

placed out of ligature by Jean de Garlande, while by Walter

Odington it is forced into juxtaposition with the following

is

figure.

THIRD RHYTHMIC MODE.

1

(Dactylic

.}

JEAN DB

&c.

&c.

The contents of the

figure are

shown by the tipper bracket in this example,

The shifting of the accent is thus

the lower marks the rhythm of the mode.

made

clearly apparent.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

140

&C,

figures^ which by the simple expedient of

a
perfect long at the beginning of the series are here
writing
to
made
express the Dactylic rhythm^ will now be seen restored

These Anapaestic

to their proper position in the fourth

mode^ and bearing their

proper accent.

FOURTH RHYTHMIC MODE.

(Anapaestic.)
JEAIT

DE GAELANDE.

&c.

FBAKOO OP

&0.

&c.

THs

an old form, afterwards

of two notes of the same sound.
is

disallowed, used to express the ligattire

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

141

The fifth mode was composed entirely of perfect longs

divided into groups of three, corresponding to the old rhythm
of the Molossus, but was not expressible in ligature \ except
licence which changed for the time being the value of
the figures employed. Jean de Garlande gives an illustration
of the only acceptable form, as follows

by a

FIFTH RHYTHMIC MODE.

JEAN"

DE G-AELANDE 2

The well-known

figures

were also used to express the sixth

mode, which was composed entirely of breves, again divided into

groups of three. They were made available by the simple
device of adding a plica to the imperfect longs of the ligature,

which were thus divided

1 '

Vehementer errant qiri

Franco, Ars Cantus

ligant.

in half.

tres longas aliqua occasione

Mensurabilis, c.

x/

cum tenoriMs

(Cowsse. Script,

2
'Hoc fit causa brevitatis. Et non proprietate sumitur
ut ita in tenoribus accipiatur/ Ibid, i, 101.

i.

ita,

invicem

128.)

sed usus

est,

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

1 43

SIXTH RHYTHMIC MODE.

X>E

GrAHLANDE.

**

fr

&c.

|T

r
&c.

In the foregoing examples, most of which were taken from

the Tenors of contemporary motetts, we not only sufficiently
perceive the

method by which the

figures

of the neumatic

notation were adapted to the representation of the modes of

measured rhythm, but we also obtain our first real glimpse

and
melody to which these modes gave rise
somewhat rigid character of the

of the kind of

we find that,
new method

in spite of the

a method adopted not from any special con*

sideration for the

short fragments
agreeable.

This

improvement of melody itself, most of these

are more than tolerable, and some highly
is

not very surprising, perhaps,

their origin, for they are indeed for

if

we

consider

the most part adapted

fragments of ecclesiastical song, in which, since the original

intervals have been carefully preserved, much of the former

beauty

is still

to be perceived through the comparatively

disguise of the proportional

rhythm.

Yet

it

will

stiff

be evident

that, notwithstanding their pleasing qualities, the strict

modes could
our examples,
little

not, in the shape in

suffice for

rhythmic
which they are revealed in

the purposes of composition.

passages, for instance,

If these

were extended, and continued in

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

the unbroken form which

soon cease to please;

is characteristic

of them, they would

for except in dance music, where the

interest is sustained

by a perception of the relation of each

unit
to
the
rhythmical
larger rhythm of the strains, the constant
flow of one kind of melodic figure must
always in time become
wearisome and cloying.

was

And

in fact fully perceived,

stood,

the existence of this

possibility
its nature
perfectly well under-

and

by the mensuralists, who

in

order to avoid

it

made

use of two means

the breaking up of the

melody into broad
marked
out
and
the mixture of the modes.
phrases
by pauses,

The first method we have already seen exhibited, in its most

limited shape, in the example of the fifth
rhythmic mode;
in its more extended forms it somewhat resembles a division
into strains, though without the
perfect regularity and balance
of that process.
This will be evident from the two
following
examples of Tenors, of which the first is from the motett

Huic ut placuit, by an unknown author, and the second from

the motett

natio

nephandi, ascribed to the author of the

treatise Discantus Positio Vulgaris

both are in the

fine

MS.

1
in the Library of the Faculty of Medicine at
Montpellier .

I.

Mode

(ecclesiastical}

VIII.

MS.

M. de

First

Coussemaker's L'Art Harmonique aux XII*

an exposition of the contents

of this valuable

MS.

et

Rhytnmic Mode.

JOTIC

Siecles is

mainly

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

144

II.

Mode

(ecclesiastical)

IL

TMrd Rhythmic Mode.

MONTPELMEB MS.

r
T3:

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(2)

(3)

"3

=221

/?3

(4)

ICC
(5)

(6)

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

145

3E

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

example consists of a single

two of which contain four measures
the whole thrice repeated.
The second and

It will be seen that the first

strain of three phrases,

and one five,

more extended example consists
which the first and third contain
the second forty-three;

of three very long strains, of

forty-one measures each, and

these measures are grouped in each

strain in three broad phrases of melody, excellent in themselves

and varied

in a masterly manner.

The

idea of repetition also

already perceived ; the last strain opens with the first and
second phrases of the first, and shortly after introduces the

is

first

and part of the second of the second strain. The comporegarded from our present point of view, may

sition as a whole,

be said to reveal the existence of a system for the management

of rhythm, upon an extended scale and apart from metrical
is in harmony with
more modern ideas.
The methods by which the second means of obtaining variety,
the mixture of modes, was effected, were in theory two in
number, of which the first and most decisive was the simple

words, which though as yet incomplete

WOOLDRIDGB

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

146

juxtaposition of rhythmical figures not belonging to the same

mode, and the second the omission of part of a figure and the
substitution of an equivalent pause.

With
that

respect to the

presents no

it

first

of these

difficulty

methods

whatever;

it

may

be said

the examples which

are given in the treatises in illustration of it are at once seen

to effect the object proposed, and from the compositions of the

time

we

method

find that its application

is

exceedingly

apparent impossibility
theorists respecting

it

with anything that

music.

The theory

is this.

difficult

of
if

was

universal.

to understand,

But the second

owing to the

the

reconciling
language of the
we are to understand them literally

we know

of the

contemporary practical

Pauses which express the value of the

whole figure do not of course produce any effect upon the

rhythm, but the omission of the long note in the first mode

and the insertion of equivapauses, are said to change the mode ; the same result is

or of the short note in the second,

lent

mode by the omission of the longest

in
the
or
fourth
note,
by the sacrifice of the two short ones.
The change is sometimes said to be made by the omission of
obtained in the third

pauses

the effect, however,

as will appear

from the

is

of course in either case the same,

illustration.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

The examples

147

given by the author of Ars Cantus Mensura-

bills in illustration of this

theory are as follows

FIRST MODE.

Ma

ris

stel

la

fer

vens

SECOND MODE.

5?
Ma

ri

Ma

De

ter

Flos Odoris

Now it will

be observed that in each of these fragments the

passage which follows the pause presents, from its beginning
with the initial value of another mode, the appearance of
a change of mode, and yet that in both cases the original

rhythm, if we count the pause, flows on without interruption ;

we should therefore naturally conclude that the change here
shown is rather apparent than real, for we have hitherto
regarded the

first

and second modes as the converse of each

and only to be alternated by a break

other,

But the

in the

rhythm.

great theorist in giving these examples says distinctly

and without

modes

by the
2
pauses ,
supported by Jean de Garlande and
3
Walter Odington
This is a somewhat embarrassing circumit
for
evident
is
stance,
that, if the mode of the passage fervens
1

qualification that the

and he

are changed

is

1 f
Et nota pausationes mirabilem habere potestatem: nam per ipsas modi ad
Unde si modus primus, qui procedit ex longa, et
invicem transmutantur.
brevi, et longa, pausam post brevem longam habeat imperfectam, variatur modus
in secundum. Si vero secundus pro longa nota pausam brevem assumat, variatur
.

De pansis, et quomodo per ipsas modi

Ars Cantos Mensurdbilis, c. ix.
9
Cousse. Script, i. 126.
ap invicem variantur.
2
De Garlande, in his chapter De pausationibus, divides pauses into perfect and

in

'

primum/

imperfect, and defines

mutat

modum

representat.

adventum.'
3

'

Et

hie

them thus:

'Perfecta dicitur

ilia

quando non trans-

propter sui adventum, sed equalem precedent!, quando advenit,

.

Imperfecta dicitur

ilia

que transmutat

modum

propter sui

Ibid, 181.

modus

pausa aufertur,

et

(the second) sepe mutatur in primum imperfectum, cum longa

primus [in secundum] irnperfectum pausa brevi ablata.* Ibid.

239, 240.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

148

shown above

is

really the second,

and the pause

to be valued

is

as part of the rhythm, then the second mode begins, not as has
hitherto been supposed with a strong beat, but like the Iambic
1

rhythm

of the

Ambrosian hymns,

for instance, with a

weak

This is a consequence of considerable magnitude, and

one which, if it were accepted, would throw the whole of the
mensural system,, as we understand it^ into confusion, for if

beat.

turn to the practical music of the time, we find that the

independent parts cannot be reduced to score upon any other

we

understanding than that which is in fact definitely established

by many passages in the treatises themselves, namely that the
first

note, whether long or short, of the rhythmic figure falls

in all

modes upon the strong beat of the perfectio or

three times.

In the melodies of single parts

it is

impossible to find any sense

if

bar y of

also, written in

obviously mixed modes and beginning with the

second,

figure of the

the initial note

To go no further for examples

taken upon a weak beat.
of
Ars Cantus Mensurabilis and
of this fact than the author

is

we may point to the fragments given

writers
as
those
examples of the variation of the second
by
de Garlande themselves,

mode by simple juxtaposition; here, if we

a weak beat upon the first note of each bar
the passages

marked with a

star

become

are to

assume

in that

mode,

unintelligible.

FRANCO.
Second Mode.

First Mode.

^
JIAN DE GAEI-ANDE.
Second Mode.

Second Mode.

First

First

Mode.

Mode.

4c

Second Mode.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

We

see therefore already

some cause

149

for doubt whether the

language employed by the theorists with regard to this method

is to be taken
quite literally, and with all the consequences

which

it

implies;

which the subject

additional reason.

but there

is

may be

still

another point of view

regarded, which will

The composers

of this period

afford

ill

an

were exceed-

ingly careful of the natural accent of the words to which their

music was

and the strong and weak accents of the text

set,

were made^ in the vast majority of

to the musical

mode

cases^ to correspond exactly

rhythm employed yet if we look for

moment at Franco's examples Maris stella and
Maria,
we shall see that a weak beat upon the first note of the second
mode would give fervens and
Mdrid mater dei, which is the
reverse of the natural accent.
The correspondence which
of

actually existed in the music of this period between the accent

the words and the musical rhythm is illustrated in the

following examples, and a glance at them will probably be
of

confirm us in our belief that the rhythmic figure

mode begins, like those of all the others, with

sufficient to

of the second

a strong beat 1 .

FIRST MODE.
*

PSETTDO-AEISTOTLE.*

ni

Snc -te

Spl

- ri

Ms

ve

nl

lux:

gr

- ti

SECOND MODE.
u
*

AtfONTMus OP CAHBBAI/

in
sunt

moil - r

tes

qul

me

1
These examples are from the compositions given by
the Montpellier MS. in X' Art Harmonique, <fec.

M.

nent

si

de Coussemaker from

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

THIRD MODE.

L'es

pi

du

ta"t

la

m<5nde

cMs

cun,

vi

joftr.

FOURTH MODE.

Et

sans

co -meat

moi

But although we may be

du

r<s

said to have rejected the notion

that the initial of the second

mode can have been taken

in

the learned music upon the weak beat, we have still to reckon
with the fact that the pause of transmutation^ if counted in the

rhythm, does actually throw the

upon

that heat^

of the second

and

mode.

is

first

note after the change

any other form

in fact inconsistent with

And

at present there appears to be

only

Having given the general rule, which holds good for fifty of the fifty-one
from the Montpellier MS., we are bound to mention the single
This is a combination of
exception, No. 24 in M. de Cousseinaker's excerpts.
two Prench songs .supported by a ground or recurring phrase, all the voices
beginning together upon the weak beat, proceeding by alternate long and breve,
and changing the mode in the manner referred to by the theorists ; the accent of
words and notes, however, agreeing perfectly. It is clear therefore that music

pieces taken

corresponding, as regards the rhythm, to that supposed in JBYanco's second

example, did exist, and may even perhaps have existed in considerable quantity in
popular and Troubadour music, for the rhythm is of course very old. But since
its scarcity in compositions in
parts is evident, we can hardly accept it as the
second mode referred to by the theorists which would seem to be a
regular and
prevailing one; at the most we should be disposed to regard it as an irregular
form, suitable only for melody or for employment in parts unmixed with

any

other rhythm.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

151

one way out of this difficulty, namely to suppose that the pause
not counted. If the pause, notwithstanding its apparent
time value, could be either regarded as a mere substitute for
is

the stroke or point of division and as

implying
of sound, or understood as the equivalent of the

no cessation

pausa debita

mode which represents the value of the foot of rhythm,

not only should we then be able to reconcile our original idea
of the second mode with the plain statement of the theorists
of the

that the modes are altered by the pause, but the natural
accents of the words, which are dislocated in almost all cases
if

we suppose

a weak

initial beat, will fall into their

proper

places in relation to the melody.

This explanation of the matter, however, though it appears

in fact to be the most probable one, does not remove all
difficulty;

for

we must

not lose sight of the fact that

its

acceptance would reduce the device of change of mode by signs

of time-value to a mere theoretical trick^ and we should be
obliged to admit that the definite statements of the learned
writers have for once
mirabilis potestas

of

no

real relation to practice,

and that the

the pause, perceived by the author of

is as
purely imaginary as the mystical

Ars Cantus Mensurabilis.,

significance of the tesmary

number.

But returning from this long digression, we have to consider

moment, before passing from the subject of rhythm,
a few more characteristic examples of interchange of mode.
In those of the third and fourth modes which here follow,

for a

from Jean de Garlande, we may notice that though the transagain independent of the given pause, the application of the pause as part of the rhythm raises no difficult

mutation

is

questions such as have just been discussed in the case of

the first and second modes. This is due to the fact that the

pauses which are here said to effect the transmutation cannot

of either figure ;
give rise to a weak beat upon the beginning
for the complete figures of the third

spread in each case over two

and fourth modes

'

perfections

are

or bars of three

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

times, each perfection beginning of course with a strong beat ;
and, since the change cuts the figure in half, the note next

following the change

beat of a perfection.

must

necessarily begin

upon the strong

JEAN DE GAKLANDE.

1221

I6

*"'

_::

JEAN DE GAELANDE.

The next example

since

it

is

a mixture of the

begins and ends with the

given as a variant of that

first

four modes, but

figure of the third,

mode by de Garlande

it

is

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

The

building tip
of

subject

the

beginning

of

the

of

the

a continuous
of

thirteenth,,

the

and

method here described was the

effort

twelfth
carried

to be

Its

apparently from
the second half

extending
century to
on both

England, but chiefly in France, and at

the musicians of Paris.

153

earliest

found in two anonymous

in

first

and

France
especially

theoretical traces

Discantus Positio

treatises,

Vulgaris already referred to above, and

now in the Bibliotheque Nationale at

by
are

De Musica
Paris

Libellus,

(MS. 6286),

both of which probably date from the second half of the

The method

twelfth century.
treatises

by a
(Royal

is

later

writer,

MSS.),
one

constitute

as

it

is

displayed in

these

imperfect and elementary, but we are informed

the

whose
of

the

Anonymus
historical

most

of

the British

sketches

interesting

of

Museum

this

features

period
of

his

work, that more complete rules, relating both to notation

and to the perfection and imperfection of
longs and breves
and the values of ligatures, were to be deduced from the
compositions of Leo, or Leonin, chief musician as
of

Notre

Dame

it is

supposed

in Paris, contained in a great

repertory

of

organum upon the Gradual and Antiphonary which was for

many years preserved in the choir library of that cathedral;
and these

rules, we are also told, were again apparent,

abbreviated and simplified, in the adaptations and compositions
1
of Leonin's successor Perotin,
preserved in the same collection .

Cognita modtdatione melorum, secundmn viam octo troporum, et secundum

et consuetudinem fidei catholice, nunc habendum est de mensuris
eorumdem,
secundum longitudinem et brevitatem, prout antiqui tractaverunt, nt magister
Leo et alii plurimi plenius iuxta ordines et colores eorandem ordmavernnt. . .

usum

Ista regula utuntur in phiribus libris antiquornm, et hoc a parte et in suo

teinpore Perotini Magni; sed nesciebant narrare ipsas cum quibusdam aliis
postpositis, et semper a tempore Leonis pro parte, quoniam due ligate tune

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

154

From
rapid;

this period

the advance

onward improvement seems

may

to have been

be observed in the treatises of

Jean

de Garlande and of Pseudo-Aristotle^ both belonging" to the

beginning of the following century^ and is seen to culminate
in

of

Ars Cantm Mensurabilis and the works of the Anonymus

the British Museum and of Walter Odington, which may

modo

temporis pro brevi longa ponebantur, et tres ligate simili

pro longa brevi, &c.

in pluribus locis

*Et nota quod magister Leoninus, secundurn quod dicebatur, fuit optimus
Organista, qui fecit magnum libruin organ! de Gradali et Antiphonario pro
servitio divino multiplicand ; et fuit in usu usque ad tempus Perotini Magni,
qui a^breviavit eumdem, et fecit clausulas sive puncta plurima meliora, quoniani
optimus discantor erat, et melior qnam Leoninus erat, &c. . .*
The author then enumerates some of Perotin's own compositions, and continues : ( Liber vel libri Magistri Perotini erant in usu usque ad tempus Magistri
Boberti de Sabilone, et in choro Beate Virginis Maioris ecclesie Parisiis, et
a suo tempore usque in hodiernum diem, simili modo, &c., prout Petrus notator
.

optimus, et Johannes dictus Primarius, cum quibnsdam aliis, in maiori parte

usque in tempus Magistri Franconis Primi et alterius Magistri Franconis de
Colonia, qui inceperunt in suis libris aliter pro parte notare; qua de causa
regrulas proprias suis libris appropriatas tradiderunt. . . . Abbreviatio
erat facta per signa materialia a tempore Perotini Magni, et parum ante,
et brevius docebant,* efc adhuc brevius Magistri Roberti de Sabilone, quamvis

alias

spaciose docebat, sed nimis deliciose fecit melos canendo apparere.

causa fuit valde laudandus Parisius, sicut fuit Magister Petrus

Anrelianis

(s-ic),

in cantu piano, sed de consideratione temporuni

sciebat aut docebat;

et

fideliter docebat.

Qua de
Trothun,

parum

nihil

sed Magister Eobertus supradictus optime ea cognoscebat

Post ipsum, ex documento suo, fuit Magister Petrus,

optimus notator, et nimis

fideliter libros suos,

secundum usuin

et

consuetudinem

Ex tempore illo fuit qui vocabatur Thomas

magistri sui, et melius notabat.
de Sancto luliano, Parisius antiquus; sed non notabat ad modum illorum,
sed bonus fuit secundum antiquiores.
Quidam vero fuit alius Anglieus, et
habebat modum Anglicanum notandi, et etiam in quadam parte docendi. Post
tempore suo fuit quidam Johannes supradictus, et continuavit modos
supradictorum, usque ad tempus Magistri Franconis, cum quibusdam
aliis magistris, sicut Magister Theobaldus Gallicus, et
Magister Simon de Sacalia,
cum quodam Magistro de Burgundia, ac etiam quodam Probo de Picardia cuius
nomen erat Johannes le Fauconer. Boni cantores erant in Anglia, et valde
deliciose canebant, sicut Magister Johannes filius Dei ; sicut Makeblite
apud
Wyncestriam, et Blakesmit in curia domini regis Henrici ultimi,' (Henry III.)
Cousse, Script i. 342 and 344.
The * &c/ which occurs so frequently in this MS. is to be accounted for by the
ipsos et

omnium

apparent fact that the treatise was delivered in the form of lectures; it would
seem that at the *&c.* the author abandoned the MS. for a time, and supplied
comments and explanations extempore.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

be grouped between the years 1250 and
1320
1

It will

"be

*.

155

As might

noticed that the account here given of the mensural theorists

from that hitherto received ; the order of succession indeed,

differs considerably

in the group, remains much the same as before, but the

group itself has been
transposed to a period some sixty or seventy years later. This change is due
to a consideration of the important facts
brought forward by M. de Coussemaker

(from M. Gatien-Arnoult, in the Revue de Toukuse, 1866), in the introduction to

the third volume of his Scriptorum, &c., in 1869,
respecting Jean de Garlande.
formerly this author was supposed to be identical with one Gerlandus, canon
of Besan9on about the middle of the twelfth century, but the identification
rested on no better evidence than the approximate
similarity of the name.
M. Gatien-Arnoult however introduces us to a new personage, whose name

not approximately but exactly similar to that of the writer on music, and
The Jean
chiefly in Paris, the centre of musical life.
de Garlande of this account was an Englishman, and a student of Oxford,
and must have been born about the year 1190. His English surname, if he
possessed one, seems to be unknown ; that by which he is actually distinguished
dates from the period of his migration to Paris (about 1210), and is derived

is

whose residence was

from the place in which he there

afterwards Rue Gallande.

It

is

not

lived

and taught, the

Clos de Garlande,
ever returned to England ;
abode in the University of

known whether he

are told only that in 1218 he took up Ms

Toulouse, and that his venture not succeeding he returned to Paris in 1232,
and was still living there in 1245. It is true that this account does not

we

actually connect its subject, who is known as a grammarian and poet, with the
authorship of any work on music, and that the identity therefore of the
Parisian teacher, and the author of the famous treatise De Musica Mensurdbili

remains only probable yet considering the principal circumstances,

the exact similarity of name, and the residence in Paris during a period of
the highest musical activity, the probability is considerable.
Accepting this
identification then as a guide to the date of de Garlande's treatise, it will

Positio still

appear that this might have been written, roughly speaking, at any time
between the years 1210 and 1250; but since its doctrine, though in the main
agreeing with the settled form, still retains a strong archaic tinge, the work
cannot be very far removed from the twelfth century, and may therefore date
from the period of de Garlande's first residence in Paris, that is to say not
From this date we obtain the others given above in the
later than 1218.
text. The similarity between the methods revealed in the Tractate de Musica
of Pseudo-Aristotle with those of de Garlande fixes the date of that treatise
as contemporary with his, while the settled and authoritative character of

the teaching contained in Ars Cantus Mensurctbilis, a character which could

hardly have been developed in less than thirty years, suggests 1250 or thereabouts for the date of that work, and also for that of the treatise, so often
later writers as by 'Franco/ beginning Gaudent brevitate
copied and quoted

by

If that
Quandocunque punctus quadratics, &c. (see note to p. 122).
date be accepted the Anonymus of the British Museum (Royal MSS,), who
mentions the names of the two Francos, but none later, and who must therefore
be almost if not quite a contemporary of those writers, may have written Ms

moderni.

admirable work about 1260.

since

we know

that he was

still

Odington's date

is

already approximately fixed,

living in Oxford in 1316.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

156

be supposed., the line of progress was in the direction of

and especially as
simplicity, both in the signs themselves

and in their application to the exregards the ligatures

pression of the current rhythms. In the earlier periods, for
instance, writers endeavoured to make the same ligature
applicable to various modes of rhythm, and even as late as
the time of Jean de Garlande and the Pseudo-Aristotle the
ligature with

propriety and

perfection was used to

and Trochaic forms; in Ars
Cantus Mensurabilis, however, and in the treatise of Walter
Odington, we find this practice severely blamed ; and it appears

triple

express both the Anapaestic

as a final rule that the value of the

ligature

must be constant,
depending no longer upon the mode but entirely upon the
shape of the figure itself, which in future is only to be used
for the expression of those
is

rhythms to which

its settled

value

applicable.

II

THE MUTUAL RELATIONS OF THE INDIVIDUAL VOICES.

The

period with which

we

are at present engaged is marked,

as regards the relations of the voices considered in their

posite character,

by

several occurrences not less

striking

comand

important than those which we have seen affecting their

conduct when considered
Chief among these is
separately.
the revision of the
of
consonance
and dissonance, by
theory
which this was brought into accordance with the
practical
methods of the artistic music.

We

have already seen that the artistic music

may be said
to have formerly
yielded something to theory in its practical
rule, gradually evolved, of excluding dissonance from a
position
upon the strong beat of the rhythm: it was now the turn
of theory to

make

concessions, and to admit to a position

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

157

upon the strong

intervals

beat, and therefore among the consonances,

which had hitherto, from the
beginning of things,

been reckoned as dissonant.

The

of these intervals to be admitted

were the major

Probably a practical demand for their
admission, shown in a tendency during the transitional period
first

and minor

third.

employ them upon the strong beat as for instance in

our example Custodi nos, at p.
113 already existed, but our

to

knowledge of the practical work of this period is so small

that this cannot be affirmed with
As regards the
certainty.
fact itself of their
admission, for which we must of course
look to the learned writers, we find that the earliest
existing

treatise,
1

it ,

Discantus Positio

and from

this

Vulgaris,

we may

makes no mention

perhaps conclude

that

of

about

the middle of the

twelfth century, which is the

probable
date of this treatise, the position of the thirds was at all
events still doubtful; in the little treatise De Musica
Libettus,

however, now in the Bibliotheque Rationale at Paris (MS.

6386), a work which cannot be much if at all later than
1 1 80, and therefore not far removed in date from Discantus
Positio Vulffaris,

the consonances.

we
f

find the thirds

definitely admitted
to be observed/ says this

among

lt is

author,
*that the unison and octave are perfect
consonances; the
major and minor third imperfect; the fourth and fifth inter-

mediate 2 .*

It

would seem probable therefore that at some

time during the second half of the twelfth

century, between
the dates of these two treatises, the
practical

employment

The view of this author is singularly unsystematic, and in this

respect
from that of his predecessors and of his successors. He
says:
f
Inter concordantias autem tres sunt ceteris meliores, scilicet unisonus,
diapente,
et diapason.
Ceteri vero modi magis sunt dissonantie quam consonantie
; tamen
seeundum magis et minus, unde maior videtur dissonantia in tono,
quam in aliquo
alio modo.'
Cousse. Script. L 98.
3
'Notandum est, quod unisonus et diapason sunt consonantie perfecte;
differs equally

ditonus et semiditonus sunt imperfecte-,

Ibid. 382.

diatessaron et diapente dicuntur medie.'

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

158

of the third as a consonance began to be accepted by theory

It is evident
as possibly, even if not demonstrably, reasonable.

however that these intervals were not admitted without qualification, and that a real and important difference between

them and the classical concords was still seen to exist, and
was strongly insisted upon; for in order to receive them the
theory was recast, and the great distinction between perfect
and imperfect consonance, which still prevails in our own
day, was invented.
The theoretical division of consonance into three species,
invented

probably,

as

has

been

said,

justifying an incorrigible practice,

is

for

the

set forth,

purpose of
with all the

parade of scientific accuracy which distinguishes the more

voluminous theorists, by Jean de Garlande l ; and his account
is practically repeated in substance in ATS Cantus Mensura~

which displays the

bills,

settled

and authoritative system of

the middle of the thirteenth century.

The author

of the

'
The
work, however, adds some further distinctions
is
more
concordant
than
the
unison
the octave,
minor third

latter

than the major third, and the fifth than the fourth. Also,
both the perfect and intermediate species of consonance are
more concordant than the imperfect 2 .3

A
1

change also took place at

this time in the theoretical

'

Concordantiamm triplex est modus, quia quedam sunt perfecte, quedam

imperfecte, quedam vero medie. Perfecta dicitur, quando due voces iunguntur
in eodem tempore, ita quod una, secundum auditum, non percipitur ab alia
eoncordantiam, et dicitur equisonantia, ut in unisono et diapason.
Imperfecte autem dicuntur, quando due voces iunguntur ita, quod una ex
toto percipitur ab alia secundum auditum et concordantiam ; et sunt due
propter

Medie autem dicuntur, quando due

ditpnus et semiditonus.
voces iunguntur in eodem tempore, que neque dicuntur perfecte neque imperfecte ; sed partim conveniunt cum perfectis et partim cum imperfectis ; et sunt
species,, scilicet

due species, scilicet diapeute et diatessaron. Sic apparet quod sex sunt species
concordantie, scilicet, unisonus, diapason, diapente, diatessaron, semiditonus,
Et dicuntur genera generalissima omnium concordantiarum/ Cousse.
ditonus.
Script
2

'

I.

104.

Concordantiarum quedam perfecte, ut unisonus qui fit una littera, et diapason; quedam imperfecte, ut semiditonus et ditonus; quedam vero medie ut

"

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

position

of

the

major and minor

sixth.

These

159
intervals,

though not as yet perceived as consonant, were now no

longer classed with the intolerable dissonances, such as the
second, the tritone,

and the seventh, which were only allowed

as passing notes not affecting the discant, hut were recognized as not disagreeable to the ear, and fit to be employed

supported on both
sides by consonance, and placed moreover in a situation
in which they would attract little attention and be lightly
passed over, that is to say upon the weak time of the perindependently, provided that they were

fection,

or beat of three times.

In order to express this

view the theorists invented a division of

the

dissonances

corresponding to that already employed for the consonances.

That

Jean de Garlande, for instance, is again triple, and

1
again displays perfect, imperfect, and intermediate degrees ;
while the author of ATS Cantus Mensurabilis is content with

two

of

divisions,

combining the perfect of de Garlande with

the intermediate

From

2
.

these writers

we

gather that the

Harum omnium concordantiarum, prima concordat

diapente vel diatessaron.
melins quam secunda, ut "unisomis melius quam diapason, et semiditonns quam
ditonus, et diapente quam diatessaron. Item perfecta concordantia melius concordat

quam

hnperfecta

Cousse. Script,
1

i.

media melius concordat quam imperfecta concordantia/

136.

Discordantiarum quedam dicuntur perfecte, quedam imperfecte, quedam

Perfecte dicuntur, quando due voces non iunguntur aliquo modo

vero medie.

secundum cornpassionem vocum, ita quod, secundum auditum una non possit
compati cum alia. Et iste sunt tres species, scilicet semitonium, tritonus, ditonus

cum

Imperfecte dicuntur, quando due voces iunguntur ita, quod secunmodo compati, tamen non concordant. Et sunt
due species, scilicet tonus cum diapente et semiditonus cum diapente. . Medie
dicuntur, quando due voces iunguntur ita*, quod partim conveniunt cum perfectis,
partim cum imperfectis. Et iste sunt due species, -scilicet tonus et semitonium
diapente.

dum auditum

vel possunt aliquo

cum
2

alie

Ibid. 105.
author, after his description of the concords, continues
consonantie dicuntur discordantie ; quarum discordantiarum

diapente/

The

'
:

Omnes

alie

sunt

perfecte, alie imperfecte. Perfecte vero discordantie non possunt sumi in aliquo
discantu; et sunt quatuor; semitonium, tritonus, ditonus cum diapente, semitonium cum diapente. Imperfecte vero possunt sumi in aliquo discantu, et

hoc

est ante

(sic), scilicet

perfectam concordantiam immediate subsequentem ; et sunt tres

cum diapente, semiditonus cum diapente/ Ibid. 136.

tonus

METHOD OF MUSICAL

i6o

introduction of the change

[Link]

was gradual, and that while

at

the major sixth belonged to the order of imperfect or

first

minor sixth was still regarded as

Other writers, however, go further in the direction

tolerable dissonances, the

impossible.

The Anonymus

concession.

of

whose

sixth into consonance

f

l
.

the major and minor third, good between fifth and

or in coming from fifth to unison^ or the reverse,

are

fifth,

and the

major

Finally, the

Latin,

the

of the Library of S. Die,

Franconian period, brings the major
'
The imperfect consonances/ he says,

treatise is of the

sixth

which

Anonymus

of

before

good

an

octave/

of the Bibliotheque Nationale,

14741, writing in

close

is

fonds

the old French vernacular before

the thirteenth

century

and the Anonymus

Museum (Royal MSS.) , belonging to the

both
bring the minor sixth also into the conperiod,
sonant genus, classing it of course with the major interval
the British

of

same

in the imperfect species.

This important change in the theoretical rules of discant,

might very well be ascribed, even entirely, to a general
pleasant sound of the intervals of the
sixth, gradually revealed by experiment with both
voices and instruments; and in any case the improvement
recognition
third

of

the

and

must have been

largely

due to such means.

But a

special

cause has of late been suggested as preponderant, and deserves

examination.

In
1

this

most recent view, put forward by Dr. Hugo

Imperfecte sunt ditomis et semiditonus, que sunt bone veniendo a diapente

in diapente, vel a diapente ad unisonum, et e converse, et tonus cum diapente, que
est bona ante diapason/
Cousse. Script, i. 312.
2 c
Et ne doilt on point faire ne dire ii quintes ne denlx doubles, Tune apres
rautre, ne monter ne descendre avec sa teneur, car ils sont parfais; mais par
accors imparfais, tierces et sixtes, pent on bien monter on descendre ii ou iii notes

ou plus

ce besoing est, mais que ce soit sur notes appendans/ &c.

Ibid. iii. 497.
progression of consecutive sixths in conjunct movement (appendans) of course
proves that both the major and minor intervals are now included in the author's

The

accors imparfais;*
3
Ibid. L 358.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

161

Riemann 1, the change was due to the influence of the English

practice, and more especially of those native popular methods
of part-singing in this country, of which some account was
given by Giraldus de Barri in the twelfth century, In his

Cambriae Descriptio.
Notwithstanding the vagueness of the
account given by Giraldus (the only author by whom any
reference to the popular part-singing is made), Dr. Riemann
justified in assuming as probable that the English
methods consisted in uniform progressions of thirds and

feels

He

sixths.

bases

this

assumption

chiefly

upon the

fact

that the English are known to have been at a later period

actually in possession of such methods, peculiar to themselves;

and he sees

these

in

later

methods

in

the

Gymel

or two-part organizing in thirds, and in the Faulxbordon or

three-part organizing
first

in thirds

make acquaintance

and

sixths,

with which

the works of Chilston,

in

we

Leonel

Power, and Gulielmus Monachus,

all writing
towards the
fourteenth century the survival or continuation of the methods described by Giraldus.
These early
methods then, which it is assumed consisted of progres-

close

of the

sions

of

thirds

and

becoming known in France,

sixths,

are supposed to have powerfully affected the artistic discant, the chief seat of which was in France, and especially
in Paris.

would be pleasant no doubt to us in England to think

that elements of harmonic beauty of so much importance
It

as these were

supplied to

music by the native instinct of

our forefathers; but for that very reason, if for no other,

we are bound to inquire carefully into the character of the
evidence on which the hypothesis rests. What in fact do
account given by Giraldus?

we actually gather from the

The usual method, he tells us,
as elsewhere,
1

was in unison; but two

GescMchte der Musiktheorie

WOOLDRIDGB

of popular singing in Britain,

special

and exceptional

im IX.-XIX* Jahrhundert, Leipzig, 1898.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

kinds of treatment existed amongst us, one in Wales and
the other in Northumberland. Speaking of the Welsh,, he

'In their musical songs they do not utter the tunes

and in
uniformly, as is usual elsewhere, but manifoldly,
says:

many manners and many

such as

singers,

together, as

many

notes;

so that in a multitude of

the custom of this people to bring

songs are to be heard as there are singers

it

is

be seen, and a various diversity of parts, finally coming

together in one consonance and organic melody under the
to

smooth sweetness of

flat

Two

conclusions

may

safely

be drawn from this account; first, that these performances

were conducted in the scales of F or G with the B flat,

and second, that the part-singing can have had nothing to

do with either Gymel or Faulxbordon, and must have been
allied

in

attempts to extemporize discant

the
methods of uniform progression
parts than to

rather

many

to

the

old

which are proper to organizing. The Northumbrian practice,

on the other hand, consisted in a distinct two-part song,
which may therefore possibly have borne some relation to
the later Gymel; but the account unfortunately gives no
information with respect to the intervals employed, nor even
informs us whether they were mixed or uniform. Giraldus
says only that the performance consisted of *not more than
differences of tone or varieties of pitch in the voices,
one murmuring the lower part, the other the upper, in a

two

manner

at once soothing

and

delightful

reference to the use of thirds in

England

The only
is

special

in the treatise

1 *
In nrasico modulamine non uniformiter ut alibi, sed multipliciter nraltisqne
modis et modulis cantilenas eniittnnt, adeo ut in turba canentinm, sicut huic

genti mos est, quot videas capita tot audias carmina, discriminaque vocmn varia,
in nnam deniqne sub
mollis dulcedine blanda consonantiam et organicam

convenientia rtxelodiam.*
2

Cambriae DescripUo, cap. xiiL

'In boreallbns quoqne maioris Britanniae partibns trans

Humbrum, Ebo-

Angloram populi qui partes illas Inhabitant simili canendo

sympnonica ntontur harmonia; binis tamen solummodo tonorum drfferentiis et
vocnm modulando varietatibus, nna inferins submurararante altera vero snperne

racique

finibus

demulcente pariter et delectante.*

Ibid.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

of

the

Anonymus

the

of

Museum

British

163

(Royal MSS.),

written at the end of the thirteenth century, which mentions

that they were allowed in the sense of concords by the
best musicians

of

several

some of the English

and among others by

countries,
* 1

'

organists

the fact however

is

there

connected, not with the Northumbrian song, but with the

the West of England, and it is difficult to
connect this with the methods described by Giraldus. Indeed
it
may be said that no known documents exist which can
artistic practice of

with any show of probability associate the use of thirds and

sixths with the popular practice, or which represent it as

any time exclusively English.

at

Considering then the difficulty at present of tracing the

origin of Gymel and Faulxbordon in the English popular

and considering also the

Anonymus just quoted, nor Jean de
nor
Walter
Garlande,
Odington, all of whom were Englishall
events well acquainted with the methods
men, or were at

practice

fact that

of

the

twelfth

century,

neither the

of this country,

make any mention

of our supposed habit at

and sixths though in

organizing
period
view of the new use of these intervals in French discant
in

of

this

thirds

mention of such a practice, had

be

it

we must

not

existed,

would seem to

hold

it
at least
yet
inappropriate,
doubtful whether our country can really lay claim to any
special share in the introduction of thirds and sixths among

as

the musical concords.

new intervals of discant was

new
rules for the movement
accompanied by

The appearance
sarily

individual voices;

of the

and

these,

were introduced gradually.

like the

Their

final

intervals

form

displayed in the short statement of the

1

Ditonus et semiditonus apnd aliquos non

is

necesof

the

themselves,

perhaps best

Anonymus

of

the

sic (i. e. pro concordantiis imperTamen apud organistas opfchnos, et prout in quibusdam
reputantur.
terris, sicut in Anglia, in patria qne dicitur Westcuntre, optime concordance
dicuntnr, quoniam apud tales magis sunt in ustu' Cous&e. Script. L 358.

fectls)

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

164

Bibliotheque Nationale

1
,

in his

little treatise

in the old

French

vernacular already referred to, a work which may profitably

in
be compared with the older vernacular statement of rules,
Histoire
in
his
the same library, printed by de Coussemaker
and described at p. 87 of the
de VHarmonie au

Moyen Age,

treatises belong rather to the practical

present volume. Both
than to the theoretical side of musical literature, consisting
with
in fact of not much more than authoritative directions

method of composing

respect to the best

in

two parts; and

a comparison reveals very clearly the extent of the enlarge-

ment

of musical resources

which resulted from the introduction

of thirds and sixths.

The

author of the later treatise gives at the outset special

the treatment of the new intervals: 'The minor

for

rules

f
after it, the major third
third/ he says, requires the unison
the fifth, the minor sixth the fifth, and the major sixth

octave/

It

character of

the

the

these

regulations

is

worthy of remark that the imperfect

new consonances

is

clearly

indicated

in

with respect to their progression, which

a certain natural insuffialready perceived as limited by

which
requires their pasciency in the intervals themselves
and by an inherent tendency
sage to a perfect consonance,
into
to
resolve
moreover
perfect consonance in one direction
is

rather than in another.

sixth are

the minor

seen as tending to an
third

third and major

Thus the major

(

outward

resolution, while

and minor sixth proceed most naturally in

the opposite direction.

natural progression of the imperfect consonances

be delayed by a parallel movement of the voices, con-

But the

may

tinuing the interval, provided that the

1

movement be

Cousse. Script, iii.497.

conjunct,

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

and not continued

for

more than three

165

This indeed

notes.

the only kind of parallel movement now permitted, that

of perfect consonances being expressly forbidden in this

is

treatise

It is

not improbable therefore that, in the

new

allow-

we may

ance,

move
when

see the later equivalent of the permission to

in parallel fifths which was accorded by the older discant 2

movement

the persistent conjunct

of the tenor in a given

direction rendered a continuance of contrary motion imposIt will be

sible.

remembered^ for instance, that upon a tenor

proceeding upwards by degrees the old method requires the

following progression:

shown the temptation to come to A

in the discant upon the tenor F, and thus to continue the
contrary movement, must have been considerable, and experiment would soon reveal the agreeable effect, not only of this

Now

in the case here

progression, but also of the continuance of thirds in parallel

movement instead of the old fifths. And this treatment is
in fact

commonly enjoined

considering ;

then

for instance

in the
f

work which we

are at present

If the tenor ascends four degrees

must be accompanied by (a) octave, fifth, third, unison,

and (b) octave, fifth or (c) third, followed

it

in a closing passage,

by two

thirds, if the passage continues

(a)

<M

See note on notes appendans, p. 160,

*
;

thus

(c)

See p. 87*

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

i66

A possibly later form o

treatment introduces the sixth

00..

631
In descending passages these methods were practically reversed :

5368

Middle passages.

535 3368 366

"737

These examples show that discant was^ at the time when

they were written, already approaching very nearly to the
condition of plain counterpoint ; and we may even find in
the instructions given for the treatment of notes not in con-

junct movement indications almost of a foresight of harmony.

The instructions for the accompaniment of the melodic interval
of the fourthj for instance, are
falls

takes

a fourth, the

most remarkable.

discant,, if it

by preference a

an ascent to the octave

fifth
(a).

If the tenor

has a third for the

hi similar

Also,

if

movement

first

note,

instead of

the tenor rises a fourth,

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

it is

better that the discant,

if it

has a tenth for the

should rise to the octave rather than

0)

Good.

(&)

Good.

fall

167
first

a third to the

note,

fifth

(fi)/

.Not so good.

-9-

so good.

Here apparently the harmonic view of the authentic and

plagal cadences is clearly indicated.
be added that although the date of this method
is perhaps most suitably placed about the close of the thirteenth
century, its principles appear to be somewhat in advance of
It should

those which prevail in the compositions of that period so far

as we know them, and we may perhaps therefore suppose that
the practice which it represents is not so much that of the

learned musicians as that of the extempore discanters of the

time. Innovation and experiment, indeed, were marked cha-

extempore practice throughout the earlier

polyphonic period, and many improvements derived from the
suggestions of this practice were, after due observation of

racteristics of the

their effect, adopted

and incorporated

in the orthodox system

We may

suppose therefore, from a comparison of

this method with the written compositions of the time, that
of music.

the close of the century found several existing improvements still

unaccepted by the theorists; the learned writers remaining generally

unconvinced of the merit of progressions containing parallel

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

168

imperfect intervals, and at the same time disinclined to give up

the parallel perfect intervals which had been hitherto freely used,

and which were indeed strongly

Having now

described

characteristic of their system.

the various

musicians during the early mensural

to consider the

method of

means developed by

period,,

we may

proceed

their application in the production

This method, in its general aspect, was

exceedingly simple, and may be described in a few words.
The elements of measured composition were still the same as

an

of

artistic result.

those of Organuni, a given subject, or Tenor, and a discant

upon it ; but not only was the subject now measured, but
it also displayed a strongly rhythmical character, due to its

complete arrangement in some one of the recognized metrical

modes. The discant also was conducted entirely in a metrical

mode, though not necessarily that of the subject, and was

governed in its relations with the subject chiefly by one
namely, that in all modes, at the beginning or strong
beat of each measure or c perfection/ the voices must be in
No rule was given for the weak beats, which
consonance 1

rule,

might be

either in

consonance or not 2, but from the works

of the best composers of this time

was

we

find that consonance

in fact usually preferred throughout.

Probably the most striking and characteristic, though not

actually the most enduring, feature of this method is the

system of metrical modes, controlling both subject and discant,

and imparting a special and unvarying character to the music.

An
1

account of these formulae and of their influence upon

'Item intelligendum

est

quod in omnibus modis utendnm

est

semper conMrs

cordantiis in principio perfectionis, licet sit longa, brevis, vel semibrevis/

'

Cartfw
2

et

MensMrabilis (Cousse. Script,

i.

132).

Omnia puncta imparia primi modi

cum

tenore concordare dehent.

(first note, third, fifth, &c.) sunt longa

Eeliquia vero paria indifferenter ponuntur/

Anon., B. M. (Koyal MSS.), Cousse. Script, i. 356.

It should however be mentioned that, from the compositions themselves, we
find that the obligation o
consonance was only enforced, in the
and
anapaestic rhythms, at the beginning of alternate perfections, that
the beginning of each foot of metre.

dactylic
is to say at

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

169

has already been given at some length in this

and
the important part which they played in the
work,
general construction of mensurable melody was then probably
notation

sufficiently

demonstrated.

indeed evident, both from

It is

the treatises and from the compositions themselves^ that no

other method of arranging musical sounds was considered
as strictly proper to the system of the thirteenth century,

and that these rhythmical

figures in fact constituted, during

and vital form of the work.

be
well
before
therefore,
may
proceeding to examples of
to
a
devote
short
composition,
space to the consideration

this period, the actual foundation

It

most usual combinations of the modes, arising out of

employment by two voices in discant.

of the

simultaneous

their

The examples

here given

are

taken

from the

treatise

Jean de Garlande, where a long and profusely

chapter

is

of

illustrated

devoted to the subject.

TROCHEE AND IAMBUS.

2nd Mode.

TROCHEE AND DACTYL.

ist

Mode.

^ 3rd Mode.
Lt

j-^

The dissonance of the second upon the strong

beat, to

which attention

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

TROCHEE AND MOLOSSUS.
ist

Mode.

&c.

5th Mode.

TROCHEE AND TRIBRACH.

6th Mode.

3
IAMBUS AND DACTYL.
2nd Mode.

Mode.
$rd~""~
~~
{J

~
i

IAMBUS AND ANAPAEST.

2nd Mode.
-p*

&
&c.

4th.

Mode.

is here drawn, mil be met -with,

again occasionally in these examples ; it was
inserted deliberately for the sake of ornament (coZor), and always takes this
form of a loud of appoggiafoira proceeding to the note itself with which it is

discordant.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

IAMBUS AND MOLOSSUS.
2nd Mode.

IAMBUS ANB TRIBRACH.

6th Mode.

&e.

DACTYL AND ANAPAEST.

3rd Mode.

4th Mode.

I22Z

171

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

:&

&c.

DACTYL AND MOLOSSUS.

3rd Mode.

5th Mode.

DACTYL AND TRIBRACH.

6th Mode.

3rd Mode.
19

Q
'

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

173

^
+r

"-

ANAPAEST AND MOLOSSUS,

4tli

Mode.

5th.

Mode.

&c.

ANAPAEST AND TRIBRACH.

6th Mode.

p^r-R-^^M^^
4th Mode.

(*)

&c.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

174

MOLOSSUS AND TRIBRACH.

Gtla

Mode.

5tlx

Mode.

These examples not only provide us with excellent

types
of rhythmical mixture, but
they also enable us already to

form some practical idea of the kind of

part-writing which
characteristic of the
In its method
early mensural period.

is

this

seen as exceedingly

is

resource,
ditions

weak and tentative, deficient in

and embarrassed by the rigour of its essential con-

while in

and harmonically

its

effect it

is

The

pointless.

perceived as harsh, empty,

strength and excellence of

the composer, in fact, is still

chiefly shown in the melodies
of the individual voices, which are
always easy and flowing,

and sometimes,

as

in

many

of de

the sixth metrical mode, as good as

music in

strict

rhythm

century, however,

we

to be.
shall

Garlanded examples of
it is

Before

possible for simple

we

quit the thirteenth

witness, in our examples, some

approach towards that striking improvement in part-writing

which the rules last quoted in this work have
already

for

prepared us;

the feeble passages in unison will in a

great

measure disappear, imperfect concords will be found to be

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

largely employed,

which

arise

175

and a notion of the sense and coherence

from harmonic relations

even be seen as

will

Yet even

dawning upon the minds of composers.

in the

examples
appear that artistic invention was
unable to deal exhaustively with the actual means at

later

it

will

command.

The

capacity of

the governing material, the

struggle towards

an

enlargement

still

its

the

of

struggle which

characteristic of all arts during their periods of growth,

is

had

been necessarily rewarded by an increase of power which

extended far beyond the immediate needs of the artist, and

by the

creation of a field of effort of which only a very small

part could at first be at all perceived. It should not surprise
us therefore to find that, although most of the resources which
belong to the first two orders of counterpoint were now at

the disposal of the musician, and although a double cantus

in which both voices might move in complete liberty, yet in
perfect obedience to law, was in fact within his means, he
still

renounced the free exercise of the imagination, and for

a long time remained content except in dealing with two

special forms of composition in one of which an ancient method

was continued

with an almost mechanical construction of

the upper voice parts upon the basis of material arranged

throughout in a predetermined strict rhythmical shape.

Ill

FORMS OF COMPOSITION
Although the various special forms of composition proper
to this period may at first sight appear more numerous than

might have been expected,

it will

be found upon examination

It will be seen

any were superfluous.

that each corresponded to some need arising
difficult to assert that

either

from the

popular or the ecclesiastical use of music, or displayed some

in its purely technical
special aptitude of the art considered
aspect ; and since the aims of

all

are reproduced

more or

less

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

176

exactly in the music

of

must be assumed

it

times,

were healthy and indeed necessary elements in the

that

all

first

work

of development.

may be

These various forms

manner

later

classified

the

in

following

Compositions in which
Such are
words.

(a)

the parts have the

all

Organum

same
sum-

communiter

ptum, the Cantilena, and the Rondel or Rota.

(b)

(c)

Compositions in which each part has

Such is the Motett,
words.

of equal antiquity :
Organum
rest, and may therefore now

age and authority of Organum Purumy which

probability the survival of an old method of florid

great

in all

discant in free

rhythm and extempore upon the long notes

of the plainsong,
in

sumptum

examined.

first

was

special

all

vel proprie

Not all these forms were

Purum was older than the
The

own

the parts have words.

Such are the Hoquet or Ochetus, the Gonductus, and

Compositions in which not

Organum Purum

be

its

which

it

may

perhaps partly account for the respect

was held by the authors

of the thirteenth century

apparently considered it as still

Their opinion,
the most noble and beautiful kind of music.
these writers

treatises, for

however, was no doubt largely justified by the merits of the

method, for the freedom which was its chief characteristic,

in whatever degree it may have been present in the composition,

implies

regular style
1 e

the

existence

of

Discantus autem

fit

cum

littera,

aut sine et

Cum

eadem

rondellis, et cantu aliquo ecclesiastico.

Cum

cum eadem

vel

beauties

were impossible, and must

cum

diversis.

in itself

cum

littera,

which

in

the

have possessed
hoc est dupliciter

littera fit discantus in cantilenis,

diversis litteris

fit

discantus, ut in

motetis qui habent triplum vel tenorem, quia tenor cuidam littere equipollet.
Cum littera et sine fit discantus in conductis et discantu aliquo ecclesiastico qui
proprie (improprie

is

wrongly given in the text) organum appellatur/

Mensurabttis, cap. xi; Cousse. Script.

130.

Ars Cantos

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

177

much accustomed

to repeti-

charm

art ineffable

for ears too

tions of the well-known metres in fixed measurement.

Of

the

method

itself

unfortunately no absolutely clear or

is
complete account can yet be given. This fact, however,
not due to any actual scarcity of information, for at least
three writers of the first rank the Anonymus of the British

(Eoyal MSS.), the author of ATS Cantus MensuraUUs,

and Walter Odington have taken the matter in hand, all
of course being abundantly informed and not less clear than
usual in statement ; our difficulty therefore arises from no fault

Museum

of the authorities, but

from the

fact that their discussions deal

with the method in certain aspects only, and that they were
addressed to a public already well acquainted with the process
in question; the points not touched upon could then be filled

from the knowledge of the reader, while the allusions to

well understood, and would in fact
practice also would be
direct
than
more
little
be
appeals to experience. For us how-

in

ever, possessing

no antecedent knowledge, the accounts given

the compositions now

at our disposal, are not quite sufficient; so that while some
of the essential features of the method stand out clearly
in
others, also of considerable importance, remain

in the treatises, even

when

illustrated

by

enough,

at.
obscurity and can only be guessed

The
trasted

free

by

Organum (proprie sumptnm) was generally conthe theorists with an Organum of another kind,

called Organum comalready referred to in our classification,

muniter sumptum, a form of the current strict music. More-

over

it

would seem that

perceived from

at different times the

of
slightly different points

contrast

was

view ; for while the

forms for the most part in

early writers regard the opposed
their relation to the metrical modes, the later men take note
chiefly of their position

with regard to the mensural system.

distinction between
In the
point of view the essential
the
in
the two kinds of Organum resides
regularity or irregufirst

larity of their

WOOLDRIDGE

rhythmical forms ; the

strict species

organizing

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

178

From the description

in
for instance of the strict species, given
Discantus Positio
in

some recognized mode, the

free not so.

upon measured music which we

that
would
the chief characteristic of that
possess,
appear
species was the purity of its metrical character, and for this reason
VulgariS} the oldest treatise
it

no doubt
contrast

Organum by the author

however between this Organum and the
it is

called pure

The

actual

free species

not demonstrated in Discantus Positio Vulgaris, though no

it is intended to be inferred.
are only told with

is

We

doubt

which

respect to the latter

form here

called

Organum

apparently identical with the

that it was a twofold
duplex
is

discant in which the melody, in relation to the lower voice,

was diverse! and consonant ; that the pauses corresponded,

but that the notes did not, because the long notes of the
tenor were protracted 2 .
The last sentence contains an important piece of information with respect to the method.

In the

treatise of

Jean de Garlande the rhythmical test is

and the contrast between the two kinds

strongly insisted upon,

of

Organum

to

them

in effect,

which

is

well displayed in the

rectum and non rectum.

c

is

names which he assigns

All organum/ he says

<

sung in some mode, either regular

meant one of those in which discant
is

irregular (non rectus) y Jthat is

to say a

mode

(rectus),

by

sung, or

is

in which the

rhythmical figures are not strictly taken. Longs and breves

are strictly taken in the first regular mode
(as in the strict

Organum), but though they may also sometimes be taken

an irregular mode in the same way as in the first

in

mode

it

not

is

strictly,

but in a casual manner.

Whatever

'Pure Organum est quando cuilibet note de piano cantu, ultra

enstenti, correspondent de discantu due note, longa scilicet et brevis, vel
Cousse. Script,

Prom tMs

mensuram

Ms

aliquid

appears that the plainsong was

uttered in notes of equal length (notae ultra mensuram are here
perfect longs), and
the organum chiefly in the first mode of rhythm,
long and breve.
equipollens.'

<

96.

it

Duplex organum est idem in pausis, non autem in notis, eo quod cfucte longe
In discantu vero duplex, et a primo diversus consonans cantus/

sunt in tenore.
Ibid.

i.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

then

is sung
rectum 1 /

in

an irregular rhythm

is

called

179

Organum non

The Anonymus

of the British Museum

(Royal MSS*} a writer
of the Franconian
period, but a strongly conservative theorist^
adopts, as we should expect, the view of Jean de

Garlande;

and

in fact a large portion of the

concluding chapter of Ms
treatise is devoted to a
description of the irregular modes,

seven in number exclusive of

variants^ in one or other of
which the upper part of the free organum Organum
purum
as it was now called was
usually cast. One or two of these
are intelligible,, and the first is even to be
recognized in
a known composition of the time 2 ; as
the rest howregards
unfortunately impossible at present to arrive at any
decision with respect to the exact nature of the melodic
figures

eve^

it is

which the author intended

to

describe

never illustrated by noted examples, and

for his

meaning

is

moreover conveyed
in this part of Ms work in special
a highly technical
of
language
to
at
which
character,
present we have no complete key.
is

During the latter half of the thirteenth century, the period

which must now apparently be recognized as Franconian,

Organum, as has been

said,

was perceived

tion to the mensural system.

view between
confusedly, in

The

two kinds is exhibited,, though somewhat

Ars Cantus MenwraUlis, the representative

its

treatise of this period, in the chapter

of measurable music.
1

chiefly in its rela-

contrast in this point of

upon the various species

Measurable music/ says the author,

Organum per se dicitur id esse quldquid profertur sectmdum aliquem modum

rectum, aut non rectum. Bectus modus sumitur hie ille per quern discantus
profertur. Non rectos dicitur ad differentiam alicuius recte ; que longe et breves
recte sumuntur debito modo primo, et principaHter. In non recto vero sumitur
longa et brevis in primo modo, sed ex contingent!. Organum autem non rectum
dicitur quidquid profertur per non rectam mensuram/ Cousse. Script, i. 114.
3

'Duplex longa,/ e coniunctim,/ d coniunctim, e c, d /, #/cum plica, d c cum

a duplex longa cum c coniunctim; et iste modus dicitur primus irregularis,
et bene competit organo puro.'
Cowsse. Script, i. 361.
The illustration is quoted
by Anonymus as from tlie triple Organum Alleluia Posui Adiutorium, and will be
found there in the middle voice part, near the end of the AUeluia. The composition
has been printed by M. de Coussemaker in L'Art Harmonigue, &c., 1865.
plica,

METHOD OF MUSICAL AET

i8o

Music purely measured

is discant, because discant is measured throughout; music
is not measured
partly measured is Organum, because Organum
two
in
taken
is
ways, proprie and comthroughout, Organum
measured

is

either purely or in part.

Organum proprie sumptum is the same as Organum

duplum^ which is also called Organum purum ; Organum com~
muniter sumptum, on the other hand,, is some ecclesiastical
1 5
From this it would appear that5
song measured in time
muniter*

notwithstanding the

author's

formal

distinction,

the

latter

Organum should properly belong to discant | the

main point however, the difference between measured and
species of

partly measured

Organum,

is sufficiently

made

out.

Walter Odington speaks of Organum purum only. * There

c
one kind of organic song in which alone the
is/ he says,
is the
object
putting together of immeasurable voice parts;

Organum purum^ and this kind is the oldest, and

2
is in two parts only /
Simon Tunstede also, a writer of the
fourteenth century, discusses the subject once more; he again

it is called

draws the

distinction,

upon the mensural

basis,

between the

two kinds of Organum, but he copies in this matter from Ars

Cantus Mensurabillss and adds little of his own that is of value.

Organum purum^

then, appears as an unique and exceedingly

ancient form of composition, dating evidently from a period

antecedent to the institution not only of fixed time rules, but
even of settled metrical rhythm in music. The freedom which

thus inherited

it

is

sufficiently declared in

a general manner

in the passages just quoted^ but the extent of that freedom

1 c

Dividitur autem mensurabilis musica in mensurabilem simpliciter et partim.

Mensurabilis simpliciter est discantus, eo quod in omni parfce sua mensuratur.
Partim mensurabilis dicitur organum, pro tanto quod non in qualibet parte sna
mensuratur. Et sciendum quod organum dupliciter sumitur, proprie et com-

muniter.

organum

Est enim organum proprie sumptum organum duplum, quod purum

Communiter vero dicitur organum quilibet cantus ecclesia-

appellate-.

tempore mensuratus.' Cowsse. Script, i. 118.

Est autem unum genus cantus organic! in quo tantum attenditur coherentia
vocum immensurabilium, et Organum purum appellatur; et hoc genus antiqtdssimum est, eb duorum tantum*' Ibid. i. 245.

sticus
2

BISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

and the nature

of the particular

methods of

its

181

manifestation

during the mensural period are nowhere completely revealed,

By a consideration,, however, of the available examples in
notation,

and

of* the

rules

and comments of the

treatise

writers, we may perhaps arrive at a fairly adequate view of

the main features of the system*
may begin with Odington^s description of the method

We

few notes of plainsong being taken as

the theme or Tenor, they are arranged in some mode, and
the upper part is made to proceed by concords and the less
discordant discords at pleasure. The upper part begins upon
of composition.

the octave

fifth or

fourth above the Tenor, and ends in the

or unison 1 /

very indefinite, and might

serve equally well for a description of discant but for the
example, which is as follows:

octave

fay

fifth

This

is

^M"<

This example, by its obvious disregard of mensural equivalence between the parts, at once reveals its freedom from the
is evident that the upper
prevailing rules of proportion ; for it

than could be
part contains a far greater number of notes
Some allowance
regularly disposed above three double longs.

must have been made, and one of the parts, if not

both, must have been composed in view of a special understanding with respect to the method of performance.

therefore

Fit

igitror

organtun purtun hoc

modo

accepto nno puncto, vel duobus aut

tribus de piano eanfra (the text of the MS, is not quite the same here, but the sense
does not differ), eerto modo disponitur tenor, et superius proceditur per concordias
et Concordes discordias q_uantnimlibet,
Incipit autem superior cantus in diapason
vel diatessaron, et desinit in diapason vel diapente vel
tenore, vel

supra
unisono/

diapente

Cousse. Script,

i.

216.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

1 82

What was

the nature of this understanding

was not here applied

can

it

to both parts

Since measure

together, as in discant,

have been applied to one or the other alone, entirely

or partially?
respect to the Tenor we may at once perhaps safely
conclude that the duration of its long sounds was not fixed

With

according to any measure of time, but was governed entirely

by the conduct of the upper part. This,, as we shall see, is

by Jean de Garlande, for instance, and

Ars Cantus MensurabiMsy and it may also perhaps be im-

apparently asserted
in

ductae
plied in the expression

longae, used with

respect to
the tenor notes by the author of Discantus Positio Vulgaris*
Moreover, while this course presented few difficulties^ the
inverse process

would have been

practically impossible.

We

if an upper part such as this of Odington^s

were
measured, it could not be fitted to three
example
measured double longs ; but it may also be remarked that

tave seen that

a similar

failure

must occur

if

the upper part were free, owing

to the insurmountable difficulty of adjusting long

unmeasured

passages, of various lengths,, to equal notes of fixed duration.

With an unmeasured Tenor, on

the other hand, holding a

note
the
continuance
of the passage in the
single long
during
no
whether
the
upper voice,
difficulty,
upper part were measured
or free, would occur ; for the actual limits of the florid

passages were well defined, the close of each being indicated

in the written composition either by a consonant note not
in ligature or by a pause following a consonant note either
in or out of ligature,

and in performance

(as there is

some

reason to think) by a certain slackening of the pace

upon
the penultimate note; and by these means among others, the

Tenor, whether singing from score or not would, with practice^

be
easily be able to perceive the points at which it

might

Mm

to relinquish any note of Ms

necessary for
part and to
move to the next, without mensural agreement 1 ,
1

Jean de Garlande, after describing

tlie

nature of the organal part from the

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

183

The remaining circumstances which decided the movement

of the lower voice are not all clearly explained,, but perhaps

not be rash to assume that, while the Tenor generally

held his note until the end of a passage, he might also someIt will

times move at the appearance in the upper melody of some

well-marked note, not closing, in consonance with the note

next following in his own part; on the other hand, it would

also appear that if discord with some imminent important note
would result from the continuance of his own holding note, and
if

movement
5

concord,

to the next were unsuitable, he might either

by which

is

feign

probably meant that he might invent

a proper note, or might even be altogether silent for awhile 2 .

If then this view, in which the Tenor is first seen as giving
a note to be organized, and as afterwards waiting and depending for guidance in its own movements upon the convenience of the organal voice, may be considered as sufficiently
established, it would seem that we must look to the organal
voice for a justification of the statements of the theorists
with respect to the existence of measure in this kind of
:
Et ems eqnipollentia (i.e. Tenor), tantum
se tenet in unisono (unison in a single part consists in the holding or repetition of
a sound), usque ad finem alicuius puncti (the passage in the upper part is here
meant), ut secum convenit secundum aliquam concordantiam/ Cousse. Script,

rhythmical point of view, continues

'

1 14.
The author of Ars Cantus Mensurdbilis is equally explicit with regard to
the unmeasured character of the Tenor : c Sciendum quod purum organum haberi
non potest, nisi super tenorem, ubi sola nota est in unisono/ And he adds the

remark, which Tunstede has adapted, that when the tenor notes were more
numerous (as they would he if measured), the result must be discant: *Ita

quod quando tenor

i.

accipit plures notas simul, statim est discantus.*

Cvusse. Script.

134-

By well marked or important notes are here chiefly meant those which are
figured as longs, respecting which the author of Ars Cantus Mensurabilis says :
*
Quidquid est longum indiget concordantia respectu tenoris ; sed si discordantia
2

venerit, tenor

taceat, vel se in concordantiam fingat.*

Cousse.

Script,

i.

135.

Walter Odington, after explaining that discant cannot be of less than two parts,
<
adds
Organum autem aliquando est unius . ut dum attendens concordiam,
:

tenor aliquando facet/ Ibid. i. 245. The Anonymus of the British Museum (Royal
MSS.) speaks of this practice only in reference to the first note of the Tenor :
*
Et nota quod primus punctus tenoris mediat continuando, et resonat in locis in.
quibus magis competit sectindum concordantias suppositas, et quiescit secundum
discordantias disconvenientes, &c. t prout melius competit.'

Ibid,

i.

361.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

84

if those statements
music; but It must be confessed that
measure
according to strict
are to be taken as referring to
an evenly recurring beat of three times,
rules, and marked by
in the accounts which
their
find
to
It is difficult
justification

we possess

This

of the treatment of the upper part.

arises naturally, for Instance,

difficulty

from a consideration of the rule

for the treatment in the

given in ATS Cantus Mensurabilis
not In ligature, from
notes
of
the
upper part of Organum
6
which we learn that whatever is noted with a simple longa
with a brevis short, with a semibrevis of shorter
is

long,

value

still

*;

for while

on the one hand we there gather that

Organum, unlike the old cantus

ecclesiasticuss

accepts the

of value, on the other it

shape of the plain note as a sign
from mensural disabstention
seems possible, from the author's
tinctions such as perfecta, imperfect, altera,

and

his adoption

of the general terms longum, breve, semibreve, that this value

not have been entirely dependent upon the circumstances

which would have governed it in the cantus mensurabilis.

may

This impression is strengthened if we consider the language

used by the Anonymus of the British Museum (Royal MSS.),
in the mysterious sixth

language which

is

and seventh chapters

of his treatise,

even more disheartening to the student in

search of proofs of measurement in the upper part of Organum

purum than that of the author of Ars Cantus Mensurabilis;
for from this account of the

method

It

would appear that

notes were valued sometimes according to their position

when the long notes are the first, last, last but one, and first
of

all ligatures

and sometimes, though subject to the con-

sideration of position, according

as they are

discordant, the concordant notes being long

concordant or

and the discordant

short 2 ; indeed, the final impression to be derived

1 *

Qnldquid notatnr in longa simplici nota longmn

semibrevi semibreve. 3
2

est, et

from so much

in brevi breve, et in

Ccmsse. Script, i, 135.

'In pnro antem organo mnltiplici via et modo longe et breves cognoscuntur;

tmo modo

sic : Omuls ptmcfcus primus, sive fuerit concordana in

aliqna concordantia
predictoram, sive non, ante erit longa parva, vel longa tarda, vel media; et hoc in

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

185

as Is intelligible of tMs very obscure account

may very well be
that in the system of Organum purum measure,, as it was
understood in the thirteenth century, finds no place at all.

On the other hand we may remember that nothing has

been said by the theorists, in discussing this form of composition, from which we could definitely and without doubt
conclude that the upper part is not to be translated according
main

to the

rules of measurement in triple proportion.

in closing his account of the regular
himself,
Anonymus
of discant, speaks of others
(afterwards described by

The
modes

Mm

f
the modes of
Organum), as commonly called
if irregular,
though not really deserving that

from

this

such

as

we may

infer that

as

5
"unused/ as
1
name *; and

no wide technical

distinction,

measured and unmeasured, existed

between the regular and irregular modes, and that the latter
were perhaps characterized only by the absence of metrical
between

that

rhythms. Again, Pseudo-Aristotle tells us that the regular

modes were chosen out of many which formerly existed, but

he makes no allusion to the

And

of selection.

triple proportion as the

the author of Ars

Cantw

ground

Mensurabilis,

though he mentions the absence of measure in the Tenor,

says nothing respecting a similar freedom in the upper part ;
such a feature, had

worthy
scarcity

And

existed,

would have been eminently

and excessive length of the lower notes.

turning to the examples themselves of this form of

duum vel trium, &c. Item omuls punctus ulterius

Item omuls punctus penultimus ante longam pausatiopuncti vel clausule, est longus. Et omuls punctus pennltimns

quacunque ligatura
exit

it

of remark, yet the author confines his notice to the

sive fuerit

longus et concordans.

nem,

sicut in fine

similitudmarie perceptus longus per

modum,

sive fuerit concordans, sive

non.

Item omnis punctus duorum, primus si fuerit in concordantia, longus, si fuerit in

disconcordantia, brevis, in quantum de se et non in quantum penultima predicta.
Iterato omnis punctus ultimus duorum, si fuerit concordans, longus, si fuerit
discordanSj brevis/ &c. Cousse. Script. L 363.
1
'Iterate sunt et alii modi qui dicuntur modi inusitati, quasi irregulares,
quamvis non sint, veluti in partibus Anglie et alibi, cum dicnnt longa, longa
brevis; longa^ longa brevis; et sunt plures tales veluti inferius. plenius demonstraMtur.' Ibid. 328.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

i86

we now
we find

composition, of which
a considerable number^

fortunately have

access to

that it is always perfectly

the upper part in measure,
of
notes
the
possible to translate
of Jean de
theorists
according to the rules of the earlier

and that the

Garlande and Pseudo-Aristotle for instance
indeed
and
sometimes
results are always satisfactory,
display
remarkable beauty ; and this fact is in itself a strong
very

argument in favour of the existence of a mensural intention,

On the other hand the attempts of the present writer to construct

containing any

upon a non-mensural basis, phrases

meaning, have entirely failed. With

intention therefore of pretending to prejudge a question

no
is

figures,

clear musical

from the given

now

only for the

first

which

time brought within the view of his-

and which must eventually be decided by the

verdict not of one but of all, the writer has thought it desirable,
torical students,

which follow, to represent the "upper part

as measured, in the belief that the versions thus obtained may

in the specimens

substantially represent the intention of the composers, subject

1
probably to a certain freedom of execution as regards the time .

be observed that each of our examples contains

a portion of pure discant, a portion, that is to say, in which
both the upper and lower parts are measured in time; and
It

will

this intrusion

had not

upon the Qrganum purum3

for

which the theorists

prepared us, seems to be a necessary

method, for it occurs in all the specimens
examined by the writer. In some it occupies a very consufficiently

feature of the

siderable proportion of the composition, while in others it is

much

reduced; in some again

of the work, in others

quantities

it is

concentrated in one portion

distributed, and appears in small

from time to time.

regular modes, in

it is

These passages are always in

which the swing of the

extremely noticeable^

rhythm is
while the true Organum purum, which

triple

Six of the Irregular modes of the Anonymus of the British Museum

may
easily be seen as identical in origin with the regular modes whose numbers they
bear, and as differing in respect of their
and diminution of the value

augmentation

of indiTidual notes.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

constitutes

the

187

remainder of the composition, stands

out,

through the totally different character of its phrases, in striking

contrast.
This revelation of the mixed nature of the method
casts a

new

light upon the saying of the author of ATS Cantus

Mensurabilis, already quoted at p. 183 of this work, that
Qrganum purum can only exist above the long holding notes
of the Tenor, and that when the Tenor notes are numerous

and

close together it becomes discant.

His illustration also,
which formerly seemed to represent two distinct
ideas, may
now be considered as a single composition.
Ars Cantus

Ifenswrabttis, cap. xiii.

1

Discant, First regular

Mode7

Before passing on to the examples^ a word

may be said
with regard to the rests in the music of the rather
early period
from which our specimens are taken.
The rests do not
exhibit their actual value; a small
hasty scratch, which may
indicate equivalence,
expresses every kind of pause.

also

Sometimes

it
may signify a mere breathing, sometimes
a definite pause of breve length^ sometimes again a pause
equivalent to the perfect long. In the foEowing translations

the rest has been indicated by a comma above the stave;

actual value seems to be intended that value is shown in
proper place, but if a mere breathing
alone suffices to express it.
1

is

supposed the

if

its

comma

The ornament implied by the sign above the two long notes is the^os, corresponding roughly to the modern shake ; it is frequent in Organum, and occurred upon long
notes or when consecutive notes were uttered upon the same sound. It consisted of
a kind of oscillation broken by rapid beats; the oscillation might be at almost any
Be Garlande
interval, but either tone or semitone were generally employed.
represents the method of execution (Cousse. Script L 117) thus:

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

i88

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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189

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

191

ORGANUM DUPLUM VEL PURUM.

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Bibl. Mediceo-Lanrenziana,
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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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Lente

ius

305

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

206

OEGANUM DUPLUM VEL PUBUM.

TANQUAM.
BibL Mediceo-Laurenziana,

MS,

Pint. 29. i, fol cxlviii.

Tan

^
-*. >

fr^rft

gfe-

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

307

^
Lenfe

It

would appear that the form

of composition displayed in

these examples

is

forms however

existed,, compositions of three

which the

in

alone rightly called

characteristic

Other

Organum purum.

structure of

and four

voices,

Organum purum,

unmeasured long notes in the tenor held under passages of

varying length in the upper parts^ was maintained, and these

Organum triplum and quadruplum. Such

compositions, however, differed materially from Organum duplum
apparently were called

in the character of the upper parts, which were

from the nature

of the case less free and written more often in the regular

modes than the upper part of the

account perhaps that the

this

the

by

Anonymus

name

of the British

older kind;
of

and

Organum even

Museum

it
is

is

on

refused

to this kind of

music . Tripla simply, or Magna tripla3 &c., are the names

given to such compositions by that author, who thus again
reveals his opinion that the distinctive characteristic of Organum
1

is

not so

much

the unmeasured length of the tenor notes as the

freedom of the single upper voice.

1

Sciendum quod organum Yerbnm equivocum est; qnandoqne dicitur organtim.

purum, velut in ludea et I&rusalem, in duple, velut Descendit de celis, yel Gaude
,
.
Maria, &c.
Quandoque dicitur alio modo, ut in organo triple, quamvis
f

improprie, velut in Posui Adiutorium*'

Cousse. Script,

i.

354.

DISCANT OE MEASURED MUSIC

ORGANUM
DESCENDIT DE
Blbl Mediceo-Latirenziana,

MS.

Pint. 29.

i,

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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OBGANUM TRIPLUM.
BIFFUSA EST GRATIA*
BibL

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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VIDEBUNT OMNES.
BibL Mediceo-Lattrenziana,
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Maltre P^rotin.

1231

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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321

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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237

In the large collection of specimens of this form of music

contained in the Florence MS.^ from which our examples are
taken^ we may perhaps see a part^ if not the whole, of the

organum upon the Gradual and Antiphoner/

first composed by Leonin-, and afterwards abbreviated and
with many new and original
largely re-written and also enriched
'

great book of

Our main reasons for this identification

works by Perotin.
have already been given in the preface to the present work,
but it may also be said here that our view receives a partial
* Thus in the
original.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

238

confirmation from a consideration of the methods employed

in the MS., for these, so far as we can judge of them at
of organum easily conceivable as
present, indicate a phase

which is apparently far

contemporary with Perotm, a phase
in
but
removed from archaism,
which, as it would seem, the
1
last refinements have not yet been added
perceive, for
.

We

instance, no trace of the ancient ligatures of five notes at least

mentioned by the author of Discantus Positio Vulgaris as
no rule, and were to be
proper to organum, which received

sung ad placitumi ligatures of five notes are indeed of frequent

occurrence in the MS., but the ease with which such figures
are included in a proportional scheme upon a ternary basis
would seem to indicate the fact that the period of archaic

freedom was

now

On

past.

reasons, derived both

the other hand

from the

details of the

we have many
composition and

from the system of notation, for supposing that the methods

of this MS. date from before the period illustrated by Ars
Cantus Mensurabilis and the treatise of Walter Odington.
clear, for instance, from the apparent absence from

This seems

MS.

the

Copula,

of
it

organum,

the forms of

may
in

Copula given in those treatises.

be explained, was an important feature of

dupluni and triplum;

it

consisted of

passage occurring, according to Odington, always

a short

upon the

penultimate long note of the tenor, and constituting the final

It began with a long note
ornament of the composition 2
.

That Pdrotin cannot have belonged to the archaic period seeins clear

if

we

consider that not only does the Anonymus of the British Museum, a writer of
the Franconian period, commend the * great book* most highly f Et si quis
haheret servitium diviniun sub tali forma haberet optimum voluincn istius
artis/

but he also

of Notre

tells

us that

Dame; and from

this

it

was

still

own day in use in the choir

we may gather that P&otin's

in his

circumstance

system of notation must have been agreeable in its elementary features to that
of the settled period. On the other hand, it is evident, from the whole character
of the theorist's allusions to him, that he lived before the period of general

and
2

final

agreement.

The author of Ars Cantus

nothing respecting the

Mensurabilis, of earlier date than Odington, says

and a certain passage of the
;

final character of copula

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

ad

was continued

libitum,^

regular

mode

of

rhythm

began, with a long note.

each mode, thus l :

239

in either the second or the sixth

sung very quickly and ended, as it

It was shown in two ways,, one for

COPULA LIGATA

COPULA NOX LIGATA

(Second Mode)

(Sixth Mode)

mrn:

*^r+

It is prohable that copula is contained in

some form not yet

be identified in the MS., since both Jean de

Garlande and the Anonymus whose doctrine, like the music
certainly to

of the
to

it

MS.

itself,

dates from before the time of Franco

as a feature of great importance

refer

unfortunately, however,

Posui Adiutorium, mentioned "by the

Anonymus see p. 179
and said by that author to be put *in loco copule,* may
be taken to prove that the final character did not prevail exclusively in his day,
since the passage in question occurs upon the eighth long note before the close.

Triplum

Alleluia,

(note) of this work,

'Copula est velox discantus ad inviceni copulatus. Copula alia ligata, alia
ligata.
Ligata copula est que incipit a simplici longa, et prosequitur per
binariam ligaturam cuna proprietate et perfectione, ad similitudinem secundi
modi; ab ipso tamen secundo modo differt, scilicet in notando et proferendo;

nou

in notando, quia secundus modus in principio simplicem longam non habet;

copula vero habet. ... In proferendo etiam differt copula a secundo modo, quod

secundus profertur ex recta brevi et longa irnperfecta

sed copula ista velociter

ad finem.
Copula non ligata ad similitudinem quinti modi (Franco's fifth mode was
the usual sixth) fit. Differt tamen a quinto dupliciter: in notando et in proferendo. In notando differt a quinto, quia quintus sine littera
ubique ligabilis
.
est, sed copula ista nunquam super littera accipiatur, et tamen non igatur.
In proferendo differt etiam a quinto, quod quintus ex rectis brevibus profertur,
proferetur, quasi semibrevis et brevis, usque
{

copula vero velocius proferendo copulatur/

Script.

Ars Cantus Mensurdbilis;

Cousse.

L 133-4*

Copula ligata facienda est super unum punctum vel plures sicut organum :
veruin aliquando triplex est. Et accipit longam notam in principio non mensuratam, et procedit per binariam ligaturam. Copula non ligata eodein modo
Ista vero species sive ligata sive separata semper apponitur
fit, sed non ligatura.
in fine punctorum, nisi
Script

i,

248.

omnes decenter possunt

pausare.'

W.

Odington, Cousse.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

240

it are
intelligible particulars respecting

of these writers,

and

the copula to

not to be found in either

which they

refer therefore

remains for the present indistinguishable .

Among the circumstances relating to the system of figuration employed in this

belonging in

ment

its

of notation,

MS. which seem

to characterize it as

origin to a period antecedent to the settle-

we may

chiefly refer to the apparent ignorance

of the writer with respect to the figures sine proprietate^ which

as we saw were adopted by the later mensuralists in order to

modal rhythms, and to avoid

the necessity of employing the same figure for different purThe MS. contains apparently no example of this kind
poses.
assist in the expression of certain

and the writers intention seems to be conveyed

throughout by means of the old ligatures cum proprietate et
of figure,

perfection^ used either simply in their iambic and anapaestic

sense, or with a shifted accent to indicate the trochaic and
dactylic measures.

The

date of the actual invention of the

figures sine proprietate is uncertain

so far as is

known

at

present they make their first appearance in the treatises of

Jean de Garlande and of Pseudo-Aristotle, whose period, as

we have

seen,

may

perhaps be said to coincide with the

quarter of the thirteenth century.

The only

first

earlier treatises of

any importance for measurable music, Discantus Positio Vulgaris

and De Musica Libellus., contain no allusion to the invented
figures.

The

writer of Discantus Positio Vulgaris

makes no

1
It would appear from de Garlande's account (Cousse. Script i. 114) that
the copula of his day resemhled the later form in respect of its regular modal
character, hut he leaves us in ignorance with regard to the method of its nota-

The Anonymus heads

his fifth chapter De triplicibus de quadruplioibus et de

but the description of copula has apparently heen omitted in the MS.
from which M. de Coussemaker printed his edition. A passage written in the
Franconian form of copula, non ligata occurs in the treatise De Musica Libellus
tion.

Copula,

(probably late twelfth century), as part of the illustration of the interval

we are to assume that it formed in this shape a part of
Organum before the year 1200, as well as in the later period of Franco and

of the seventh; hut if

Odington,

its

apparent absence from the Florence

difficult to explain.

MS. becomes

exceedingly

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

mention even of

propriety/ and it is clear that the old figures

derived directly from the cantus ecclesiasticus alone existed in
In the somewhat later treatise De Musica Libellus
his day.
propriety indeed appears, but it belongs to single notes as well
as to ligatures; it has nothing to do with value, and refers
5

merely to the distinctive form, Thus, the propriety of the

long is a square form with a stroke upon the right side
descending, that of a breve is the absence of the stroke ; the
tf

5
propriety of a descending ligature is a stroke upon the left
side, that of an ascending ligature is the absence of the stroke,
e

and so on; and here again most probably no knowledge of

the invented figures is to be supposed. The methods therefore of that portion of the Florence MS. with which we are
at present concerned would seem to agree with those of the
treatises, so far

earliest

as regards the exclusive use of the

cum proprietate ; yet, since their use of these figures is

apparently more systematic and consistent than that which
is inculcated in either Discantus Positio Vulgaris or De Musica
Libellus, we may suppose that they should be referred to some
period later than the probable date of De Musica Libellus but
figures

than that of the treatises in which the figures sine proprietate would seem to be first used; and this period may
earlier

perhaps be assigned to about the year 1 200,

Another circumstance connected with notation which would

seem to indicate the date just mentioned as approximately that

of the methods exhibited in the Florence MS. is the use of
certain forms, not to be found in the later settled mensural
system, some of which also appear in the older portions of the
Montpellier MS., in the Quadrupla, for instance, and in

certain pieces ascribed to Perotin

of

Ars Cantus Mensurabilis.

follows

and (wrongly) to the author

The

chief

of

these

(a)

^
WOOLDRIDGE

(6)

(c)

itf-

(d)

3fc=ff

are .as

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

in the Montpellier MS. sometimes also H, is
to express the value of the perfect long.
used
It
occasionally

The

first, (a),

was derived probably from plainsong, and no doubt

originally

the mensural system the transition from the

illustrated in

f
period of equivocal signs of which the Anonymus speaks \
to that which is marked by the strict differentiation of the

The second, (), sometimes

forms according to their value.

also in the Montpellier

MS.

jf]

g y,

identical with the first

is

and represents the long plica. The third,, (c), is

a form adopted apparently from motives of convenience to
express the long plica in those ligatures in which the last

in principle,

placed perpendicularly above the penultimate : in the

shape we see the long plica ascending from the binary
as in
ligature represented by an additional note not counted

note

is

first

the previous figures; in the second, the true position of the

note in the ternary ligature is reversed in order to display
the plica. The fourth figure, (d\ has already been shown in

final

our example of the fourth mode of rhythm, from Jean de

Garlande 2 . It expresses a ligature of three notes, c with propriety

and perfection,5 of which the

first

two are upon the same

sound.

Attention
suralists as

may

be drawn to a figure known to the menThis is one of the older

currentibus.

precedens cum

figures derived

(a)

also

(6)

from plainsong, and

(c)

<<Z)

(0

is

shown thus
(/)

(gr)

(/*>

The shorter forms (a and 6), consisting of a

long and either
two or three semibreves, are
constantly found in discant,
and are there valued as shown below. The more extended
forms (c to
1

Ti]

in which the semibreves

See p. 116 of the present work,

are usually from

2

Ibid., p. 140.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

343

four to seven in number, occasionally eight, but very rarely

more

in

unbroken

are

series

peculiar

to

Organum and

Conductus*

No

perfectly intelligible rules for the actual valuation of the

extended forms are to be derived as yet from the treatises.

know that the currentes were sung very quickly and

We

without

strict regard to measure; but whether the figure as

a whole was to be rendered in accordance with the principle

1
governing our first examples (a and b ) below, or whether it
should appear as in b 2 , is not certain. But considering the

executing such figures for instance as y g, and h

above upon the principle adopted in b l , that is to say within
the limits of one f perfection/ it has been considered probable
difficulty of

that the actual intention of the extended figure in organum

and conductus would be well expressed by the rule clearly
discernible in the

tions

MS. when

the test of equivalence

as a possible limit

is possible,

which assigns two

and quadruplum

as in triplum

when

perfecthe figure contains not less

than three currentes.

This rule affords all necessary space

execution of any number of semibreves up to and
including nine, as will be seen from our suggestions of possible
forms here following :

for the

(a)

(6 )

(&

(c)

ee
W

W)

^Hrrr^jr'lip^
(sO

With

fi

the foregoing exceptions the notation presents to us

only familiar forms, arranged also, in the free portions of the

METHOD OF MUSICAL AET

344

in a familiar
organum often, and in the discant portions always,
are
as
proper to the
manner that is to say in such groups
six regular modes.
expression of the
this

In the discant portions

seen, presumably real and

regularity was, as
in the free portions however, or in other words in
;

we have

complete
that

all

was sung above the long holding notes, the regularity

can be little doubt that
only, for there

was probably apparent

in this situation the time values of the figures indicating the

were interpreted in performance
well-known modal

phrases

with great freedom, and with a licence affording considerable

of the singer; and thus as it would
for the
scope

ingenuity

seem arose the numerous

probably the

list

with

contains only a few.

irregular

alternatives

But the

modal

varieties, of

which

given by the

familiar forms, as

Anonymus
we have said,

were not always arranged in a familiar manner; often, in the

free portions of the

organum

especially in

dupium all appearand a constant and ever varying

ance of regularity disappears,

mixture of the figures indicates the presence of the seventh

mode chiefly characteristic of organum

irregular mode, the
1
purums in which all the rest were supposed to be blended ,
complete liberty and entire
absence of premeditation, highly suggestive of the derivation of

and by means

of

which an

effect of

method from extempore invention, is produced. And this

of everything that is sung above
liberty, which is characteristic
this

the long holding note, extended also naturally to the pauses,

which as we have seen received no material sign of value in
the written composition, and were in performance entirely at
2
the discretion of the singer .

Considering therefore the great variety of possible interpre1 '

Est septimus modus nobilissimus et dignissimus, magis voluntarius et placens;

modus est modus permixtus et connnunis, et est de omnibus duobus supradictis et de- omnibus tribus et de omnibus quatuor, &c.; et proprie loquendo

et iste

denominate organum purum

Cousse. Script, i. 362.

et nobile/ &c.
'Pausationes vero valde voluntarie procedunt, secundum c^uod melius videbitur
canton vel operator!, et hoc in minimis maioribus et mediocribus (semibreves,
2

longs, and breves) j duplices (rests of the double long) vero in organo puro raro
inreniuntur.* Ibid.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

tations of the

modal

345

figures written above the long notes of

organum purum, and the obscurity which at present veils the

significance of some of the terms used by the Anonymus in his
description of the irregular varieties., no attempt has been

made in our present efforts towards translation to represent

the exact time - value of the uttered sounds ; and since the
says distinctly that the material signs of the regular
modal figures were, with a few exceptions, sufficient to express

Anonymus

the intention of their irregular counterparts in the written

music of his time 1 it has been thought that here also the
.,

mensural equivalents of the regular figures may perhaps for

the present be allowed to perform a similar office.

With
form

respect to the conductus, the remaining important

of composition in which not all the parts have words*

the information

left to us by the theorists is smaller in

and
less
precise in its character even than that upon
quantity
which we depended for our first notions of organum purum.

One

or two facts3 however, stand out

descriptions which have been

since

valuable

it

reveals

given,,

more or

less clearly in the

and of these the most

the essential characteristic of the

is that mentioned both by the author of Ars Cantus

Menmrabilis and by Odington with respect to the nature of the
lower part ; for from their treatises we find that in this form of

[Link]

composition, and in this form alone among the dignified kinds

of music, the tenor was not taken from the ritual melodies of
the church*

These writers do not, however, altogether agree

their accounts of the

in

actual

source

of

the

tenor;

author of Ars Cantm Mensurabilu holding that

entirely invented

it

the

must be

2
by the composer , while Odington informs us

predict! modi irregularos sufnciunt

Iterate nota quod sufficit do modo figurandi

quod ad cognitionem puri organ!

cum quibusdam

aliis postpositis.

iuxta descriptionem oorumdem, ut snperius plcnius patot.

consixmlitt sicut in aliis regularibus, quamvis in aliquibus
Gousse, Script

i.

Efc
sit

ost figuratio

differentia/ &c,

362.

After his classification of the forms of composition, given at p. 176 of this

Et nota quod his omnibus ost idem modus operandi,
work, the author continues :
*

excopto in conductis.

Quia in omnibus

aliis

prime accipitur cantus aliquis prius

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

that

it

liturgical

we

be adopted from some already existing extrasource* From the author of Discantus Pos-itio Vulgaris

might

also

obtain the important information that the composition was

basis* and we are also told that it ad-

framed upon a metrical

mitted the secondary consonances

may

a statement from which we

described
perhaps infer that these consonances,, commonly

as imperfect,, were used in the conducts in a larger proportion

than in music founded upon the cantus ecclesiasticujt*. Finally,

Walter Odington mentions that

iu this

method the unusual

device of taking several notes in direct sequence

upon the same

sound was a peculiar feature. He

compares the vonductus
be Haid to define it an
generally with the Rondel, and may
a work of the same nature as the Rondel, though deprived of
also

form, namely the

all the rest in turn,
carefully ordered imitation of one part by
In his view therefore all the parts of the conductus were

the essential constructive feature of that

kind of melody 2 ;
equally melodious and displayed the same
and this indeed appears from his example, the only specimen

form of composition to be found

theorists, which is here given.
of this

in the

works of the

-..O.

factvis,

qvi tenor dicitatj co qiiod discHtttum ttwol ot ftl> ipno [toworn'l ortuxn liw-tHii
In condnctte vero non sic, sod fiuni ab codom cmitutt <fc dmntu, . -

[cWfiwwfo*],

Qxd vult facoro conductuia, priiuum caulutn iuvnlrt dolxyb pulchrlorc*wi <j\www
doinde uti dcbot Illo, tit do touoro facimdo cliwmntmn/ Cmm@* tiertyt. L 1 33.
1
Conductus autom ost sxipor iiimm inotrutn luultiplox cotittoutvuA cnuttttfi <iu5

potcst

'

ctiam Bccundarias rocipit consontuatias/ Ibid, I, 96,

2 *
Conducti sutit compositi ox plieaMlibus canticis docorin cognitii
t

in diversis modis, ac punotifi itoratis, in

codom

toxio vol

diwwis.

v<il iuvcntitty
.

Ito&delluit

DISCANT

The Anonymtis

OB,

MEASURED MUSIC

of the British

Museum

gives

347

no information

with respect to the methods of composition proper to this kind

of music, but we learn from him that the conductus was
a highly important form, and that it had been largely employed
by the greatest masters. He informs us, moreover, that it was

simplex, duplex , and triplex;

of several kinds

kind also

is

a four-part

referred to, but its existence, except in a

somewhat

rudimentary shape, appears to be doubtful, since to the author's

mention of quadruplices among the finished forms he adds si
fuerint*

Room

for speculation also exists with respect to the

nature of conducti simplices.

From

the author's classification

quadruplices (si fuerint) we

that
the
simple kind was for one
might naturally suppose
voice only ; and remembering that the Anonymus ascribes to
Perotin a conductus simplex upon the words Beata viscera, &c.,
simpliceS) duplices> triplices, et

and considering the fact that among the compositions for a

single voice in the Florence MS. a Beata viscera, &c,, is to be

we may perhaps be somewhat

strengthened in this
the
author's statement,
the
from
other
hand,
supposition.
contained in his remarks upon the misuse of the word organum

found,

On

In

quandogue simplex organum dicitur, nt in simpliciwe cannot but infer that the simple conductm
might also be in three parts. In this latter view therefore the
triplo

fms conductis

TO!

cum

littora vcl sine Httera sit.

Si vero

non

alter alterius rocitat

cantum, sod

gingtdi procedunt per certos punctos, dicitux Conductus, gwasi plures cantus
conducti.''

Cousse. Script.

L 247*

cteceri

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

'

'

simplicity

of the conductus

of composition than to the

would

number

refer rather to its

of

its

voice parts

Florence

fact, in the pieces contained in the

method

and

MS, which

in

can

be identified as conducti, we may certainly observe two methods,

one essentially simple and the other essentially elaborate, the
admixture of which in one composition would indeed Reem to
constitute the classical form of this kind of music; and that the
in such a manner as to
simple method was often used alone.,

we

learn from the

of conducti

for two, three,

justify the appellation conducti simjjlicc^^

Anonymus

himself,,

who

speaks

which the elaborate portions were entirely

absent; and such pieces he says were much hi favour with

and four

voices, in

experienced singers. It is possible, therefore, that the

name of conducti $implice$ was applied in two senses, and
less

might designate either a composition for one voice, or a composition in which the simple method only was employed.

But passing from this point, we may proceed to give, from

observation of the existing complete specimens, some further
particulars respecting the composite

of conductus ;
difference,,

and may

and

character, which

the

chiefly prevailing

form

especially indicate the nature of the

origin

exists

and

of

the

remarkable

between the simple

contrast of

and elaborate

methods.

Broadly speaking, in

method
for

it

is

may

this

form of composition the simpler

displayed in the treatment of the metrical

words-

be explained that the words of the conduct m, which

are given to the tenor or lower

when
part,, are always metrical
forward
in
continuous
all
the
they proceed straight
rhythm;
parts then moving together follow the simple accents of
the poem, and are written moreover in accordance with the
old principle

bonum

exemplified in our former specimens Verlww

and Custodi nos which assigns ix single long note or

equivalent to each syllable of the text,, and in which every

note or group of notes, however figured, ia equal to the note
or group to which it is opposed; and in this
simple and
its

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

fundamental method
speak, to the

however was
least

poem

the music properly

belonging, so to
This portion of the work
expressed.

all
is

from the technical point of view,

evidently,,

important part, for

that the

strength

exerted.

The ornament

measured

$49

and

it

is

skill

its

upon the ornamental portions

of the composer were
chiefly

consists of long passages of the later

music,, resembling in style the discant portions of

organum purum, but generally of greater extent and exhibiting

greater variety of resource, interpolated at
irregular intervals
in the texture of the
and
taken upon prominent
simpler portion,

among which the first of the initial word of each

and the penultimate of the last word,
generally received
the most extensive embellishment.
These extraneous ornasyllables-,

stanza,

mental interpolations were the caudae, which

adorned, as the

Anonymus

tells us, the greater

part of the fine collection of
conducti in the library of Notre Dame, and which we find in
profusion in the specimens^ probably derived from that collec-

tion,

in the

Florence

display as a rule

much

MS.

In their melodic character they

and lilting kind of beauty

which belongs to the triple metres of the mediaeval
use, and
form a strong contrast to the more
smoothly moving spondees
of the simple portion of the
work; while from the harmonic
point of view we may again observe both the accidental
of the rude

clashing
of the voices in their progress towards the
perfect concord, and
*
c
the more deliberate discords
placed for the sake of colour in
certain well recognized
positions,

which are characteristic of the

and which we have already seen in the
elaborate forms of organum.
The juxtaposition in this form of composition of two kinds

early mensural period,

of music, not only

widely different in character but also repretwo
distinct
senting
phases of progress different in point of

a somewhat remarkable circumstance, and may well

give rise to the supposition that just as in organum purum we
time,

is

saw a

later

and arbitrary embellishment of the antiphon, so in

these great compositions we may perceive an analogous
process

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

350

applied perhaps originally to ancient extra-liturgical hymns,

and more recently to similar themes composed in order to

maintain the essential form of the conductttsm the ancient

technique.
the devices adopted in the embellishments of the
conductus will he found not only the various applications of

Among

sequence and imitation, so far as they wore

known

at

this

period, and the figures which might seem to indicate the

presence of some form of copula^ all of which were to be seen
in orffanum purum, but a

a kind mentioned in our

new kind now makes

list

its

appearance,

of forms of composition in the

organum and conductus, but apparently at this

more
often
met with in practice as a temporary device
period
same

class with

used to give interest or variety than for Its

a continuous form the Ochetm or Hog-uct.
this device is partly Indicated
tially in

its

by
a sudden hiatus in the voice

used by the theorists

name*
*

own sake or
The nature

iu

of

It consisted essen-

truncation

governed by the rhythmical

is

the

mode

word

of the

passage. Thus, in modes consisting of longs and breves either

the long or the breve is omitted in the hoyuet from Ita proper
situation,

and

this is

equivalent pause
hiatus

general

signified

the written

music by an

continuity,

In one voice Is filled by another, and

one voice omits the breve the other IB silent

created
if

in

moreover, for the sake of

the
in

in

the place of the long 1 , thus:

Ma

*
1
truncatio fit sxiper oxcogitatnm tonoroxn vc*l irapor cntum> nt ncmpw
unua taeeat dum alms cantat vol si triplex, sic : duo cautcut tit tortlun taceat**
Waltor Odington, Cowsse* 8cii$)L L 248.
*
Truncatio cst cantus roctis otoissisquo vociMs tnmcate proltiitm, t nciond'am
quod truncatio tot modxs potest fiorx, quot longooa, brevem, vcl
;

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

351

In our examples of conductus the Jioquet will be found in

most simple form,, that is to say in the fifth mode of rhythm

which the hiatus is always of the value of a perfect long
and in very short passages^ but from the treatises and composi-

its

in

tions of the

afterwards

Franconian period we

much

cultivated,

may

it

was

express

the

discover that

and brought

to

truncation of breves 1 .

No specimens of

conductus quadruples written in the classical

in the Florence MS., and this

form have as yet been observed

circumstance to some extent confirms the doubt with respect

which was expressed by the Anonymus of

The specimen given from the MS.

to their existence

the British

among

Museum,

the pieces here following exhibits apparently an earlier

phase of the form than that which is displayed in the examples

for two and three voices,, since not only the music of the text3
also., seems to be written in the older method
which each group of notes equals the long. The discordant
passages of consecutive sevenths and seconds which occur

but the cauda

in

before the close

feature

of

similar

device

must probably be accepted

important
occurs

compositions
also in the

in

four

same

as a recognized
parts, since a

situation,

in

our

example of organum quadruplum.

Longa partibilis est multipliciter; prime in longam et brevem,
contingit partiri.
et brevem et longam ; ct ex hoc Kit truncatio, vel oketus, quod idem eat, ita quod
in xtno brevis obniittatur, in alia vero longa.' Ars Cawtus MensuraUMs, cap. xiii.
1

Sic etiam potest (longa) dividi in tres breves, vel duas, et in plurcs seniiEt ex his omnibus cantatur truncatio per voces rectas et obmissas, ita
quod, quando unus pausat, alius non pauset, vel o converse, Brevis voro partibilis

breves.

duas ; et ex boc cantatur cantus oketus,

obmittendo in una, ct aliam proferendo/ Ibid.

ost in tres semibreves vel

unam semibrevem

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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CONDUCTUS DUPLEX.
PATER NOSTEB COMMISEBANS.
Bibl. Medicoo-LanrcnKiatia,
Pint. 29. i, fol. cclxxviii b.

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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trans

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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WOOtDRIDGE

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

264

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265

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

266

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

268

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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3E

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in the

MS.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

270

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

271

=^

fefaz^^-iu^4-t&g^

^_^ 3

lo.

It

is

from

evident

this

specimen that the scheme of the

conductus includes (though the treatises do not mention the fact)

a point of organumpurum upon the penultimate note of important

In the following example, which

device is again seen,, used moreover

divisions of the composition.

is

by the great Perotin, this

and also much more frequently than in the

in great variety,

specimen before us.

will be observed, uses the pause of the perfect
the composer of Pater Noster, and thus
than
long
creates constantly a fullness and continuity of sound which is
often noticeably wanting in compositions such as this just given,

Perotin also,

it

less often

in

which the long pause

is

much employed.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

CONDUCTUS DUPLEX.

BUM

[Link].

Bibl. Mediceo-Laurenziana,
MS. Plut. 29. i, foi. cccxliv.

Maitrc

Pt'rotin.

_etl

Bum

ijjr~gc

&L

f^~^~

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si

gil

lum

sum

mi

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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tris

sig

WOOLDRIDGE

273

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

374

turn

"^A

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

tuSj

in

si

gil

lo

E^
SEEg
me

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1-

375

Tlius in the original.

in the original.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

277

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turn

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

281

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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383

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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:EEfx:2Z^^7^ .pS"?!

73
'

*Sunt ^uidam boni organisto ot factores cantmwn qtn non wgttlaritxr iuxta
considerationom predictam poiiunt dincordantias loco coucordantio vol concordattiarum* Et 3ioc per quanulatn sxibtiHtatcjni pouhuus puixctoruui mv notavuui
et sonorum, sicut tonm ante w&rfectam concordant'iam, slvo faorit ponultima vcl
qxioniam recta rogula est.' Anon. B. M., Cowm* Script I 358. 'MipmuUima,
fuerit tonm in dupto sugra tenonm, ut in organo puro, optiwe erit concor^riw, <juain,viH
aliter,

tonus non

sit concordantia,
Ibid.
This note applies also to
of these examples, which the reader will discover for himself.

many

otbcr passa^(

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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385

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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CONDUCTTJS TRIPLEX.
SALVATORIS HODIE.
Bibl. Mediceo-Laurenziana,
MS. Plut. 29. i, fol. cci.

Maltre P&rotin.

m
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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

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CONDUCTUS QUADRUPLES.
VETUS ABIT.
Bibl. Mediceo-Lanrenziana,
MS. Pint. 29. i,fol. x.

//7\

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METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

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coin

qui

pla

nans

as

*,,

po

,!,"

r%

*~r>-^

fir

P-T-?.

JjCT"^]^

^^p-^^A^a^-.^.
mat

pa

cis

fo

tie

ra

pur

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

4?

/A

ms=~^-~^^
/

ga

tor

est

see

^^
-

le

^
zex*

307

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

3 o8
If

we may

with the
define the conductus, in accordance both

statements of the theorists and with the examples just given,

and flowing melodies
as essentially a composition of equally free
in which the words are metrical and given to
in all the
parts,

the lower voice only,

we should

of music our former examples

in this kind
necessarily include

Verbum bonum, Agnus

if

they be conduct^

subdivision sine cauda.

These examples

Custodi no$, which,

constitute our specimens of this class as

collections.

hymn

Veri Floris, will

and a few others,

now be

and

fall

naturally into the

may

therefore perhaps

it

exists in the

of the simple kind, written

One more

fili,

French

upon the

given from an English source,,

also existing in our English libraries,

which

seem to display a tentative approach towards embellishment,,

and which therefore perhaps may be included in the subdivision
cum caudis, will accompany it. Though derived from English
sources these compositions, with one exception,, display little
variation from the French manner, and might very well be of

but with regard to the single exception, which

is undoubtedly by an English composer, since it is written to
from the French manner
English words, a remarkable difference
be
it
a
is
said, which is equally
difference,
may

French origin

perceptible
to be perceived in all specimens of the distinctly English music
here find ample
of this period which have been preserved.
the imperfect consonance of the
proof of the predilection for
time to the English composers',
at
this
third which was ascribed

We

and we may observe a method

country

peculiar apparently to

a symmetrical crossing
a in one part and a

of

for instance/"^

our

groups o! notes,, giving

gf

in the other

which

seems to have been designed in order to ensure their constant

appearance.

We

may

note, moreover, as characteristic of the

English music, that the composition

most usual

ecclesiastical

with Bl? at the signature.

modes

is

written in one of the

in this case the seventh

but

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

309

CONDUCTUS DUPLEX.
VERI FLOBIS.
Mus.

Brit,

MS.

Earl. 524.

Ve

ri

-^
pro

dux

it

ra

sub

ris

fio

dis

,.'

jfi.

gu

Cle

Quein

ra,

Q-3-

pu

ra,

ri

nos

cit

mis

tri

-^-yj-^-.^.y^.

pi

cum,

hens

cu

Pre

tro

ter

pi

Flo

ra

TI

sum

cum

la

fe

rein

Flo

ris

Sen

cuin,

na

tu

sum

ti

tra

ra.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

CONDUCTUS DUPLEX.

O LABILIS O FLEBILIS,
Mus. Brit, MS. Arundel, 248.

la

-^ A

bi

lis

fle

bi

lis

122=

Ho

Pal

mi

lax

nii

se

ra

_L3

prim

or

di

con

nis

bit

ti

Turn

<Q

sui

fLJ

Ten

se

di

dat

Sta

ad-

tus

non

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

ri

bi

Cu

lis

311

et

ius

EEEIEr^J
-

in

Ktu

bi

Cum

lis

ha

no

bet

~r

.v.p.

;:cr

L!Zl^a^LL2

so

-rr^.

11

ci

Mo

ri

post

do

b-

He

as

nas

ofc

ex

mi

as

::a~>'

Sac

ciw

pri

us

MS.

sor

illegible.

di

urn

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

Et

ci

post

bus

mi

ver

um

...

Er

^r-T-

9
go

te

re

om

gem

Do

raus

mi

nuna

Eo

gi

J$Q

post

hoc

cat

ad

in

te

__. &ex

li

urn

Nos

du

,--

ri

turn

Sed

post

vi

te

ter

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

num

Du

cat

ad

pa

la

bi

313

ti

nat

CONDUCTUS DUPLEX.

EXULTEMUS
Cambridge Univ. Lib.

MS.

Ff.

i, 17.

i=i======3==p3=:pr
g)^. <Sj-rj-^1[

Ex

te

mus

et

le

te

mus

1
It will be observed that the Latin stanza here given is complete in itself, and
that the Erench phrases (which it may be said occur in all the stanzas of this
hymn in the same situation) are interpolated.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

3 i4

co

itis

Qt

di

sue/

ce

la

lau

mus,

um

ve

re

can

des

lefe,

ne

de

et

can

te

tan

ii

mus

inus,

men

si

do

per

ten

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

315

CONDUCTUS TRIPLEX.
SALVE VIRGO.
Mus.

Brit.

MS. Arundel

Sal

rens

ge

248.

ve

ni

vir

to

go

vir

nura

gi

ve

Sal

ris,

pa

_^

!L-4_

-TT1221
-

In

splen

do

men

lu

ris,

mi

num

'

Sal

ra

ve

di

con

us

val

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

li

stel

urn

stra

la

ve

ri

ro

ns,

spes

CONDUCTUS DUPLEX.

QUEN OF EVENE*
Mus.

Brit.

MS. Arundel

1.

Quen
1

2.

Bring

248.

of

ev

hus

mo

ene

for

thi

"blis

der

to

thi

so

se

ne

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

317

No

compositions clearly to be identified as conducti and

noted in accordance with the later settled rules have as yet
been discovered, and we are therefore at present unable to
give specimens of this kind of music illustrating the periods
But from the example,
either of the Francos or of Odington.

small as

it is,

supplied
1

by the

latter theorist in his treatise

See p. 246 of this work.

l
,

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

3 i8

a certain advance had

gather that in his time
advance in which probably all existing forms

we may perhaps
been made an

of composition shared

both in the character of the voice parts

effect; for while the fragments

and in the general harmonic

may be said to display

the earlier phrases,
than
of
and
ease
style
independence
greater
more
the harmony also is now apparently
complete, the common

of individual melody in that example

chord for instance being constantly employed in the place of the

bare fifth*

earlier

probable that with respect to the details

of this kind of music^ a certain amelioration might be per-

But although

it is

ceived in later examples,

if

these could be discovered,

it is

not

be supposed that any structural improvement or general

development indicative of life and progress would be observable,

to

be no doubt that already in the time of Odingtoii

both the great classical forms of composition Conductus and

for there can

had begun

Organum purum

to suffer

neglect,

and were

in

fact passing out of use.

This

may

certainly be

inferred

from the

statements of

Odirigton's younger contemporary Jean de Muris, who in his

great panegyric upon the older music written about the

middle of the fourteenth century, and probably soon after the

death of the elder theorist deplores the complete abandonment
at that period

regards the

first

of

Oryanum and Conductus, and

reveals, as

of these, the almost entire ignorance of

posers with respect even to

its

method.

com-

The Motetus he says

and the Cantilena now engaged exclusively the attention of

musicians; the old forms were quite laid aside, and, together
with their authors, were treated with open contempt by the
less able and less energetic musicians of the day 1
.

1 f

Moderni nonne quasi

utuntur motetis et cantilenis, nisi quod in motetis

alios multos dimiserunt
quibus in propria
forma non utuntnr sicut fecerunt antiqui, ut cantus organicos mensuratos vel non
iibique mensuratos, ut est organum purum vel duplum de quo forsan pauci sciunt
suis hoketos interferunt ?

modernorum.

soils

Sed cantus

Item conductos cantus ita pulchros, in quibus tanta delectatio est,

qui 8unt ita artificiales et delectabiles, duplices, triplices, et quadruplices. Item

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

With regard

to one of the

319

two kinds of music mentioned by

De Muris

as usurping in his time the position formerly held

Organum and Conductus, the Cantilena, we are without

by

exact information.

That

it

was

evident from the reference to

is

in this

work

(p. 176,, note)

at that period
it

no new form

in a passage already quoted

from Ars Cantus Mensurabilis ; not-

however, the definition of its distinctive

character is nowhere to be found.
From the coupling of the
Cantilena with the Rondel, not only by the author of Ars

withstanding this fact,

Cantus Mensurabilis in the passage just referred to in cantilenis

in rondellis et in cantu aliquo ecclesiastico
but also, and with
a significant addition, by Jean de Muris in conductis in motellis
in fugis in cantilenis vel rondellis

it

has been supposed that

the cantilena and the rondel were practically identical, but

written in the one case to sacred and in the other to secular

words 1 .

But the evidence seems scarcely sufficient to support

the conclusion, and the supposed distinction at least entirely
disappears if we consider that in the rondels that are best

known

those of

Adam

de la Hale, the illustration given by

Walter Odington in his chapter f De Rondellis/ and the great

'
English example Sumer is icumen in/ we find in the first case
secular words, in the second sacred,

and

in the third both.

This fact, however, does not touch the question respecting the
musical identity of the two forms, which must still remain for
the present undecided.

The method

of the rondel is described by Walter Odington

Let a melody, with or without a text, in one of
the regular modes of rhythm, and as beautiful as possible,
be devised, and let each voice sing this in turn. And at the
c

as follows

same time

let

other melodies be devised to accompany

it

in the

hoketos similiter duplices, contra duplices, triplices, quadrnplices. In Ms antiqni

cantores alternatim cantibus vacabant, in his exercebantnr, in his delectabantur,
nonin solis motetis aut in cantilenis. Debentne illi dici rudes, idiote et ignorantes
in arte cantandi, qui illos faciebant vel sciunt cantus et qui ntebantur vel utuntur
illis ?
1

Speculum Musice, Lib. vii. cap. 44.

Coussemaker; see L'Art Barmonique, dc., pp. 187-8.

By M. de

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

second and

(if

them proceed

there be three voices) in the third voice 5 let

in consonances,, and so that when one voice

ascends another descends,, and let the third not follow too
the movement of either of the others,, except perhaps

closely
for the sake of greater beauty,

And

be sung by each voice in turn

His

as follows

is

let all of

these melodies

illustration of this theory

RONDELLUS.
De Speculation
(3}

Musice, cap. De Eondellis.

(0

It

^
<*)

(#)

s-

Zg

ipc

A
1

Eondelli sic sunt componendi:

ve

escogitetur cantus pnlchrior qui possit, et

disponatur secundum aliq^uem modomm predictoruin^ cum littera vel sine, et ille
cantus a singnlis recitetur; tamen aptentur alii cantus in duplici ant triplici
procedendo per consonantias, ut dum unus ascendit, alius descendit, Tel tertius

non simul descendat Tel ascendat, nisi forte tamen maioris pulchritudinis,
3
Cousse. Script, i, 347,
a singulis singulomm, cantus recitentur.
ita nt

ei?

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

ve

rna

ter

331

Do

mi

__

a
ma

From

ter

Do

mi

ni.

this it appears that the

Rondel of the learned com-

posers was notj as following the analogy of the contemporary

English Rota and the Round of more modern times we might
perhaps have been inclined to suppose, a Canon, in which all

the voices sing one melody, each entering upon it at regular

Here the voices begin together,
intervals after the leader.
its own melody, which is afterwards exchanged
some other voice ; moreover, when the three original

each singing
for that of

phrases have been sung by all the voices in turn their capabilities
are seen to be exhausted, and fresh subjects are then invented

and treated in the same manner as the

first.

The method,

from that of the canon, yet the

much the same a species of double
say, in which each phrase of the music

therefore, differs considerably

final audible result

is

counterpoint, that is to
is displayed in three situations
WOOLDRIDGE

and in three

different relations.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

322

of double
however, be remarked that the true effect
in which
choirs
those
be produced by
counterpoint would only

It should,,

the various parts were sustained by voices of various pitch

tenor.,

counter-tenor,
as in

counter-tenor

and

treble for instance, or bass, tenor,

and

more modern music.

execution by unequal voices existed,

the more simple one indicated by
with
probably side by
the clefs employed, seems clear from several passages in the
of Jean de Garlande
contemporary treatises, and chiefly in those
Museum
British
of
the
and the Anonymus
(Royal MSS.).
the Anonymus may perhaps be conThe account

That

this

method

of

side

given

sidered as decisive.

by

He

<

says

It is to

be observed that three

The
methods are adopted by discantors properly so called.
the
discant
in
this
first method is by close proportions, and
within the range of a fourth or fifth from the tenor;
keeps
another makes use of the more remote proportions, which are
contained within the range of an octave from the tenor; the

to
employs proportions still more remote, extending
the
even
or
a
double
a twelfth,
more, beyond
range
octave,
1
of the tenor /* The first of these methods seems to apply

third

duplum or to equal voices in greater number; the

other two can only refer to unequal voices, and in fact describe
the respective situations of the third and fourth parts, triplum
either to

and quadruplum.

Of the more remote

ranges, such as the

author says that they

triplex diapason for instance, the

were

were commonly emrarely written for voices, but that they

in playing upon organs, and also that even wider ranges
ployed

were possible to stringed and the smaller wind instruments,

2
e
or upon the well-tuned cymbals /

still

Kotandum quod duplex (? triplex) est modus faciendi discantum secundum

Primus modus est propinquis proportionibus, hoc est infra
diatessaron vel diapente. Alius modus est ex remotioribus, que continentur sub
diapason cum predictis. Tertius modus est ex remotissimis infra diapente cum
1

Teros discantores.

diapason, Tel duplex diapason, vel ultra/ &c. Cousse. Script, i. 357.
2 '
Ulterior! quidem processu, quidem raro,procedunt usque ad triplex diapason,
in communi usu se liabeat in instrumento organorum, et ulterius aliorum

quamvis

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

323

No

examples of the rondel entirely composed in the manner

model have as yet been brought to light,, nor can
even be said to be acquainted with any works at all bearing

of Odington's

we

that name, except those of Adam de la Hale.

These are of
in
interest
in
but
their
examination
we
great
many respects,

Adam

Considering their date for

disappointment.
de la Hale was a contemporary of the two Francos it

experience

*
might well be expected that these compositions would throw
some light upon the earlier practice of this kind of music

it

the rondeau as their author writing in the vernacular calls

and we look with interest for some sign of the special

Nothing of the sort, however, is to

the
rondeau exhibited in two kinds,
find

treatment peculiar to

We

be discovered.
one of which

it.

distinguished by its extreme brevity while the

of moderate length, but it is evident that both derive
their only title to their description from their text, which is in

other

fact

is

is

sometimes written in a rough kind of poetical rondeau,

is in all cases apparently subject to a method of

continued repetition to the same music, which might thus
proceed interminably ; musically speaking they are not rondels

form, and

at

all,

but simple three-part songs, containing no interchange

and no imitation except such as occurs

of melodies whatever,

within the limits of each separate part, from the repetition of

its own phrases, in accordance with the poetical scheme of the
text.

The

may be exhibited in the

following characteristic example, from a MS. in the Library
of Cambrai, given in facsimile by M. de Coussemaker in his
briefer

Histoire de

kind of rondeau

VHarmonie au Moyen Age.

et hoc mimero cordarum vel fist-alarum. ; vel prout in cimbalis

bene eonantibus, apud bonos musicos plenius habefcur.' Cousse. Script. L 362.
1
See * (Euvres completes du Troxtvere Adam de la Halle,' by M, de Coussemaker,

instrumentomm ;

Paris, 1872.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

RONDEAU.
HABBU LI MAUS.
Adara de

Bibl. de Cambrai.

Hareu

li

la

Hale.

mans cPamer

M^ochist
II

me

Hareu
Par

fait desirer

li

mans cPamer

doTich regarder

UTL

Me
Hareu

prist

mans d'amer

li

M^ochist.

It would, of course,

be perfectly possible to sing this music

in canonic imitation, in the

manner

of the

modern round, and

the extreme brevity of the composition even suggests that it

may have been treated in that manner, since otherwise the per-

formance would have been finished within a few moments from

the time of
ever,

now

its

This supposition cannot, howwill be obvious from the example

commencement.

be insisted upon, for it

be given that the more extended kind of rondeau will

to

not admit of a similar interpretation.

1
The sharps are given from another version of this rondeau printed by
M. de Coussemaker in his complete edition of the works of this composer.

It is difficult to see

how these

lines,

which are irregular, were intended to be

The difficulty does not seem to exist

applied to the regular forms of the music.

in the case of the more extended form.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

325

RONDEAU.
FINES AMOXJRETES.
Bibl. de

^ Adam

Cambrai.^-v

de la Hale.

nr^~^\
J

U,

Pi

nes

incur

tes

ai

hj=^j

Dies:

ne

si

^
sai

kant

VQ?

les

man -de

est cointe

rai

s'est

si

"

ami

et

P~

IZ3

Ki

Or

- rai.

et

jo

- li

te,

Et

sa

VQ

rou

^
^
be

te

c'as

te

nir

ne

m'eii

po

rai.

Fi

nes, &c.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

We

of course with certainty include

may

among

the rondel

by its
forms of music the great English Rota (as
is icumen in/ so often mentioned by historians
author), Sumer
called

it is

tf

and with ever increasing surprise and admiration. It will here

be shown both in the shape in which it stands in the original
and also in that which it exhibits in performance according
And first we may examine the
to the author's directions.
copy of the

MS.

MS.

Harl. (B.M.) 978,foL

Su-mer
Per-spi

i -

is

&

$to

Mor

tis

cal

ter

ex

nu

de

vi - ci

- tis

lomb, Lbou> af

- co - la

med and spring]} J?e

to

Lhude sing cuc-cu. Growejj sed and blowe]?

Ce-U-cus a - grri - coque dig-no, H o,

cuin-en in,

- ce chris -

n*

ve
ci

Sing cue
Fl - li

cu.

Bui

o.

Qui

Awe

cu,
o

Non

loc ster - te>,

cap

- ti

ble

ws

bucke
se -

te]>

ex-po

par-cens

mi

ver
-

ter

$u

tef

vi - vos

fc-

Mu - rie sing cue - cu,

a

sup-pli

- ci

Cue - cu
Fi

- fe

cue - cu,
<io -

nat,

wel singes
et

se-cum

]>u

cuc-cu

co - ro -

wa#

ne swik

ce-

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

Sing cue

cu nu.

Sing cue

3 27

cu

/Hoc

dicit alius, patisans ia

et non in fine, sed im-

medio
j

Sing cue

cu.

Sing cue cu

mediate repetens principium.

nu.

This amazing production, the sole example probably of its

the leading qualities of this kind of
species, which exhibits
difficult to realize
and
beauty, in a degree still
music, ingenuity
as possible to a thirteenth century composer, unites two distinct
technical methods, namely that of Odington, and that which

was suggested as possible in the case of the short rondeaux

music
of Adam de la Hale.
Odington's method is seen in the
of the two lower voices ; for this, consisting as it does of two
melodies which begin together and are afterwards repeatedly
restricted to
interchanged, constitutes a true rondel, though

The method on
the original subjects and in two parts only.
as
the other hand which was suggested
possible in the shorter
rondeaux of

Adam

though now upon

These display
in the four upper parts.

de

Hale

la

a magnificent scale,
a true canon in the unison;

two independent stanzas,

is

is

seen,

since the melody, consisting of

begun by the leader

alone,

and

taken up by all the rest in turn, each entering at his appointed

There
interval of time and upon the same note of the scale.
is

no break in the canon, which

is strict

throughout, and ceases

METHOD OF MUSICAL AET

the complete melody, sung by the
only with the last note of
The melody of the canon is in the first mode of
leader.

that of the rondel or pes

rhythm, alternate long and breve ;
with the exception of the
is in the fifth mode, all longs
the long pause, the pausa
cases
both
in
binaiy ligatures ; and
debit a of both

modes,

is

employed.

has
Although the original MS. copy of this composition
and
one
of
comment,
often been made the subject
description
remarkable feature, the alteration that

is

which has taken

to say

certain portions,
place in the notation of

may

perhaps

still

be

referred to with advantage.

There are two kinds of alteration in the MS.; alteration

after

The alterations of the

erasure, and alteration without erasure.
first kind were described by Mr. Rockstro, but with no account of
their effect upon the composition, in his article upon the Rota
Music ; and in the
published in Sir G. Grove's Dictionary of
notes to the Plainsong Society^ volume, Early English
Harmony, edited by the present writer, attention was alsp
briefly

drawn

to the alterations without erasure.

may now be rather more fully discussed.

We may take the latter kind first.

It

is

Both kinds

evident,

a consideration of the alterations without erasure,

from

which by

a more or less adroit stroke of the pen have transformed

lozenges into longs, that the rota when originally
The notes
set out upon the page contained very few longs.
e
which occupied the space of a perfection/ those of the pes
certain

and of

its

sections,

longs

all

echo in the canon, and the notes at the end of

were alone written according to their real value as

the rest of the music, which is in trochaic rhythm,

was expressed, except in the case of the two ligatures in the

pes9 by means of simple lozenges. The notes of the greater
part of the composition therefore had no value of their own,
but were intended merely to indicate the place of the sound
in the scale, the fixed metre of the words supplying the necessary
measures of time. This method which appears also, applied

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

329

sometimes to exceedingly complicated metres^ in the Florence

MS.

is

obviously closely allied to that of plainsong, and must

therefore be of great antiquity ; and although it would certainly

be rash to assume that this fact affords any reason for supposing
the MS. to be of an earlier date than that now generally
it
(about 1240) since upon this point the palaeoevidence may be considered as conclusive the

assigned to
graphical

appearance of this ancient method in the first writing out of

our example may well suggest a doubt with respect to the
composition of the rota itself, which has hitherto been

supposed to be not only of the same date as the MS. in which

found; but the actual invention of the writer whose hand

it is

has preserved

The

it.

and subsequent alterations of the melody, may

be
ascribed
to the reformer of the notation.
They are
perhaps
probably not earlier, since their author, though he still writes
erasures,

1
lozenges for breves , expresses the long note of the rhythm

means

by

of its proper figure.

The

alterations of both kinds

may

perhaps best be shown

an attempt to restore the canon to the shape in which it

first appeared in the MS. ; and this may be compared with the
illustration of its present condition just given on p. 326.
in

PROBABLE FORM OF THE CANON BEFORE THE ALTERATIONS.

Su-meris
Per

spi-ce

i -

cum-en

cJiris - ti

-co

in,
- la

Lhude

sing cnc-cu. GroweJ>sedandblowe]>

- ti Ce-li-cus a-gri- co o,

que dig-na

The reformer of: the notation, having altered those lozenges which represented
the long note of rhythm, allowed the remaining ones to stand for breves ; lozenges
were then nsed also in the same sense in the alterations of the melody, apparently
to avoid confusion.
* Notes afterwards erased and replaced
others.
by

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

33

med and spring]? the w

la

pro

lomb, lhouj? a
it
mor-tis

mu - rie
a

tis

ter

ex

sing cue

sup-pli

Sing cue

ci -

de

cal
- i

mi.
-

ve

Sing cue -cu,

Awe

Non par -

fi

cu.

Bui

o.

Qwt

cu.

Cue

cu

cue

Vi

te

do

loc

cop

ster
- <z

se -

af

cews #c -

#0

tej>,

bucke

ws

se

cu^Welsing-es
natj et

ble-tej)

cum

j?u

/Hoc
v

cu.

Sing cuc-cu

?m

dicit alius, pausans in

medio et non in fine, sed immediate repetens principium.

nu.

* Notes afterwards erased and

replaced by others.

ver

ter

sw -

te)>

cuc-cu ne swik

co - ro -

cu nu. Sing cuc-cu.

Sing cue

nat in

ce ~

DISC ANT OR
The
with

alterations of the

one

MEASURED MUSIC
which

melody

it

331

be seen are

will

to passages near the close

exception
of
considerable
interest,, are not of very great
though naturally
all
in
are
some sense improvements, but none
importance $

confined

can be said to affect the essential form of the work, which was
as distinct before they were made as it is at present.
It is
evident, therefore, that this

famous page of MS. does not

present to us, as has sometimes been supposed, a record of the

writer's efforts towards the transformation either of an original
subject or of some previously existing melody into a canon,
since the music already apparently displayed an almost perfect
specimen of this form of composition when it was first written

down.

And

here, before passing on,

we may

refer for a

moment

to the character of the melody, which, joined to the bucolic

sentiment of the poem, is so largely responsible for another

prevailing notion with respect to this composition, namely that

the subject of the canon, whether actually manipulated in the

MS. or not, is probably a popular pastoral song which

has been adapted to a contrapuntal purpose.
now see that
this popular and pastoral character may very well be
purely
existing

We

accidental

instance, and
present work
of

Organum

for in

the specimens

of Organum purum, for

which have been given in the
and especially in those of the measured portions
we may find in abundance passages exactly similar

of the Conductus,

in character to those of the rota.

All that

we can

say therefore

of the lilting phrases of the rota is that the character which

they display would appear to be that which is natural and
first or Trochaic mode of rhythm, since it seems
be necessarily developed by that mode in every kind of
music in which it is employed, whether ecclesiastical or secular.

proper to the
to

The rendering

in

modern notation of the music

of the rota,

which next follows, has been influenced in one or two respects

by a consideration of the fact that the emphatic rhythm of the

melody was originally expressed by signs destitute of mensural

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

333
value,

and that the trochaic metre

of the

key to the notation.

affords the only

poem

In this point of view

it

has been con-

sidered probable that the binary ligatures with propriety and

in the composition should be
perfection which are employed
translated

as

mensural

rules,

this

view

is

trochees,

and

not

the

to

according

settled

which would interpret them as iambi ; and

apparently sanctioned by Jean de Garlande,

a theorist contemporary with the writer

the

of

MS., who

to express trochees in one

systematically employs such ligatures
mode of rhythm, the mode in fact

of his illustrations of the first

in which, as has
it

been

said, the

canon

has been considered that the

is

written.

little

figure

Furthermore

which occurs

immediately before the cross, consisting of three lozenges of

which the first has an. oblique tractus, should also, as part of
the original notation, be translated apart from mensural rule
and exhibited as three equal breves. It will be found that
these departures from recent custom create improvements not
in
only in the rhythmic flow of the composition but often also

the harmonic

effect.

Concerning the authorship of the rota and its place of

It
origin nothing entirely convincing can be said at present.
seems indeed very possible that the page of MS. which contains
it may have been written in Eeading Abbey, and that the
alterations may also hare been made there 5 it is even possible

MS, may have been

that the writer of the

supposed

one John of Fornsete, though

that the evidence

as
it

is

now

generally

must be confessed

upon which this attribution rests appears

somewhat fantastic. The identifica-

upon consideration to be

no real importance unless it

can be shown that the invention either of the canon^ or of the

tion of the scribe, however, is of

alterations, or both, is

due to him, and

this,

though suggested,

has not as yet been satisfactorily demonstrated 1 ,

1
It should, however, he mentioned that the suggestion that the rota may have
heen actually composed in Eeading derives a certain measure of support from
a consideration of the words, which Professor J. Wright pronounces to he
'

thirteenth century Wessex

Berkshire, or Wiltshire.'

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

333

ROTA.

SUMER

ICUMEN

IS

IN.

Mus. Brit. MSS. Harl. 978.

q_.

Su

mer

is

cu

men

in

Lhude

Su

sing

Cu

is

mer

PES.

Sing

Cu

Sing

Cu

cu

iiu,

sing

Cu

Sing

Cu

cuj

Grow

eth

blow

sed

and

sing

Cu

cu;

is

cu

eth

med,

men

in

Eg
cu

men

in

...

Lhude

Su

mer

_.o

cu;

cu

nu,

Sing

Cu

sing

Cu

nu,

cu;

And

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

334

Cu

Sing

cu

Awe

nu,

ble

Cu

sing

teth

af

de

nu;

ter

lomb,Lhouth

Sing

^
blow

eth

med

and springth the

3
Grow - eth

<Ju;

sed

and

blow

_jcu

cu;

nu,

sing

Sing

cu;

eth

med,

and

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

w^)
^?
^J

335

~~

QJ/

af

cal

ter

Awe

ble

ve

Bul

cu;

af

teth

ter lomb,

Lhouth af

loc

ster -teth,

cal - ve

ter

H
Cu

Sing

Sing

sing

bucke

af

ver

ter lomb,

cu.

de

n.u;

Cu

cu

Cu

cu;

springfchthe

y *J

teth,

nu,

Mu

- lie

sing

Bul

- loc

ster

Lhouth af

Awe

cu;

Awe

Sing

ter

Cu

- tetht

cal - ve

Sing

Cu

sing

Cu

Sing

Cu

teth,

cu.

bucke

ver

cu;

teth

af

Cu

cu

Cu

cuj

ble

ble-teth

ter

lomb, Lhouth

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

Cue

Cue

cu,

cu,

wel

slug

Cu

thu

es

G
-

Mu - rie

sing

Bul

loe

ster

af

ter

cu.

bucke

teth,

ver

teth,

Mu

rie

cu,

Cu

sing

cal - ve

cu.

Bul

Cu

cu;

Sing

Cu

sing

Cu

.>,

smg

Cu

loc

ster

teth,

-^TT
Cu

Sing

i
Cue

Cu

cu,

Ne

cu,

Wel

swik

thu

singes

na

thu

ver

Cue

nu.

Cu

Sing

<s

bucke

cu

ver

nu,

teth,

Mu -

rie

sing

sing

Cu

Sing

Cu

Cu

cu.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

CLOSING PORTION OF EARLIER VERSION.

337

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

338
-

Cue

Sing

Two forms of composition still remain to be noticed^ Organum

communiter sumptum, and the Motett.
As regards the first it must be said that its nature cannot at
Hitherto we have been
present be indicated with certainty.
fortunate upon the whole in our identifications; but the cir-

cumstance through which we were enabled partly to define and

to exhibit Organum purum and Conductus
namely the mention
in a contemporary treatise of individual compositions still in
existence, as

examples of those forms,, has no parallel in this

no writer refers to individual compositions of

occasion^ since

Organum communiter sumptum. Indeed the only definite mention

form by name, which occurs in Ars Cantus Mensurabilis,

of this
is

purely general^ and of no use to us in the absence of specimens;

while on the other hand^ in the music itself of this

period which
has been preserved, we do not at present perceive
any class of

works which might appear from their nature to constitute the

examples of which we stand in need.

Organum communiter sumptum

is

included by the author of

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

339

Ars Cantus MensuraUlis among those forms of composition

in which all the parts have the same words % and is further
defined as f an ecclesiastical cantus measured in time 2 y $ it is
contrasted moreover with
in

Organum purum vel proprie sumptum,

which only the tenor has words and the notes of the plain-

song are of indefinite length. Yet it is not to be found, as we

might perhaps have been inclined to suppose, in the measured
portions of such compositions as ludea et Jerusalem or Constantes estate, since these do not fulfil the requisite conditions

with respect to the words; nor, considering that organum

communiter sumptum is probably the same as the organum
rectum of Jean de Garlande 3 and the 'pure y organum of Discantus Positio Vulgaris^, can we safely identify it with the
old ecclesiastical organum of note against note in concords and
*
c
contrary movement, since organum rectum and pure organum

would seem to be

clearly described in the treatises as displaying

the plainsong in perfect longs, and the discant in imperfect
longs and breves. It must be confessed, however, that this

method also would seem to be inconsistent with the employment of the same words in all the parts.
It would serve no useful purpose,, in the present state of
our knowledge, to discuss this matter further ;

we may

proceed

therefore at once to the examination of the motett, concerning

which, fortunately, our information

if

is

not exhaustive, at

least comparatively considerable.

The motett was distinguished, apparently, by two well

marked peculiarities, one of which is indicated in Ars Cantus
Mensurabilis, where in the list of musical forms Motetus
appears as the only member of a class in which each voice
has its own special words, and the other in the earlier treatise
Discantus Positio Vulgaris, where this kind of composition
is said to be made upon a measured cantus firmus whose notes
are arranged in certain fixed forms 5 .
1
c

Seep.
e

This latter view

3

is also

* Ibid.
178.

Ibid. 1 80.
Ibid. 178-9.
76 of the present work.
est super determinates notas firmi cantus mensuratas," &c.

Motetus vero

Cousse. Script,

i.

96.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

340

that of Walter Odington, who moreover adds the information

1
that the substance of the tenor must be some known song
.

then, and a tenor arranged in

distinctive features of the
the
are
definite recurring figures,
as
most important in our
motett ; and of these the latter,,

each
separate text for

voice,,

may

immediate point of view,

Two

first

examples of the tenors

of

be considered.
motetts,

displaying fixed

have already been given in this

recurring forms throughout,,
work (pp. 143-4), and in the remarks also by which these were
for the employment of
accompanied a motive was suggested
the method, namely the desire to communicate life and meaning

The actual
to melodies without words, in metrical rhythm.
intention of these fixed figures, thereand

probable
we may probeing to some extent known to the reader,
ceed to demonstrate the system of which they are a part, and

appearance

fore,

their office.
through which alone they perform
This system was known to the treatise writers as the system
of ordines, or regular arbitrary dispositions of the contents of

corresponds roughly to the poet's

treatment of the metrical part of verse, and consists in 'a dethe rhythmic

mode.

It

marcation of the contents of the mode, by means of pauses,

in sections of various length; and thus the metre is brought
to express, apart

The nature
manner

from words,

of the process

distinct

may

and

intelligible ideas.

be indicated in the following

_*

-^^g^H^ -^3^^^
It

will

&c.

be obvious that here two kinds of musical ideas,

by the first and third of these ordines on the one

represented
hand and the second and fourth on the other, are expressed ;
ends with the second or weak beat
in the first kind the

phrase

of the foot, while in the other

it

returns to the

first

or strong

1 f
Moteti fitint cum littera in aliquo modorum. Sumatur aliquis cantus notus
pro tenore, aptus melo, et in certo modo disponatur/ Cousse. Script, i. 248.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

and since the idea conveyed by the latter method is the
more complete and satisfactory of the two, a mode divided into

beat

ordines of this construction

is

called perfect., while the opposite

method^ in which the ordo ends with the

the

mode

as imperfect 1 .

The

effect

weak

beat, constitutes

produced by the applica-

tion of this system to melodies in the first five rhythmic

modes

here shown.

is

ORDINES OF THE MODES PERFECT AND IMPERFECT.

Ordo

Perfect.

FIBST MODE.

Perfect.

THIED MODE.

&c.

&c.

\Cumgue.~]

Imperfect.

*
Modus perfectus dicitur esse, quandocumque ita est quod aliquis modus desinit
per talem quantitatem vel per talem xnodum, slcuti per illam qua incipit. Dicitur
modus perfectus, ut dicatur prima longa, altera brevis, et altera longa; et sic de

Omnis modus dicitur imperfectus quandocumque

singulis modis vel maneriebus.
ita est, quod aliquis modus desinit per aliam quantitatem quam illam. qua incipit j
ut

cum

dicatur prima longa, altera brevis, altera longa et altera brevis/

Garlande, Cousse. Script,

i.

176.

J. de

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

343

FOTTETH MODE.

Perfect.

Ac.

lEegnat]
Imperfect.

Ac.

MODE.

Perfect.

Ac.

[EMS.]
Imperfect.

&C.

Ordo

II.

EIEST MODE.

Perfect.

Imperfect.

Ac.

SECOND MODE.

Perfect.

Ac.

[Balaam. ]
Imperfect.

Ac.

THIRD MODE.

Perfect.

i^^
&c.
Imperfect.
_JL^

^.
&C.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

Perfect.

343

retrain MODE.

&c.

Imperfect.

&C.

MODE.

Perfect.

&c.

Imperfect.

&c.

IJJ.

MODE.

Perfect,

&c.

Imperfect.

&C.

MODE,

Perfect.

o
[BaZaaw.]

Imperfect.

Ac.
Perfect.

THIED MODE.

&c.

Imperfect.
-G>

OP MUSICAL ART

344

FOTTHTH MODE.

Perfect.

MODE.

Perfect.

[Eius."]

or modal phrases
Such then being the system of ordines
of the motett,
ten&r
which governs the external form of the
to deal with the question which naturally
next

we may
arises

proceed

of the composition
respecting this part

nature of

its

substance, and from

The question

is

whence

is it

what
derived

is

the

answered by Jean de Garlande, who defines

and
the nature of the substance, its origin,

the chief points

in precise though apparently
its relation to the external form,
.

His account may first be given, and afterenigmatic words.

or do,' he says,
wards we may undertake its elucidation. "The
a root. The
from
'
an original, and the original
proceeds from
1
His example follows :
root consists of a given cantus .'

c.

Latus.

321
iaiws.

ordo dividitur
'Ordo modornm est numerus punctorum ante pausationem ; iste

Ordo autem procedit ab uno principio;

in prinrnm, secunduni et terfcinm, &c.
Cousse. Script i, 98.
est qruKbefc cantus piimo datus,'
Radix
a
radice.
principium

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

From

this

345-

example we perceive that the author has taken

a passage, apparently of plainsong, as his root, and, regardless

its former purpose and meaning, has rearranged it in a mode

of

rhythm; and in this form it becomes the original, from

which ordines may be derived by means of interpolated pauses
of

at proper intervals.

The

particular fragment of plainsong here

<
by the word Latus/ and
we must go to the Anonymus

utilized is evidently indicated

for the

explanation of this
British Museum,, the

commentator of Jean de

who has

dealt rather

more

question,

and who indeed actually describes the method

proceeding.
From the treatise of the

was the name

of

fully

of

the

Garlande 1,

than his master with this

Anonymus

it

appears that

one of the tropes, or long

florid

of

Latus

passages of

plainsong unbroken by pauses and taken upon a single syllable

of text, which are found so frequently in the ritual music of
the church

these received as

names the

syllables

upon which

they occurred in the ecclesiastical cantus, and retained them

even after their conversion to the purposes of measured music.

The words

of this author are sufficiently clear.

'Take

then,

he says, one of these tropes, such, for instance, as Latus which

is obtained from the antiphon Immolatus est
Christus, and
e

write the notes

down

then afterwards set them out in other

should be sufficient,
figures, unless those in which they appear
desire/
that
do
modal
or
as best suits the
you
Elsewhere, in describing the composition of a discant in the
mode, the author gives an even more explicit account of

first

F, G, F, D, F, followed
by the breve pause, then* F, F, A, G, F, with the breve pause ;

the method.

Much

Let the tenor be thus

of the purely technical instruction given by the Anonymus is little

Yet,
full and clear exposition of the teaching of Jean de Garlande.
the Anonymus, who has recorded the names of so many of the

more than a

strangely enough,
musicians of this period, and is in fact the only author of the time

knows de Garlande only as

'

who seems

knowledge worth speaking of, is apparently

upon whose doctrine his own is founded. He
the author of the treatise which begins Habito de vpsa

to have possessed any historical

ignorant of the name of the man

plana musica gue immensurabilis respective

dicitur.'

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

34 6

and by

mode

we may understand

this

to be intended.

which

is

And

it

the second ordo of the

called

is

Omnes,

extracted from Viderunt Omnes-, and

will

be

first

like its root

so,

being re-

sufficient so far as

three times, or more,

peated twice,
Below will be found the passage (from
the tenor is concerned/
the Gradual for Christmas Day) to which the author refers, and
it

also the tenor

Vi-de-runt

made from

Om

it

according to his directions.

ter

fi-nes

[Owwes.]

The repetitions of the subject here recommended are a necessary

Few tropes were in themselves of

the process.
material for the whole of the tenor
as
sufficient length to serve

feature

of

of a motett unless set out in very long notes, as for instance in

Radix veniae, presently to be given in this work,

the Motett

where Latus appears in an extraneous mode composed of longs

and double longs. As a rule, therefore, the subject was repeated
This might be done either openly or in a disat least once.
guised manner; in the former case the ordinesweve so arranged
that the last notes of the subject coincided with the conclusion

an ordo and the beginning of the next ordo with the first
notes of the repetition, in the latter the end of the subject and
of

the beginning of the repetition were

limits of

made

to occur within the

an ordo, thus effectually concealing the fact of repetiwhich followed, and giving to notes already

tion in the ordines

heard, in the

same sequence

as before

but

now

differently

divided, the appearance of complete novelty.

A few more examples of the tropes used

reconstruction in

as tenors, with their

modal form, may be given.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

347

REGNAT.
From

the Alleluia of

An Extraneous Mode founded

Assumption,

the.

on the Fifth.

From, the Motett Flos de Spina, Montpellier MS.,

fol.

[Eegnat.'}

1
MANERE.
From

the

Gradual of S. John Evangelist.

Fifth

Mode

From

the Motett Demenant Grant Joie, Montpellier MS., fol.

Perfect, first Ordo.

"

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

348

&c.

LAQUELS.
#ie

Gradual of Holy Innocents.

La-qne-us

Fifth

BE

Mode Perf ect^

second Ordo.

GAJSIAKDE'S example.

[Lagueus.]
1

&c.

But not only the long

florid
passages of ornament, without
words, occurring in the music of the ritual, were made to serve

as subjects for the tenors of motetts

; the substance itself of
the cantus also
frequently performed this office, as will be seen
from the following
:

examples

Two

notes of the root have been omitted here.

DISCANT OR MEASUEED MUSIC

349

BALAAM.
Third Section of the Sequence Ipfyhaniam Domino.

Ba

ru

First

From

ti -

am

la

lans

Mode

do

in

quit

- ti

va

quo

stel -

ci -

nans

Ex

ex

bit

la

cob

la,.

Perfect, first Ordo.

the Motctt

U dox tcrmiws,

Montpollier MS.,

fol. 249*.

&c.

ANGELUS.
Alkhtia wrse of Easter Monday.

An
First

ge

Mode

lus

Do

Perfect,

mi

ni

de-seen

dit

de

ce

lo.

first Ordo.

From the Motett Gaude

Chorus omnium, Montpellier

MS. 3

fol.

7i

b.

\Angelus.~\

This is the end of the subject and beginning of the repetition. Hera the fact
disguised, but at its next occurrence a few notes are altered in. time in order to

is

bring the subject once more to

its original position,

and

so to

a proper conclusion.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

35

BEATA VISCERA.
Communion in Mass of

the

Assumption.

Ac.

Be

ta

vis

ce

Mode Perfect, first Ordo.

From the Motett Beata, Viscera,

ra

Ma

- ri

vir

Fifth

b
Monfcpollior MS., fol. 8i .

[Beata viscera.]

122:

&c.

IN SECULUM.
JProm <7w (?ra^waZ of JKastvr Da?/.

*
In

r"
f"

3>A
cu

se

luni

Fourth Mode Imperfect, first Ordo.

the Motett In omnifratre tuo> Montpollior MS,,

From

/L

f
*s

[Jn

fl:3

fol.

66 b

gi

iris.

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

We have now obtained a fairly clear idea of

351

the nature of the

music written for the tenor in the motett.

We recognize its
origin in the ritual music of the Church, and we perceive the
method also hy which it has been
brought to exhibit its
characteristic form in measured music we
may therefore next
;

proceed to consider for a

moment

the questions relating to the

management of the words which belong to it.

The text of the tenor is represented almost

always in the
motett by a syllable, or word,, or at most two
words, placed
under the opening notes, by
way of indication. Yet we have
seen that the quantity of text
in the root from which
existing

the tenor
It

may

is

taken

may

vary considerably in different cases.

in fact consist not
only of a single syllable or a

single

word, but

may

also include a

whole sentence, or even as in

Balaam a complete section of a composition in which
every
note has a syllable of text.
In what sense then are we to
understand the guiding word in the tenor of the motett?

Does it imply a reference to the complete words of the root,

and are these, whether many or few in number,
supposed to be
sung throughout to their proper notes in the tenor, from the

memory

of the experienced
singer?

Or

is

it

to be taken

and are we to suppose that even when

many

of the
notes in the original
passage have words, only the initial or
guiding word or phrase is to be regarded, and the whole of the
literally,

tenor then carried

upon a

single syllable ?

The main question may perhaps be decided by

to the fact that the tenor of the motett
in all

the

a reference

is

invariably written,
of the practice, in ligature 5 even in
consisting of perfect longs, the first or do of the

modes which admit

fifth

mode,

a very popular form of tenor was

always, before the
time of Franco, represented by the
ternary ligature with properfect

priety

and perfection proper to the fourth mode.

Therefore,
that
the
existence
itself
of
a
considering
ligature depends upon its
of
a
modulated
but
unbroken
representation
sound, it is clear that

a passage written in ligatures throughout

is

from beginning to end

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

353
c

sine littera/

means

Nor does

the separation of the ligatures by

any means of escape from

we suppose the text to be now set

of pauses appear to afford

this conclusion, for even

if

out above the detached figures of the tenor, syllable by syllable,

it

is

evident that the words in that case

would no longer,
upon the notes proper to them in the

except by accident, fall

plainsong; the method, therefore, can scarcely have been permissible, since the relation of words and notes in the plainsong
would seem to have been always strictly respected by the

composers

of

mensural

music.

It

would appear then as

much text were

probable that the words in a root containing

abandoned, and the tenor merely vocalized, as in those cases

which the subject was derived from a single syllable of the

in

cantus.

of

In a third class of subject, however, with texts that is to say

two or three syllables only, we may perhaps perceive the
It seems not improbable,
such tenors as those in our examples

possibility of a different treatment.

for instance, that

in

- - ne$
- - tus, Om
9 Key
nat,
corresponding to the roots La
both syllables may have been sung iu their proper places upon
the first and last notes of the passage. This notion is suggested
by a method of writing the guiding word which has been

adopted in the Florence

tenors

formed upon

La

tus,

- -

the

MS.
roots

There, for instance,

Tan

- -

quum.

Quo

iu

the

- -

m,

the two syllables are written under the firwt and

last or dines of the notation, as in the
In liethlcem^
plainsong.

however, Doce, and Nostrum, are given, like the titles in

M. de Coussemaker's extracts from the Montpellicr MS., at
the beginning of the tenor, the syllables not divided,

As

regards the treatment of words of three syllables, we again

apparently have the authority of the Florence MS. for supposing

We

that the arrangement in the

plainsong might be followed.
there find a tenor, Glo ~ a, in which the first syllable

whole of the theme except the last two notes, which

are received by the final syllables ; and this also is the
arrangecarries the

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

ment

We

of the
corresponding plainsong.

may

353

therefore not

unreasonably suppose that in our examples founded upon the

roots
-ne-re . . . 9 La - gue - us . . , the first two syllables

Ma

might be given

to the corresponding notes of the

tenor,

and

the remainder of the passage vocalized

upon the third syllable,
as in the plainsong.

We

may

conclude our notice of this subject with a

very

example of the possible utilization of three syllables in

the tenor, which will be found in the Florence MS., fol. 383 b .
striking

It will

be observed that the second

syllable is differently placed

in root and tenor, but the difference

and

is

is

probably not intentional,

moreover quite unimportant.

DOMINO.
From

the

Gradual of Easter Tuesday,

Do

Bo

mi

The tenor of the motett, then, being provided according to

the method just described, the discant was next made upon
Respecting the
it, and afterwards the triplum, or upper part.
nature of these parts there is little that is new to be said. Their
phrases

still

have become
WOOLI3RIDGB

which we
display the bold metrical rhythms, to
forms
of
other
in
accustomed
composition, rhythms

A a

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

354

more

and more obviously suggestive of

words than those which were as a rule adopted for the

striking in character

poetical

But

tenor.

in other respects

for instance
parts to the tenor,

in the relation of the

certain peculiarities

upper
may be

that the motett was the only form

observed, which, considering
of serious composition of this period destined to survive, are
from their revelation of something approaching a

interesting,

in the form itself, and a sense of

capacity for development
in the composers.
purely musical arrangement
to be noticed, since it is
of
these
The first
peculiarities
characteristic of the earliest examples, is the close correspon-

dence between the tenor and the upper parts in respect of

or section of the upper parts is made
phrasing. The phrase
to correspond generally to two figures of the tenor, so that the

tenor pauses alternately alone and in

all

company with the

discant

the voices pause together

andtriplum; sometimes, however,

after each figure of the tenor, and sometimes only after three
or four, according to the length of their respective phrases,
And this in the earliest period seems to have been the only
for establishing musical relation
existing notion of a method
the harmonic agreement
apart from that which exists through
two
In
the
between all the parts.
upper parts we again find
the mutual relation created

by occasional imitation

tind inter-

which we arc already familiar in organum

but
and conductm,
nothing of this sort exists between the
upper voices and the tenor.
A relation of another kind between the tenor and the upper
change of phrase with

however, sometimes created through the words of the

various parts in the motett, by means of 21 periodical simultaneous agreement in the vowel-sounds uttered by the voices.

voices

An

is,

instance of this

may be

seen in the second of our illustra-

Motett Qui servare, where the tenor

upon the syllable He ; it will be observed

tions here following, the

vocalizes throughout

that in the

poem which was

afterwards written to accompany

the discant of the motett, in the long syllable at the end of

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

355

each section of the

composition,, the same vowel-sound, e
to
be perceived. This practice,
always clearly
however,
.

is

is

by no means common.
Not all the questions

relating to the text of the upper parts

1
are strictly relevant to our
subject , yet it may be said that
we
not
to suppose that the motett
probably
ought
at

sprang
once into complete existence in the form
described in the
as a composition that is to
treatises,
in which all the
say

parts

have different words.

Following the most direct analogy, and

remembering the evidence which exists in all the music of the
early period that we have seen of a strong love of
vocalizing

we might even

indeed almost suppose that the words

in the motett were at first
only to be found in the tenor ('for
the tenor, says the author of Ars Cantus
<
Mensurabilis, is to
be considered as a text *) 9 and that the
remaining part or
discant,

parts

were sung,

like those of

organum and conductus, merely upon

Later probably, in that case, a text was
carefully

some vowel.

composed to suit first the suggestive metrical figures of the

and afterwards those of the triplum. Later still the
whole method of providing tipper parts was
enlarged, and the
discant,

composers

of

motetts, in

advance to welcome every

their

exercise of musical ingenuity, often renounced the

composition
of original discant, as if it were child's
themplay, and

engaged

selves in the far

more

difficult

task o

adapting the notes of

already existing songs as discant to the figures of the tenor ;
and with the notes of these songs they took the words also.

The

oldest

examples of the motett which we possess are

apparently those contained in the Florence

great interest for two reasons.

In the

MS.

They

are of

place they would

seem to illustrate a period in the history of this form in which
the fully composed motett has received words in the discant
voice^ while the triplum still vocalizes
1

first

and thus they may be

Much interesting information respecting the words of motetts and of conducti

will be found in tlie work by Professor Meyer, Der Ursprung des Motetts, already
mentioned in the preface to the present work.

a 2

^^^^^^"^M^i
^ttMiSfete'fe't

^''**^

i
.

DISCANT OR MEASUEED MUSIC

357

supposed to lend support to the hypothesis just suggested

above.
In the second place they afford a striking
example
of the ambiguous system of notation. We have
already pointed
out that the Rota ^Sumer is icumen in 3 was
probably first
written almost entirely in signs of one kind, and
consequently
without special value,, and that a mode of rhythm
supplied the
f
to
the
and
of
the
notes
to be sung.
key
longitude
brevity^
The same system is to be seen in these motettSj which are
written entirely in longs^ except where two sounds are to be
given upon one syllable,, when the notes are shown in ligature.

At

first

in the

the reader

is

somewhat bewildered, but assuming

upper parts the

first

mode

of

rhythm

is

generally

intended as the basis of construction, the compositions

be translated with little difficulty.

MOTETUS.

HOSTBM SUPERAT.
Bibl. Mediceo-Laurenziana,

MS,

Pint. 29. i, foL cccci b .

that

may

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

rum

red-dit

da

li

nos

ve

ta

be -rum;

ad

rd

pe

su

vi

ct

sic

su

rum

ti

gra

du

ti

pur-gans

cat

giva

<li

pe

a.

MOTETTJS,
QXTI
Bibl.

[Link] PXJBEEEM.

Mediceo-Laurenziana,

MS.

Pint. 29.

i, fol.

Qui scr

He

ccclxxxi b

va

ro

pu

"bo -

renx

va

gam

clait -

do

ro

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

359

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

360

fran

go

re

>

na

sem

ta

fal

pei*

lo - ro 9

1231

3l-p-P:i
*

"""""

zznb
no

vo

gau

ve

dot

to -

rom

mi - cum

pel

lo

ro.

^
MOTETTTS.
IN BETHLEEM.
Bib I. Mediceo-Laurenziana,

MS.

Plut. 29.

i,

fol. ccclxxxii.

:::oi
.

Both

cm.

Ho

ro

(In BotMccm.)

EEEIE?-

des

ra

tus,

qui

pu

cr

xm

tu,

ti -

uionn

DISCANT OR MEASUKED MUSIC

ran

pria

ci

pa

tus,

se

scep-tro

fSi

va

221

0,

mi

ra

no

vi

tas

fa-

ci

no-ris,

Q
O

li

vo

ris

im-ma-ni -tas,

pu

ri

tas

Tims in tbo MS. Passages of this Mad frequently occur. It will be

observed that in the great majority of cases the discantus is consonant, and that
the dissonance is in the triphim.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

362

s
in - no

gni

- ti

um;

ve-sti-gi

c?

issc
do

cen

ris

urn.

po

ro

0,

do

sa

gcmlno

sequent!

rn-lwus,

inn

O,

<an

c?

li-H-um,

flos

clo

vox

tin,

"-

fan-ti-

""

"

o ,-~.~J^,U
H"fVl>
T:
E".*

in.

j-n
,

"""""ITJ'w

<o- ~
,.,.,.

,..,.

231
nm,

lau

do

des

331

di-ccu-ti

um,

cau-taw-ti

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

363

MOTETUS.

DEO CONFITEMINI.
Bibl. Mediceo-Laurenziana,
MS. Hut. 29. i, fol. ccclxxxiii.
.Q..

rpc
De

con

te

fi

mi

ni

qui

su

cle -

Do
IZ3Z

=E:

men

in

- ti

Ma

car

ri

nem.

su

ut

a;

nu

Thus in the MS.

mi

bra

iun

ni

he

sem

xit

ni

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

pro -mis

sa

for

aux

rot

li

so

a,

(,-

cou-

EEE3

-p-

for

mans

ho

mi

-j

in.,

sic

sub

iec - turn

cvi

jggE

.......

se

ni,

due

hos

turn

ma

tis

Hii?^

dc

mit

mor

to

pi

Thus

in the

MS,

ti

-mi

[wo]

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

365

MOTETUS.
LAUDES REPERAT.
Bibl. Mediceo-Laurenziana ;

MS. Hut.

29. i, fol.

m
_o_
Lau

des

re

fe

pu

rat,

cor

ri

sa

dis

- cri

Quo
1221

ft

um

ci

iam

of

fe

lios

quem

rat$

tis

se

^
dux

ft

li

rat,

ip

^>

pa

sum

ter

nim

ut

Thus in the MS.

pro

li

mi

be

se

rat

rat,

per

^/. GW

,>

4-%f"*K< [Link]/,
'

.-

ii-

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

367

(H) (C

*^

et

quern

ius

te

mi

se - rat

in

Q-Q.

m
MOTETUS.
RADIX VENIAEBibl. Mediceo^Lanrenziana,
MS. Plut. 29. i fol. ccclxxxv.

ex

li

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

ve

ri

so

Us

or

tun,

thro -

&c2xr-^z^rf^z^~&

,,,^-,,,

glo

ri

6;

Sum

-rax

re-gis

col

.,

.._*. L. -,, ,*,,,, . M-^,

,

la,

lus-so

~cv-

!3sci|2rnrt7zprpT' :r"vt|^ ^^
j

vir-gu-la.

se

en

* la

.,

ex

qua

cla - ya

il<w

eat

ixna - rln

or

<

tu,

la

DISCANT

MEASURED MUSIC

OB,

369

5E&

=e
spe

cu

la

Mor

- tis

ex

ter -

mi

ni

unij

m
33^
sa

men

lus

- ti

nni

claus

tra

pan

dens

ce

li

"GT"

ca

te

cla

- "vis

rens

WOOLDRIDGE

da

vi

In

ti

dith

ca

bel

li

ca

ca

put

ho

stis

lig-num

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

37

vi - te

fo

ar

rcns,

::

pi

gras

mo

ve

men -

tes,

fo

vo

bor

llo

ri

<la

La,:,;!",

cor

da

Ian

These motetts belong apparently to the

early

gui

da.

historical period

which saw the transition from equivocal to measured

notation,
a period which may
perhaps be said to have been closed by the
treatise .Discantus Positio

we

Vulgarw, and

in

parsing from them

note, as their chiefly remarkable characteriKtics, the strictncsH

with which the system of ordines is maintained \\\ the

tenor,
and the freedom and apparent
spontaneity of the melodies
composed upon the rigid formulae of the ecclesiastical theme.
In the examples
belonging presumably to the later period
which begins with Discantw Positio
Vulgam and is closed
the works of the Franconian
period,

we may

by
from
the
already

beginning perceive certain changes in thene respect^ changes

at first seen
only as indicating a tendency towards revision of
the method,, but afterwards even
the actual structure
affecting

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

of the
Structural change
composition.
so far as we were able to
in

was not

37l

to be observed,

any shape in the more hieratic

kinds of music, in
organum purum that is to say and in conductus, and its appearance in the motett may be taken
probably
to denote an
especially strong and progressive vitality in this
form of composition.
see,

The

first

change to be observed

relates to the old

method of
and the upper parts,
by means, that is to say, of the coincidence of pauses., and consists in the liberation of the
upper part from the common
establishing relation between the tenor

obligation

the discantm

now

therefore

still

pauses with the

tenor, while the triplum wanders at will

This method is seen
in our
example Gaude chorus omnium here following, in which
also is to be observed a
very early instance of a French triplum,

probably adapted from a current song.

The next innovation consists in the liberation of the discantus

and the consequent

abolition of all

coincidence of pauses, except

occur by accident. Yet the notion of a formal
relation between the tenor and the
upper parts was not yet
it
now
in
the form of a coincidence between
given up
appears

such as

may

certain phrases in the

upper parts and certain figures in the
tenor.
The tenor, it will be remembered, consists of an

'original' set out in

may

modal

figures

and repeated as often as

be necessary.

Any figure of the tenor may be selected

as the subject of this kind of
coincidence, which is then created
by the singer of the discantus, who, at each repetition of the
tenor original, accompanies the selected
figure by the phrase
of discant which was first
composed for it, the remaining
figures

receiving

fresh

discant.

The

coincidence, like the

repetition of the tenor original,

or indirectly ;

may take place either directly

in the latter case the original phrase of discant

appears in its repetitions in a different part of the scale from

that which it occupied at first. This device, in which the
triplum sometimes participates, is shown in our examples Virgo

deem and Veni

sancte spiritus, and in the latter imitations and

B b %

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

interchange of phrase between the two upper parts arc also
seen.

As we approach
change

the evident desire for greater freedom in the tenor.

short modal ordines begin to disappear., the subject is dis-

probably

The

the Franconian period important signs of

The most significant of these

become manifest.
is

posed in long phrases unbroken by rests., and is sometimes

introduced and followed by notes not in the original, while
during the Franconian period
often abandoned,,

and a

itself

the root of plainsong was

passage,, with

its

words

complete,,

from

some French song, served as the groundwork of the motet t,

In our illustrations of this period, the example Alle psattite

cum luya probably marks

if It

be really a motctt

the highest

point attained at this time in purely formal writing in this

The principle of interchange which we have

often
in casual operation in the older forma IKS
seen
already
kind of music.

here treated systematically,, and now supplies the single motive

for the complete composition ; the general treatment also of
the work, which begins in a simple manner and becomes more
proceeds, displays an idea of musical effect;
The tenor, it will
apparently unknown to the older composers.
be observed, is freely treated j each of its three phrases being of

and more rich as

different length,

it

and each once repeated

iu order to receive the

inverted discant of the upper parts.

Our
ment

illustration

Paris affords an example of the employ-

a long passage, with words,, from u French song, iu

place of the figured tenor, and in Li douz jwmar we see the
of

whole of a song, with

its words, brought into the lower

parts.
This destroys the principle of the tenor and createn a complete
similarity between all three parts of the mottrtt- except that

probably in the lower part the subject IB given intact, while in

the upper parts the original melodies have no doubt suffered
considerable alteration*

The

result of the

method of adaptation of existing work,

preference to that of original composition,

is

iu

seen in the bald

DISCANT OR MEASURED MUSIC

373

and uninteresting character of the

upper parts in the later
motetts as compared with those in the work of older times. In

work of the earlier period we were at least able, in the

absence of harmonic beauty,, to find satisfaction in the
simple
and pleasing melody of the individual
in
the
new
method
;
parts

the

however^ which excludes original composition and substitutes

for it a process of constant
expansion or compression of a given
subject^ the greater part of such beauty
original song
in

may

have possessed

examining the motetts of

is lost.

and character as the

It

is difficult

indeed,

say in which
of their characteristic features their musical merit can have
this latest period^ to

been thought to consist^ for the melodies are less agreeable and
the harmony is no better than before ; and we are in fact
only
deterred from regarding such motetts as

A Paris

and Li douz

penser as decadent by our conviction, again and again confirmed,

that in a period o healthy and growing art, such as this with

which we are
and no

at present engaged,

no movement

is

retrograde

forms and phases of production,

having their reason in the natural constitution of the art which
they illustrate, are both necessary and beneficial.
effort sterile,

but that

all

MOTETUS.

GAUDE CHORUS OMNIUM,

Lib. of Medical Faculty, MontpeUier j
MS. H. 196, fol. 7i b .

Ancrelus.

Quoted in
Piscantus Positio Vulgaris*
See Cousse. Script i. 96.

METHOD OF MUSICAL ART

374

avoie scr

a sa

vi

Bo

urn;

vo

Ion -

sa

fla

N'au-tro rei

tiS.

son

tro

mi\

gratis,

moi grc

ver?

f ors quo vout estro ainio

tol

tjui

li

<>

val

- li

of

ot

fert

urn,

fi - li

fort

do

pniHt

:;:::,::;]

r|

..

noiv

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u'a do

um.

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Las

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Ap

ref u

pro

ousso aclucvd

to

- ri

nios

$6

sou

tat

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son

li

pro

pri

aos-pi-raut

r -

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li

go

quo

ho

tur

.>.q>.
I

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niorroio

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OR MEASURED MUSIC

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375

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Lors commen^ai a pen-ser,

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tans in

gre

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um,

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qtiem Sj

ma

me - on

ni

^
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nies

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le

ai - rer, darne se

to!

li

in

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je vos

ens

"be

oc

xii

ne

ci

roi - e

di

fe

nis

xit,

li

ci

d'a

ens,

ac-ci-pi

Car da-me qui riens veut va

voir.

in - qui

bus

maus
*

Nunc

di

METHOD OF MUSICAL
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j-r-3

diro

loir,

init

ja

mau

in

pa

Bo

tis

vais

in'a

mi

n'au

ra

in

tu

per

bet*

tu

po

uin

ju

ja

do nion a

jor

scr

nuxxo ct

ce,

Diox

z>E5r^
vum
no

inoxir

X~N

ot

do-vroit,

AllT

xxm.

MOTBTUS.

VIRGO DKCUS,
Lib. of Medical Faculty, Montpollicr;
MS. H. 196, fol. 96 .
l)

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TZ_Z-III-L<rtICC^*'.J

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