Oxford History of Music Vol 1

BB8HQR tssseeassa

THE

POLYPHONIC

PERIOD OF

MUSIC

PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OFOXFORD LONDON, EDINBURGH

THE

OXFORD

HISTORY

OF MUSIC

VOL.

I

THE

POLYPHONIC

PERIOD.

PART

I

METHOD

OF

MUSICAL

_ART,

_330-1330

BY

H.

E.

_WOOLDRIDGE,

M.A.

SLADE PROFESSOR OF FINE ART IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

OXFORD

AT

THE CLARENDON

PRESS

PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

BYHORACEHART,M.A.

LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY

OF

C/

SANTA

BAR).1

EDITOR'S

PREFACE

THE

histories of

music

in current use

have

for the

most

part

adopted

a

method

which

is _frankly

and

_ostensibly

biographical.

Their

spirit

has

been

largely that of the

Saga

or _{the Epic, rousing}

our admiration

for the

achieve-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} host.

Such

a

method

has

no doubt

obvious

_advantages. It is

_human,

it is _interesting, it _readily

_compels

our

attention, it

wins

from

us

a

full

_{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

done by

lesser

men

; second, that of placing genius itself

in

a

false _perspective.

The

_history of

an

art, like the

history of

a

nation, is

_something

more

than a

record of personal

prowess

and

renown.

Tendencies

arise

from

small beginnings;

they

gather

strength imperceptibly as

they

proceed

;

they

develop,

almost

by

natural growth, to

im-portant issues:

and

the great artist

has

commonly

inherited

a

wealth

of _past tradition

and

effort

which

it is at

once

his _glory

and

_{his privilege} to administer.

More

especially is this true of music,

which

_among

all

six centuries of

work went

to _{provide Palestrina}

with

his

medium

; Purcell

succeeded

in the fullness of

time

to

a

longline of English ancestry ;

Bach, though

he

owed much

to Pachelbel

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

maintained

since the

_days

of Luther.

Even

those

_changes

which appear

the

most

violent in character the Florentine

Revolution, the rise of the

Viennese

_{School, the}

new

paths of the

Romantic

movement

_may

all

be

_rightly considered as _parts of

one

_{comprehensive}

scheme

:

sometimes

re-adjusting

a

balance that

had

fallenaskew,

sometimes

recalling

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

is the

main

_object

of _{the present work.}

The

biographical

method, admirable

inits

_way

and

within its_limits,

has

been

_sufficientlyfollowed elsewhere: in _histories, in

_monographs,

in dictionaries

and

encyclopaedias of music.

But

these still leave

room

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

endeavour

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; at

any

rate the

whole

ground

has

been

_surveyed

_afresh,

and

the facts _interpreted with as

little as

_may

be

_{of prejudice or prepossession.}

The work

has

been

_planned

in six volumes.

The

first

EDITOR'S

PREFACE

vn

of the

Mediaeval Church, one

closing

with

the period of

Discant, the other tracing the course of

Modal

Counter-point

up

to the

work

of Palestrina

and

his successors: the

third,

by

Sir C.

H. H.

_Parry, follows the line _{of the early}

Monodic

movement

from

its _{origin in}

_Josquin

and

Arcadelt

to itsculminationin Purcell: the _fourth,

by

Mr.

J. A. Fuller

Maitland, deals especially

with

the

music

of

Bach

and

Handel,

and

with

the

harmonic

_counterpoint

which

is

peculiarly characteristic of their

time

: the _fifth,

_by

the

Editor, narrates the rise

and

progress of the

Viennese

School,

and

carries

from

Haydn

to

Schubert

the

develop-ment

of _{the great instrumental}

forms

: the

sixth,

by

Mr.

E.

Dannreuther,

describes that

_phase

of the art

which

is

dis-tinctively

known

as

Romantic,

and

discusses the formative conditions

which

_inspired

Weber

in the _theatre,

Schumann

and

_Chopin

in the concert-room.

With

the

Romantic

period it

has

been

_thought

advisable to _stop.

The

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.

With

Brahms

_{and Wagner,}

_{with Tchaikovsky}

and

Dvorak

and

Richard

Strauss,

we

are still liable to the faults of

a

hasty or ill-considered criticism,

and

must

leave to

a

future generation the task of assigning

them

their place

and

explaining the tendencies

through which

alone

they can

be

interpreted.

It is _impossible in so brief

an

outline

even

to indicate

all the _topics of

which

we

_propose

to treat.

Questions

of ethnology, questions of aesthetic, questions

even

of social convention

and

_popular

_taste,

meet

the musical historian at _every turn,

and

demand

at

_any

rate

_{acknowledgement,}

and

where

_possible

an

_attempt

at solution.

Our

_object

sue-cessive _stages

_through

which

_European

music

has _passed

sinceit

_became,

to use

an

_{obvious analogy,}

a

_{livinglanguage.}

The

distribution of the

work

_among

different

hands has

been

_{part of}

a

settled policy,

designed

to secure for

each

period

a treatment

which

shall

be

not

only full

but

in

a

special

degree

sympathetic.

There

are

but

few

men

who

have

sufficient

breadth

of

view

to _{deal equally}

with

every type

and

phase

of artistic utterance; of these

few

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

modifica-tions of the

_system

to its

_adoption

in the Latin

Church.

It

thence

_proceeds

to estimate the _position

and work

of

St.

_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 its first _{resting-point in} the distinction of authentic

and

_plagal,

and

in the _treatises, scientific rather

than

artistic, of

Aurelian

and

of

John

Scotus

Erigena.

A

new

departure

is

taken

with the introduction of

_Organum

or

Diaphony,

firstinthe strict

form

ofthe

Musica

Enchiriadis,

EDITOR'S

PREFACE

ix

so

_through

the alternations of

_theory

and

_practice

from

the

Winchester

_Troper

to

Cotto

and

_Guy

of Chalis.

Next

comes

the introduction of

measured

_music,

and

the

establish-ment

of

a

fixed

and

_intelligible

_rhythm

: _tentatively in the

Discantus

Positio Vulgaris,

more

_firmlyin

Franco

_{of Cologne,}

reaching

a temporary climax with

Walter

Odington.

From

this the _practice of Discant takes its _origin, the _early notation develops into

a

metrical

_scheme,

and

the art of

music

_passes into

a

_phase

more

consonant

with

modern

principles

and

modern

theories.

A

special part of the

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

material of

music

more

flexible

and

more

amenable

to

artistic 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,

and

needs

but time

and

_experience

for its full

develop-ment.

The work

of

Jean

de Garlande

is rich in

_examples,

and

is

_supported

_by

an

_anonymous

treatise of the late

thirteenth century,

now

in the British

Museum.

With

the _period of

Discant

this

volume

comes

to its

close. Its later _{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.

Of

these

forms

some

have been

known

_by

illustration,

some by

little

more

than

the

name

alone,

and

it is

a

_piece of

_conspicuous

_good

fortune

which has

_placed at Professor

_Wooldridge's

_disposal the

MS.

of

a

Notre

Dame

choir book, recently discovered

in the

Laurentian

_Library,

which

contains

_specimens

of the

church music

in actual use _{at this period.}

may

attribute the curious

break which

_{separates the}

method

of Discant

from

that of

_Counterpoint

_properly so called.

At

_any

rate

with

the

consummation

of the

former

there

appears

a

natural interval which, in the course of the

present

work,

is

taken

to _separate the first

volume

from

the second. In the

former

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

shall find artistic

work

which can

still _{give the purest}

and

noblest _pleasure,

and

can win our admiration

for

consum-mate

skill

and

_complete

achievement.

Yet

the

_age

of

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

through which

men

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

who

enters the

_promised

land.

AUTHOR'S

PREFATORY

NOTE

SINCE

the

Editor

in his Preface

has

referred to

_my

use ofa

_MS.,

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

_{Antiphonarium}

Mediceum,

consists of

a

_large collection _{of vocal music,} in

two,three,

and

fourparts, 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 musicallibrary} of

Xotre

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 period.

The

identification

has

been

effected

by means

of

a comparison

ofthe

MS.

with an

account

ofthe

Notre

Dame

series _given

_by

the

_anonymous

author

of

a

treatise

De

Menswris

et

_Discantu,

now

in the British

Museum

_(Royal

MSS.

12. c. _6),

who

had

_apparently

seen the six

volumes

in

first

occurred

to Dr.

Wilhelm

_Meyer

(of Speyer), Professor

in _Gottingen,

_who,

in the course of

an

_{investigation} of the

Florence MS., connected

chiefly

with

its poetical contents,

was

struck

_by

the

_{correspondence}

of the titles of certain

piecesto those

mentioned

in the

anonymous

author's

account

of the Parisian collection. Professor

_Meyer

_{published the}

results of _{his investigation in} 1898, in

a

_pamphlet

entitled

Der

Ur

_sprung

des_Motett's,

and

it is to

_{a copy}

ofthiswork,

which

he

_{himself kindly sent}

_me,

that I

am

indebted

for

_my

first

_knowledge

of the 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

analysis of the

Florence

MS.

as

corresponds

to it, in parallel

form

:

Est

_quoddam

volumen

con-tinens _{quadrupla, ut Viderunt}

et _Sederunt,

_que

_composuit

Perotinus

_magnus,

in _quibus

continentur colores et

pulchri-tudines.

Pro

maiori_partetotius

artis

hums

_{habeatis ipsa in}

usu

cum

_quibusdam

similibus,&c.

Est

et aliud

volumen

de

tri-plicibus maioribus magnis, ut AlleluiaDies_{sanctificatus,}&c.;

in

_quo

continentur colores et

pulchritudines

cum

abundan-tia, &c.

Tertium

volumen

est de

conductis _triplicibus, caudas habentibus, sicut Salvatoris hodie, et Relegentur ab area,

et similia, in _quibus

continen-tur _puncta finalia _organi in

The

firstfascicleofthe

MS.

Plutarch _{29.i, (fol. 1-13)}

con-tainsa collection of four-voiced

compositions, beginning with Viderunt

and

Sederunt.

The

second fascicle _(fol. 14

and onwards

to fol. ₆₅₎

con-tains three-voiced

composi-tions,beginning with Descendit

de _celis,

_Tanquam

_sponsus,

Gloria, Alleluia Dies

sanctifi-catus,&c.

At

folio 201 _begins a

col-lection of three-voiced

com-positions, extending through

about1

06

_pages,

and

_beginning

with Salvatoris hodie

and

AUTHOR'S

PREFATORY NOTE

Xlll

fine _versuum, et in

_quibusdam

non, quos

bonus

organista

perfecte scire tenetur.

Estetaliud

volumen

de

du-plicibus conductis habentibus caudas, ut

Ave

Maria

anti-quum,

induplo,et

Pater

noster

commiserans, vel

Hac

in die rege nato, in

quo

continentur

nomina

_plurium

_conductorum,

et similia.

At

folio _263,

and

_continuing

through about

218

pages, is a

collection of two-voiced

com-positions,in

which

Ave Maria

antiquum

is

found

at fol. _284,

Pater

noster

commiserans

at

fol. _278,

and

Hac

in die _rege

nato at fol. _332.

The

text of

this last _composition is

made

up

of theinitial _phrases of the

conducts _occurring

between

folios ₂₆₃

and

_313.

Est

et

_{quintum volumen}

de

quadruplicibus et triplicibus et _{duplicibus sine cauda,}

_quod

solebat esse

multum

in

usu

inter minores _cantores, et

similia.

Est

et

sextum

volumen

de

organo in duplo, ut ludea et Jerusalem, et _Constantes, &c.

Et

_pluria alia

volumina

re-periuntur, sed indiversitatibus

ordinationum cantus et

melo-dic, sicut simplices conduct!

laici; et sunt millia alia plura de _quibus

omnibus

in suis

libris vel voluminibus _plenius

patet.

Elsewhere

in his treatisethe

author

ofthe British

Museum

MS.

informs us that the first

and

second volumes

of the

collection described

_{by him}

_{display the}

same

form

of

com-position as the sixth, that is to _{say the}

form

known

as

Organum

purum,

while the third

and

fourth are _said, in

Beginning

with the sixth

fascicle ofthe

_MS.,

at folio_65,

and

_continuing

_through

about

238

pages, is a collection of

two

-voiced _{compositions,} of

which

the first

two

are ludea

et Jerusalem

and

Constantes

the

account

itself _just given, to contain the

examples

of

a

form

known

as

Conductus.

_Although

these

two

forms

are often referred to

_by

the theorists of the thirteenth century,

only

a very few specimens

of

Organum

purum,

and none

at all of

Conductus have

been

hitherto

known

to exist;

now,

however,

we

seethatin the

Florence

MS.

we

possess

a

great

number

of

works

in

both

forms, for _{two, three,}

and

four

voices.

Whether

the

Florence

MS.

contains the _whole, or only

a

part, of the collection described in the British

Museum

_MS.,

we

cannot

_{at present certainly say}; Professor

Meyer

is _{of opinion that}

much

more

still

remains

to

be

discovered,

and

that especially in

a

MS.

hi the library of "Wolfenbiittel

_(marked

_Helmstedt,

₆₂₈₎

_important

_portions

ofit are to

be

found.

Also

it is still doubtful

whether

the fascicles of

which

the

Florence

MS.

is

_composed

are actually portions of the

Notre

Dame

choir books, or

whether

they

are only

contemporary

copies of the originals; though,

since the

_beauty

of

the

MS.

would

seem

to

exclude

the idea of

a

_copy,

we

_may

_perhaps

_fairly

_suppose

that the

Laurentian Library

possesses the actual scores

which

were

used

_by

the Parisian _singers.

The

Florence

MS.

also contains

much

interesting

music

not

described,

though

perhaps

included in his 'millia

alia'

_by

the

author

of the British

Museum

MS.

_Among

these

_may

be

mentioned a

collection _{of Motetts,}

remarkable

for their _early

method

of notation

and

for the strictness

of their form, extracts

from

which

will

be

found

in their

proper

place in the present

volume.

For

the identification

of their tenors as well as of _{others formerly printed}

_by

M.

de

Coussemaker

with

_passages of _Plainsong, I

am

indebted

to the _learning

and

kindness of the

Rev.

W.

H.

Frere.

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION

THE

NATURE

OF

POLYPHONY

...

i

CHAPTER

I

THE

ORIGIN OF

POLYPHONY

₃

CHAPTER

II

THE

MATERIALS

OF

POLYPHONY

GREEK

Music

8

CHAPTER

III

THE

MATERIALS

OF

POLYPHONY

_(continued)

GREEK

Music

IN

THE LATIN

CHURCH

...

24

CHAPTER

IV

PAflK

CHAPTER V

THE

NEW

ORGANUM

AND

THE

TRANSITION

TO

MEASURED

Music

....

₇₄

CHAPTER

VI

DISCANT

OR

MEASURED

Music

I.

THE MEASURED

NOTATION

AND

ITS

RELATION

TO

FIXED

RHYTHMS

102

II.

THE

MUTUAL

RELATIONS

OF

THE

INDIVIDUAL

VOICES

.

₁₅₆

ERRATA

Page 155, line 37,/or with read and

n I55> 47)/of I26 rect^ I28

,, 166, 4, above the first bass note, /or 5 read 8'

254, ,, 4, first note in both voices should be dotted.

,, 259, ,, 4, firstnote in upper voice should be

E

,, 266, ,, 3, second, fourth,andseventh notesofuppervoice

should beaccented.

,, 267, ,, 2, fifth, seventh, and ninth notes ofupper voice

should beaccented.

,, 310, ,, 3, the first syllable of sui should beunder

B

,, 312, ,, 4, delete full stop after exiliurn

THE POLYPHONIC

PERIOD

OF

MUSIC

INTRODUCTION

THE NATURE

OF

POLYPHONY

IN

_considering the

_development

of the resources of _pure

sound, regarded as a material for artistic _treatment, the

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 view of its _{capabilities.}

The

first _{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

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 a

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

combina-tion but _{to preserve at the}

same

time a relative _independence

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

Harmonic

period, the period in

which

we

now

are, represents the phase in

which

the principle of equality

between

the individual

and

the collective elements

has been abandoned,

and

_{melody, even}

when

_apparently

most

free

and

_{self-developed,} is

entirely controlled

by

harmonic

considerations.

Of

these _{three periods that} with

which

we

are _chiefly con-cerned is the _{second, the period of Polyphony.}

The

_gradual

development of the separate melodies

and

of the rules

which

govern their simultaneous

_employment,

the

_growth

of the

artist's _perception of the _capabilities of his

new

material of

combined

_sounds, of the _{special beauty}

which

_belongs to its

nature,

and

of the degree in

which

scientific treatment

may

be _{effectively applied} in _{it, the progress,} in _short, of

contra-puntal

Music from

its rise

onward

to its first _perfection

and

complete constitution as a Fine Art, is the _{subject indicated} in our title.

In the _beginning of our

work

a close connexion will be seen _{as existing}

between

the _Polyphonic

and Melodic

_periods,

since it

was

from

the older _system that

_Polyphony

received

the

whole

of its _original technical

_means,

a rational scale

and

a _theory of the consonance

and

dissonance of its various

intervals _respectively; towards the close,

on

the other hand,

'the

imminence

of the

Harmonic

_period will be _perceived,

and

it will be _necessary to _point out that

_many

of the later

phenomena

of

_{Polyphony which}

_appear as inconsistent

and

CHAPTER

I

THE

ORIGIN

OF

POLYPHONY

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 first

steps in the process of evolution.

The

first _sign of a direct advance towards

_Polyphony

is

to be

found

_among

the Greeks.

_They

had

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

con-sonance of the octave1

. _Furthermore, there

seems

to

be

evidence of

some

sort of _conception of its use as

an

artistic

form, for while the effect itself

was

defined as _antiphony the

1 '

Why

is_{symphonous singing (antiphony)}moreagreeablethan Homophony?

Is itnot because _antiphonyisthe consonance ofthe octave? _{For antiphony} is

born of the voicesof young boys and men whose tones are distant from each

other as nete from hypate' (the highest andlowest notes of the octave scale}. Aristotelian Probl&ns, six. 39.

dizing

1

. This

name

seems

to

_{imply something}

more

than

a fortuitous mixture of the voices of

men

and

_children,

resulting in the consonance of the octave,

and

suggests a

conscious _process with

an

aesthetic _purpose ; the

magadis

was

a _harp-like instrument of

_many

_strings

which

would

admit

of _{the reduplication of a}

_melody

2_,

and

we

_may

_perhaps

suppose that the effect of the natural unconscious mingling

of voices in chorus _being often imitated

_upon

the

_magadis

by

the deliberate artifice of _striking each note of the

_melody

in octaves3

,vocal antiphony

became

at _length in turn a

con-scious process taking its

name

from

the instrumental imitation.

Be

this, however, as it

_may,

the essential fact of the

employ-ment

_by

the

Greeks

of the octave_progression

under

the

name

of

_magadizing

is _certain,

and

that it

was

_consciously

_employed

as adistinct

means

_{of aesthetic pleasure}is _probable.

Homophony,

the consonance of the unison, could hardly have _{been supposed} to offer the material for a _{separate form,}

since in unison the voices are _{indistinguishable.}

Yet

the

Greeks

_evidently conceived of _consonance, suitable for

simul-taneous _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 _{Aristotle's time, as}

we

learn

from

the Problems, the consonances of the fourth

and

_fifth, in

which

the distinction is _very obvious,

were

not

sung

simultaneously.

Antiphony,

in

which

the fact of difference is

perceptible while the consonance is as

smooth

1 '

Theconsonanceofthe octaveis_{often magadized.'} Arist._{Prob. xix. 39.}

2

Mr. Ellis _(Helmholtz, Sensations _ofTone, ed. 1895, p. 237) says that the

strings ofthis instrumentwere divided_{bya bridge at one-third of}their_length.

And in the later theorists the little _bridges which were used for the division

of themonochord wereoftencalledmagades.

3 '

Pindar, in his scolion to Hiero, describes the sound of the _magadis as responsive, because it gives a concord, at the octave, of two kinds of tone,

namelythose ofmen and_boys.' Athenaeus,xiv. 36. From this passagewe also

gather that the recognition of the concord of the octavewasasoldas _Pindar,i.e.

THE

ORIGIN

OF

POLYPHONY

₅

as _unison, alone _provided a suitable

medium

for the

maga-dizing process1.

Thus

it will be seen that the

Greek

_practice with _respect

to the

_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

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

effect _singing the

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

technically consonant,

was

not entertained.

The

G/eeks,

therefore,

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,

the _equal union of the individual

and

collective elements, is

actually present in antiphony,

we may

say that the

rudimen-tary

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

Pro-blems,

and

represent chiefly, therefore, the

Greek

practice as

it existed in the fourth _century B.c.; 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

1 '

Why

is_{the consonance of the octave the only one} which is _sung? forin

fact this consonance is _{magadized, but} not the others. Is it not because this

consonance alone is antiphonous? Forin the antiphones,when one of thetwo

notes is _sung the sameeffect is producedas in the case of the other, so that

asinglesoundof this consonancebeing sungthe entire consonance is _sung; and

when thetwo _{sounds are sung, or}if one is_{taken by}the voiceand theotherby

theflute,thesameeffectisproducedasifonewere_givenalone. Thisis_whythis

consonance is_{the only one}which is_{sung, because the antiphones}havethesound

times,

and

perhaps through the experimental use of the con-sonances of the fourth

and

fifth.

Itwill be evident

from

what

has been said that

no

further progress in the direction of

Polyphony

could be

made

until

the intervals of the fourth

and

fifth

had

_{been recognized} as

possible

media

for the

magadizing

process; this

would

obviously be the next logical step towards the

new

form

of

art, and,

by accustoming

the ear to the difference

between

the

voices in intervals

which were

_{technically consonant,}

would

prepare it to endure other sounds, necessarily arising

from

the _independent

movement

of _{polyphonic melodies,}

which

were

demonstrable in _theory as dissonant.

Historians therefore have looked _eagerly into the

works

of the later

Greek

theorists

and

the later literature_generally,

in the

_hope

of _finding

some

reference to the _practice of

magadizing

fourths

and

fifths

; recently

however

this

hope

has _{been abandoned,}

and

it is

now

_acknowledged

that there

is

no

reason to _suppose that the

Greeks

ever _proceeded in

the _practice of

_magadizing

_beyond

the consonance of the octave.

And

indeed this result of the _inquiry

_might

have been

expected.

The

governing principles of

Greek

art

were

so

deeply established,

and

the details of its _practice

were

so closely connected with those principles, that there

was no

room

for the

_development

of

new

essential forms within it

; even

when

exhausted 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

arational scale

and

ofthe 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 vital _purpose as that

which

we

now

see to be _actually

con-tained in the

_magadizing

_process.

To

us this_{process appears}

as the _beginning of all the riches that

we

_possess ; in the

THE

ORIGIN

OF

POLYPHONY

7

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

THE

MATERIALS OF

POLYPHONY

GREEK

MUSIC

BEFORE

_passing

on

to consider the

work

of the

new

era in

its

most

_{important aspect} that

_namely

in

which

it is seen as discovering

and

developing the

new

principle of

Polyphony

we

must

_pause for a

moment

to consider the actual technical resources of

Music

at thetime 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 at that

moment.

The

Italians, as

we

shall see, did not adopt those

resources in their _entirety,

and

our _inquiry

_may

_suggest a

reason for this fact.

The

basis of

Music

is of course the _Scale,

which

selects

from

all _possible sounds those

which

are

most

suitable to the

purposes of melody,

and

arranges

them

in a rational order of

progression. It will not be necessary for our present purpose

to trace the

_growth

of the scale

from

_{the original tetrachord,}

which

atfirst _appeared as thenaturallimit _{of possiblemelody,}

to the full double-octave _{system, including} all the sounds within the natural

_compass

of

human

_voices,

which

was

for

the

Greeks

its final

and

standard

form

;

we

may

at once

proceed to consider it in its _{complete shape,}

which

is here

shown upon

the _{opposite page,} with the old

name

of each note

and

its

modern

_equivalent.

THE

MATERIALS OF

POLYPHONY

THE DOUBLE-OCTAVE

_SCALE,

OB

PERFECT

IMMUTABLE

SYSTEM OF

THE

GREEKS

-The

_{original octave} scaleof the

Greeks

_{was composed}

of the

two

_disjunct tetrachords

Meson

and

_{Diezeugmenon, and}

in-cluded the notes

between

E

and

e;

and

these notes

were

first

named

_simply,

_Hypate,

_Parhypate, Lichanos,

Mese,

in the

lower _tetrachord,

and

_{Paramese, Trite, Paranete, Nete,} in the

upper

one*.

_Upon

theextensionof the _system

_by

theaddition

of atetrachord ateach

end

ofthe scalethe

names

_given to the notes in _{the original tetrachords}

were

_{again adopted} in those

which

had

_{been conjoined with them, but} the distinctive

name

ofeach tetrachord of the full _system

was

now

added

as a kind

of

surname

to all the notes within that _{portion of the scale,}

as the tableshows.

This

was

the Greater Perfect

_System

of the

_Greeks;

the

Lesser Perfect

_System

was

based

_upon

the ancient seven-stringed scale consisting of the

two

conjunct tetrachords

Meson

and

_Synemmenon,

the tetrachord

_Hypaton

_being

after-wards

added

as in the Greater

_System

;

and

the union of

these

two

_{systems, with} the addition of the note

Proslam-banomenos,

the

low

A,

to _complete the double octave,

constituted the Perfect

Immutable

_System

shown

in our

illustration.

In this

union

of _systemsit will be seen that bothmodulation

and

exact _{transposition to the fourth} above or fifth

below

are

rendered _possible; for it is evident that if

_any

series _{of eight}

notes _proceeding

_by

_way

of the tetrachord

_Diezeugmenon

be repeated in the fourth above or fifth

below

_proceeding

_by

way

of the tetrachord

_Synemmenon,

the intervals in both cases

willoccurin the

same

order.

Of

the various intervals contained in this scale

some

appear to have been

from

the earliest times _{perceived as} con-sonant

and

some

as _dissonant, the ear _being the _judge; but

in the sixth _century B.c. _{Pythagoras discovered,} or as

some

1

TheGreek names ofnoteswerethenamesof the strings of thelyre,andare

descriptive not oftheirpitch but oftheir relative positionintheinstrument; the

THE

MATERIALS OF

POLYPHONY

n

think learned

from

the

_Egyptian

_priests, the law

which

governs

them

and

brings

them

within the

compass

of

theo-retical _knowledge.

He

_proclaimed the remarkable _fact, 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

ofthe

_{monochord, and}

his

law

_{may now}

bestated as follows.

If a _string be divided into

two

_parts

_by

_{a bridge,} in such a

manner

_{as to give}

two

consonant sounds

when

struck, the

length of those parts will be in the ratio of

two

of the four smallest

whole

numbers.

If the _bridge be so _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 : _{i, 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

is the fifth. If the bridge be again shifted to a position

which

_gives four-sevenths

on

the _right

and

three-sevenths

on

theleftthe ratio is

₄

:_3,

and

the interval is the_fourth; thus

Diapason (8ve). t Bridge. Diapente(5th). , Bridge.

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

semi-tone

and two

_{tones, the semitone being always} in the lowest

place.

And

here it

may

be explained in _passing that in

all the _genera the

_number,

order

and

names, both of the tetrachords

and

of the notescontained in _them,

was

the _same,

and

that the distinction

between

one

_{genus and}

another

con-sisted _entirely in the

manner

in

which

the tetrachord

was

divided; while

Hypate

Hypaton

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

ones,

were

movable, that is to _say their intervals

were

different _according to the

_genus

_employed,

and

_upon

this

difference

_depended

the _peculiar emotional _quality or ethos of _{each genus.}

With

the detailed characteristics of the chromatic

and

enharmonic

_genera this

work

has of course _nothing to

do

;

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

appreciable part, in

music

at the time of its inheritance

_by

the Italians.

Even

_during the _period of their

_development

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}

THE

MATERIALS OF

POLYPHONY

₁₃

intervals,

which

is characteristic of _{the scales of these genera,}

failed

_by

_degrees to _please, it _appears to be the fact that

already in Ptolemy's 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

of

_by

thelatest classical writers

on

Music,

Martianus

Capella

(fifth century A.D.)

and

Boetius (sixth century A.D.),

we may

even perhaps conclude that this declinein favour

had

in their

time reached _{the point of general neglect.}

Another

technical resource _possessed

_by

the

Greeks

which

like the chromatic

and enharmonic

_genera

was

_passing at

this time out of _use, or

was

at all events

no

_longer used

to the full extent of its

capacity, is to be

found

in the keys

or

schemes

_{of transposition.}

These

_keys afforded a

_method,

closely analogous to our

_own,

_{by means}

of

which

all scales

might

be raised or lowered to

_any

_pitch at _pleasure; the scale

of

E

for

_{example might}

be taken

on

_F,

_F#,

_G,

&c., or

on

D$,

D, G|,

&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} is to _say, contained in the

_compass

of the octave scale; since therefore the octave divided into

semi-tones contained thirteen _possible notes it consisted also of thirteen_keys or _recognized

modes

of _{transposition.}

The

_keys

were

_{formerly only} seven, but the system

was

completed

by

Aristoxenus duringthe 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

two

already existing.

This _system of _keys, like the chromatic

and enharmonic

genera,

had

been regarded in the classical period as

an

important

means

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

TABLE

OF

THE

GREEK

KEYS

THE

MATERIALS OF

POLYPHONY

15

we

are

now

not _very well able to _appreciate, but

which

apparently

was

by

them

clearly perceived

and

generally

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 orconvenienceof the _performer.

The

chief _proof of the failure of the _{Aristoxenean system} of _keys to maintain its _authority is _perhaps to be

found

in the fact that _Ptolemy, after _criticizing it, proposes as a substitute the

well-known

_system of

Modes

or _Species of the diatonic scale. This _system

_may

be _regarded in

two

points of view; either, that is to _say, as _affording

an

im-proved

method

of transposition

and

this it

would

_appear

was

the _aspect

chiefly insisted

upon by Ptolemy

or,

on

the

other hand, as the source of distinct rules of _melody.

The

diatonic double-octave scale is of course _{susceptible of} seven

different octachordal _sections, each of

which

will _display

the

two

semitonic intervals ina

new

_position

and

will _therefore,

ifthefirstnote of each section be taken as its finalor_keynote, create a

new

and

_special scale

and

a _special character of

melody

in each _scale; thus each section of the double-octave

system

becomes

in itself a rule of

_{melody founded}

_upon

the particular order of its intervals in relation to the final _note,

and

this

was

_{undoubtedly the aspect} in

which

the _system of

Modes

or _{Species of the octave presented} itself to the

com-posers of the

Graeco-Roman

period.

Whether

it

was

at this

timein

_any

sense a

new

_aspect it is difficult to _{say. Certainly} the _conception of the octave as _consisting of seven _species

did not _originate even with

_Ptolemy;

it

had

existed _long before his _time,

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

species,

which were

those of the seven oldest keys, are also

THE SEVEN

MODES

OR

SPECIES

SHOWN

AS SECTIONS

OF

THE

SEVEN OLDEST

KEYS,

FROM

WHICH THEY ARE

NAMED

MIXOLYDIAN KEY. Species.

Jj-^

LYDIANKBT. PHBYGIANKEY.

rf"

1

THE

MATERIALS

OF

POLYPHONY

17

THE SEVEN

MODES

OR

SPECIES

REDUCED

TO

THE

FUNDA-MENTAL

SCALE

OF

A

AND SHOWN

AS

SECTIONS

OF

THAT

SCALE

nature of the connexion

which

seems

to have existed

between

the _species

and

the _keys in older _times, is still

involved in

some

_obscurity,

and

the _question whether the doctrine of the _species

was

at first

much

more

than a

theoretical _proposition,

whether

more

than one _species

was

actually in use,

and

if so

how many

were

_employed, is

still the _subject of discussion

_among

writers

_upon

Greek

music

a discussion _{which, failing} the _{discovery of}

_many

more

_specimens of that

music

than

we

at _{present possess,} will _{hardly be satisfactorily} concluded. If, however, those are right

who

maintain that in the earlier proposition of seven species the theoretical character predominates, the novel element in _Ptolemy^s treatment of this _conception

would

consist in his demonstration of its

practical value;

and

his

recognition of the

Modes

as a technical

means

superior to the keys,

and

his _adoption of the

names

of the notes of the

original complete scale for the notation of each _special scale,

should then _{be regarded} as events of the _{highest importance}

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

scales _{generally recognized} as _proper to the Cithara, since

this instrument _supplied both the

_{accompaniment}

to the narrative

and

_{lyric songs}

and

the instrumental solo,

which

were

at this time _{the prevailing} musicalforms.

The

citharodic

Modes

are _generally said to be five the _Dorian, the

Hypo-phrygian orlastian,the

Hypodorian

or Aeolian, the Phrygian,

and

the

_Lydian;

the

Modes

omitted are the _Hypolydian, in

which

the fourth is a _tritone,

and

the _Mixolydian, in

which

the fifth is _imperfect; the Hypolydian, however,

seems

to have

been allowedin _practice.

The

melodies written in these scales

_ranged

between

the

final

and

its _{octave (withliberty to}take the notenext

below

the