Organum – discantus – contrapunctus in the Middle Ages

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p. 483 0 What four harmonic intervals are used in “flexible” organum according to Guido. Note: it is common to rank the harmonic intervals. What is Guido's ordering? p. 484 How closely do the theoriectical accounts seem to reflect practice? Chapter 15 – p. 2 p. 485 Heading and 1 What other term is used to refer to two-part writing in the 1200s? What is the significance of the new term? What “retronym” is given to chant? (Ask me in class about retronyms.) How are the eight modes treated in the discantus theories? How is the word mode used in the discantus writings? 2 Who is the author of the key Parisian treatise on musica mensurabilis? What is its title? th Coussemaker was a 19 -century French musicologist who discovered, collected, and transcribed many early manuscripts on music. He published a four-volume set of Latin works entitled Scriptorum de musica. p. 486 0 According to John of Garland, how are the two independent voices coordinated? How many harmonic intervals does John put into his hierarchy? How are they ordered? Are there any surprises there? What numerical justification does John give for his hierarchy? What details show that he isn't exclusively following an abstract mathematical theory in constructing his scheme? p. 487 1 A little confusing: an earlier treatise is named, but I think the rest of the paragraph continues to refer to John of Garland. What two reasons are given for waiving certain rules based on the intervallic heirarchy? John of Garland is characterized as part of an intellectual tradition of discantus writing. Why? 2 What characterizes the other tradition of discantus writing? p. 488 1 A little confusing again. Note that Fuller now places “Discantus positio vulgaris” among the treatises that show which intervals to write with few explanations. Notice that the title indicates that this is the common way to do it, not the elite way. Are accidentals mentioned in these treatises? What kinds of general rules are mentioned occasionally? p. 489 0 According to Fuller, why does the intervallic-succession tradition avoid general explanatory rules? What do you think: Did this policy necessarily reflect good pedagogy? 1 According to Anonymous IV, what distinguishes discantors from plain singers?
Chapter 15 – p. 3 p. 490 1 Fuller says that variety of content among contrapunctus treatises, most of which exist in only one copy, suggests an informal pedagogical motivation. Why do you think this would be so? What other kind of treatise does Fuller mention here? th 2 In the new, 14 -century terminology, what is the difference between contrapunctus and discant? p. 491 0 How do the new rhythmic ideas of rhe ars nova relate to contrapunctus teaching? 1 What intervals begin to counted among the consonances (suitable for note-against-note counterpoint) in this new phase? What interval formerly commonly counted as a symphonia is now not among the consonances? How do the theorists talk about unstable intervals? What are the most common combinations of imperfect interval and resolution? What staple pattern of organum is now prohibited in contrpunctus teaching? p. 492 1 This topic may get overlooked in this book: The Berkeley manuscript, sometimes attributed to Goscalcus, recognized various accidentals and added them to the accepted tone system by means of Guidonian hexachords in different places. Any accidental makes a half step, and MI-FA marks the half step in the hexachord. So F can occur if G becomes FA. E can occur if D becomes MI. 2 Add these three names to your list of theorists. Go through the example carefully and note how accidentals are used to make the imperfect interval as “close” to the perfect interval as possible while still being consonant. (Refer back to the three common combinations of intervals on p. 491.) In each case, what interval would be occur without the inflection? What interval would result if a second accidental were added, making the imperfect interval even closer to the perfect consonance ? p. 493 0 Who characterizes ficta as coloring a note? What word do we use that comes from the Greek for color? 1 What two treatises are mentioned as teaching how to create rhythmicized, elaborate decorations of note-to-note contrapunctus? p. 494 0 What combination does the “Parisian theorist” (Goscalcus, author of the Berkeley manuscript of 1375) see as a basic error even in elaborated polyphony? 1 Dissonances begin to be discussed in the treatises on decoration. How much are they used? 2 etc. Here's a method for improvising a big, complex sound that requires only one singer versed in contrapuntal technique. It's a kind of music that doesn't get into anthologies because it never got written down. How is this technique like and unlike the doo-wop texture of 50
Page 1: Reading guide Christensen, ch. 15

Organum – discantus – contrapunctus in the Middle Ages

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