Author: Doni, Giovanni Battista - manuscripts of italian music theory ...

the middle ones. If this is agreed, said Tetrachrod becomes interposed between the
one of the middle ones with the one of the disjointed ones, or, if this is excluded, the
one of the disjointed ones takes its place. We must imagine that it proceeds in the first
way when the system is widened up to the nineteenth note, filling five tetrachords and
those two tones besides, and in the second way when it is removed and the System
stays in its length of 15 notes and two octaves and it moves through the [sqb] square
instead of the b round or flat: these are the two ways of the melodies [[remaining idle
and]] because the one which they call 'according to nature' is nothing but a useless
invention of [[of those]] people who with [[little week]] little or no foundation on
sciences or liberal arts and with very little method dealt with musit at the time of our
great-grandfathers. The most ancient of these Tetrachords, namely, [--] those
that we must imagine that were used in the ancient lyre of seven or eight strings, are
the two meddle ones, which correspond to the tenor voice and of the ideal man. The
third in the sequence is the Hypaton and the last one the Hyperboleon. However,
coming to the name of the notes, the first in order and last one in time is the one
which is called Proslambanomenos by the ancients, which was also called
[prosmelodos] by the Greeks. It was put into use so that the note Nete, which is the a
la mi re might have a note corresponding to itself an octave lower, as it has one above,
which is the aa la mi re [[said]]. Now, the reason why it is called in this way is clear
and the authors reveal it to us, namely, because it is taken from outside to supplement
and complete the consonances. Hence, said name means nothing else but sound or
note which is taken as an extra addition over and above the rest. Therefore, although
the ancient Romans called it Assumpta, [[,and wrongly so,]] it does not translate
precisely, because it cannot be expressed with a Latin word, just as the word
'Addition' cannot express it, and much less the word 'Acquired' which Zarlino uses
between the two tetrachords. The low notes have these names. The first one is called
Hypate Hypaton, namely The infima infimorum (since it seems more accurate to
name them in this way according to their natural sequence which progresses from the
low to the high register [--] than from the artificial one of the Instruments) and it
is called in Italian the lowest of the low ones. The second is called Parhypate
Hypaton, which means peninfima infimarum (the almost lowest of the low ones), the
third one is called Lichanos Hypaton, or Index infimarum, and is called in this way
from the index finger which was called [likhanos] by the Greeks, because it touched
mostly that string in the ancient Lyre. The fourth one, which is also the first one of the
second tetrachord, is called Hypate Meson, or Infima mediarom (lowest of the middle
ones), the second one si called Parhypate Meson, or Peninfima mediarum (the almost
lowest of the middle ones), the third one is called lichanos Meson or Index mediarum
(index of the middle ones) and the fourth one simply Mese, or Mediana or middle
one. Going forward, the first of the Diezeugmenon Tetrachord is called Parames,
which means [[next to]] close to the middle one, and in Latin is called Penemedia,
while in Italian we can also call it in this way to avoid saying almost middle one. The
second one is called Trite diezeugmenon, or Tertia disiunctiarum (third of the
disjointed ones) thus called because the Greeks started from the high register
downwards. The trhid Paranete Diezeugmenon or Penultima Disiunctarum
(penultimate of the disjointed). The fourth one is called nete diezeugmenon or Ultima
disiunctarum (last of the disjointed). Now, the third Tetrachord proceds with the same
names [--] because the first from the bottom [[is called]] is the same Nete
diezeugmenon, since this tetrachord is united with the other one. The second one is
called Trite Hyperboleon, which I call Tertia ultimarum (third of the last ones); the
third one is called Paranete Hyperboleon or Penultima Ultimarum (penultimate of the