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

that the thick one is the one in which all the consonances are divided and separated by
intervals more frequent and abundant. For instance the Chromatic, where one
proceeds by larger and minor semitone, which are intervals more numerous than the
tones with the Diatessaron, is divided into siex intervals and seven notes in the perfect
instrument, or five intervals and six notes in the participated instrument. He says then
that the Trihemiditone or minor third is not an interval of this genus because it is a
real consonance, and the consonances are not intervals of any genus, namely, they
must not be laid out as [specific and add. supra lin.] uncompounded in any genus. [[In
fact, if anyone] The name of the Diatessaron, which means '[[through]] of four',
namely 'a consonance which is the result of four sounds' does not create any nuisance,
as he says, because this has to be understood only with regard to the diatonic. Then,
he adds that the Enharmonic genus is very think because it progresses by smaller
Semitones and dieses which are the smallest among all the intervals and closest
together ad that the Ditone cannot be an interval of this genus (albeit all the ancient [-
-] and modern writers say so) because it is a true and perfect consonance which
has to be filled (namely, divided into other intervals) like all the others. [[For this
reason]] [Therefore corr. supra lin.] the diatessaron (in this genus) will have eight
intervals and ten Tones, because, if the Ditone and semiditone have to be placed
uncompounded in this two genera, they would be less thick than the Diatonic, because
all the dissonances are more sparse than the tones. Consequently, he holds that only
the Diatonic has to be considered in the division of the Diatessaron and that for the
Chromatic it is enough that one should divide the larger tone and for the Enharmonic
the larger semitone with admirable artifice and correspondence of the Harmonic
Reason, because it seems that the diatessaron is the interval that demonstrates and
constitutes the Diatonic, since it is the amount by which the Diapason exceeds the
Diapente. [[The tone]] and thus the [[ton]] tone specifies the Chromatic because it is
the amount by which the Diapente exceeds the Diatessaron. Equally, is seems that the
Semitone [[puts to]] demonstrates the Enharmonic because it is the excess or the
difference between the Diatessaron and the Ditone. Moreover, he wants these three
genera to be like the Good, the Better one and the best one, and, consequently, that the
second one cannot [[be]] stand without the first one nor the third one without the
second, while the chromatic is nothing but a thickened Diatonic, and, equally, the
Enharmonic cannot exist by itself but that, once it is added to the other two, it
constitutes a very thick and most perfect genus, which is not called Diatonic or
Chromatic any more, [--] but Enharmonic. He also says that nobody ever thing
that the chromatic and Enharmonic have been separated from the Diatonic, or that in
[[any]] [one corr. supra lin.] of them it is possible to make any song, because one
cannot proceed continuously through Chromatic and Enharmonic intervals, as he
maintains to have demonstrated on the basis of Ptolemy's account of Ptolemy and of
the sense of hearing, and how he will demonstrate [, albeit differently, add. supra lin.]
further one when he will deal with practice. But he did not do so because he was
prevented to do so by death.
[--] One presents the Enharmonic system of modern theorists [[divided into]],
namely divided into the three genera. [[the opinion of modern theorists on the
closeness of the intervals in the two genera is refuted]] chapter
This is what Salinas [have ante corr.] has written Salinas and almost all the other
modern writers on the division of the Chromatic and Enharmonic of which they have
put the examples in the system of an octave harmonically divided in a single line, with