Johannes de Grocheo

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Johannes de Grocheo (also Grocheio ; French : Jean de Grouchy ; * around 1255 , † around 1320 ) was a French music theorist of the early 14th century. He is the first to use the word " church music ".

Nothing is known about his life. Around 1300 he wrote the treatise "Ars musicae" ("The Art of Music"), in which he tried to describe the music of his time as it was practiced in Paris and the surrounding area. In it he divides the music into three areas:

  • "Musica simplex" (popular music, amateur music)
  • "Musica composita" (music following metric laws; music of the trained)
  • "Musica ecclesiastica" (church music), includes Gregorian chant in contrast to the polyphonic genres.

With this classification he is based on the thoughts of the late antique philosopher Boëthius , who differentiated between "music of the world", "music of man" and "instrumental music".

Grocheo devotes about a third of his treatise to the “Ecclesiastica” and “Composita”, the rest to the “Musica simplex”. Grocheio examines their new social meaning in a systematic and educational way. He writes, for example: "A good fiddler generally introduces every musical form (introducit)". He also mentions a special musical feature, the sonus illiteratus .

Grocheo was also one of the first to define the motet . He was of the opinion that a motet "is not intended for simple minds who do not understand its subtleties and derive no listening pleasure from it: it is for the educated and for those who seek refinement of the art."

He tried to assign specific social functions to the various forms and genres of music and proclaimed music as a remedy for social undesirable developments that had the power to hold back vicious things. He believed that if the old, working class, and middle classes were to sing of the fate of the heroes of the ( Chanson de geste ), it would help them endure their own hardships and thus contribute to the common good. Such narratives also contribute to the satisfaction of the citizens and thus the stability of the city of Paris.

On the other hand, Grocheo was of the opinion that the songs of the troubadours , called “trouvère” in the Langues d'oïl dialect, spurred kings and nobility to great deeds: “These types of songs are usually composed by kings and nobles and in the presence of kings and princes of the country so that courage and strength, generosity and generosity can be evoked ... "

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SURNAME Johannes de Grocheo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Grocheio, Johannes de; Grouchy, Jean de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French music theorist
DATE OF BIRTH around 1255
DATE OF DEATH around 1320