Le istitutioni harmoniche

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Le istitutioni harmoniche is a music treatise by Gioseffo Zarlino , the composer, music theorist and conductor of San Marco .

It is considered the most influential musical textbook of the Cinquecento and was first published in Venice in 1558 . In 1573 it was reissued in a revised version.

The work was published in Italian and for the first time combines music theory with performance practice. It is divided into four parts, two theoretical and two practical. In the first and second part, the theory of proportion and its application to consonances is presented. The third and fourth parts deal with the composition theory of counterpoint and the theory of the modes . In the practical part, Zarlino uses numerous examples of his own.

His portrayal of the ancient legend of Pythagoras in the forge , for which he cites Boethius , corresponds to the medieval state of knowledge that was still received in the Renaissance; The physical inaccuracy of the alleged experiments of Pythagoras had not yet been proven at the time Le istitutioni harmoniche was published.

literature

  • The Art of Counterpoint. Part Three of Le Istitutioni harmoniche [by] Gioseffo Zarlino, 1558 . Translated into English by Guy A. Marco and Claude V. Palisca. Norton, New York 1968, ISBN 0-393-00833-9 .
  • Thomas Street Christensen (Ed.): The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2002, ISBN 0-521-62371-5 .

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