Abstract
The only time the Portuguese theorist Vicente Lusitano references a composer
in his Introduttione facilissima (1553) occurs in the section battuta (tactus) where he cites the nine black breves in the tiple of the ‘qui cum patre’ passage in the Credo of Josquin’s Beata virgine mass as an example of performing three black breves in imperfect time (i.e. sesquialtera proportion). Mention of this passage both here and in his (c. 1560?) MS contrapuntal treatise is presumably indicative of a far wider context in which such notational and indeed performance issues connected with it were familiarly discussed. This discourse later also embraced the ‘tres breves negros’ in the ‘Christe’ of Morales’s Mille regretz mass which, by the early 17th century, if not much earlier, had become a topic of debate and some dissension, especially among Iberian musicians and theorists apparently hazy about then obsolete notational values, including some 17th-century Portuguese theorists. This polemic is particularly witnessed in the ‘Reposta sobre os tres breves negros de Christovaõ de Morales’ included in João Álvares Frouvo’s Discursos (Lisboa 1662), which includes curious scored-up mistaken interpretations of the ‘offending’ passages in the Josquin and Morales. Intriguingly, because of a slightly ambiguous caption given with the Josquin example, Frouvo unwittingly further highlights musical links between them.
This paper looks at the perceived problem of the ‘three black breves’ in the Josquin and Morales masses in Iberian treatises and at varying solutions offered for their interpretation from the 16th century onwards.
in his Introduttione facilissima (1553) occurs in the section battuta (tactus) where he cites the nine black breves in the tiple of the ‘qui cum patre’ passage in the Credo of Josquin’s Beata virgine mass as an example of performing three black breves in imperfect time (i.e. sesquialtera proportion). Mention of this passage both here and in his (c. 1560?) MS contrapuntal treatise is presumably indicative of a far wider context in which such notational and indeed performance issues connected with it were familiarly discussed. This discourse later also embraced the ‘tres breves negros’ in the ‘Christe’ of Morales’s Mille regretz mass which, by the early 17th century, if not much earlier, had become a topic of debate and some dissension, especially among Iberian musicians and theorists apparently hazy about then obsolete notational values, including some 17th-century Portuguese theorists. This polemic is particularly witnessed in the ‘Reposta sobre os tres breves negros de Christovaõ de Morales’ included in João Álvares Frouvo’s Discursos (Lisboa 1662), which includes curious scored-up mistaken interpretations of the ‘offending’ passages in the Josquin and Morales. Intriguingly, because of a slightly ambiguous caption given with the Josquin example, Frouvo unwittingly further highlights musical links between them.
This paper looks at the perceived problem of the ‘three black breves’ in the Josquin and Morales masses in Iberian treatises and at varying solutions offered for their interpretation from the 16th century onwards.
Original language | English |
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Pages | 24-24 |
Number of pages | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 10 Nov 2022 |
Event | XI Encontro de Investigação em Música - ENIM 2022 - Universidade de Aveiro - DeCA, Aveiro, Portugal Duration: 10 Nov 2022 → 12 Nov 2022 https://www.spimusica.pt/enim-2022/ |
Conference
Conference | XI Encontro de Investigação em Música - ENIM 2022 |
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Country/Territory | Portugal |
City | Aveiro |
Period | 10/11/22 → 12/11/22 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- Musical Notation
- Josquin des Prez
- Cristóbal de Morales