Notational Problems in Iberian Treatises: The ‘tres breves negros’ of Josquin and Morales

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractpeer-review

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.
Original languageEnglish
Pages24-24
Number of pages1
Publication statusPublished - 10 Nov 2022
EventXI Encontro de Investigação em Música - ENIM 2022 - Universidade de Aveiro - DeCA, Aveiro, Portugal
Duration: 10 Nov 202212 Nov 2022
https://www.spimusica.pt/enim-2022/

Conference

ConferenceXI Encontro de Investigação em Música - ENIM 2022
Country/TerritoryPortugal
CityAveiro
Period10/11/2212/11/22
Internet address

Keywords

  • Musical Notation
  • Josquin des Prez
  • Cristóbal de Morales

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