The Art of Counterpont GIOSEFFO ZARLINO PART THREE OF LE ISTITUTIONE HARMONICHE, 1558 translated by GUY A. MARCO and CLAUDE V. PALISCA GIOSEFFO ZARLINO YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, NEW HAVEN AND LONDON 1968LE ISTITVTIONI HARMONICHE DI M. GIOSEFFO ZARLINO DA CHIOGGIA; [ele quai; ola le materi ppartenentt ALLA MYSICA; Si eouano dichisai mol luoghi Sameadlgge f pniciomet doe, £08 ina retin ‘Con Priilegio delat Signerisdi Venetia, peranni X. IN VENETIA MD LVIII. CHAPTER + Wat Counterpoint Is and Why It Is So Called L147] have given sufciene atenton inthe two preceding books co he firs par of maic—the theoretical or speculative—and have covered ‘hing tha are pertinent and necesury tothe musician. Thece remains for sme to dicusin the two books tha follow the second oe practical par of :music, Ths consists of che composition of songs ot melodies for two of more voices Practiioners cal ithe at of counterpoint Since couteepoint isthe principal subject of this part, we shall Bes see what i sand why isso named. I consider counterpoint tobe that concordance o agreement which s bora ofa body with verse parts, ts various melodie lines accommodated to the total composition, arranged so that voices ate separated by eomnensurile, harmonious interval “This is whac in Chaprer 12 of Bae IIL called “proper harmony." fe anght so be sid tha counterpoin is kind of harmony tha contains diverse varaons of sounds or steps, using rational intervallic proportions sav temporal mesurements; or that isan aeful union of diverse sounds reduced to concordance From these definitions we may gather that the sat of counterpoint isa dicpline which teaches one to recogaize the 1: “Proper harmony (hermomi propria «isa composton or mitre of high and low Sounds, mediated of not [by other sounds), that sles the hearing Sooty, Tir kind! of harmony ace fom the pars Of «voce eompsicon they proceed in concardince frm the beginning tothe en, sd cha he owe {o induce dhe mind to vasiows pasions Te arses noe only from consonances but to from dizanances for good misc in hie harmonies eer every efor fo ‘take disonances second and be contoninc with marvelous eect. Ths we may ‘onider prope hatmeony fom ro apes pefec and imperfect. ‘The perfec that in which many pare sng together ins compostion in sich + way tht the futer pars ae mediated by other and the ingerfece that in which only «wo ft sing together withouteing mele by anyother pare “Improper larmony (Berman non propia) tay beter be called harmonious consonance than harmony, beast dacs ot conan any part movement (mad Tein), despite de fac hati ns the ater sounds mined. This hind of har mony humo power to move dhe mind to various pusions as dos proper harmony, ‘which consis of many inoper harmonies” (Poe I, Chap. 1)2 The Art of Counterpoint various elements in a composition and to arrange che sounds with pro- portional ratios and remporal measure ‘Masicians once composed with only 2 few dots or points. Hence they called this counterpoint, They placed one aguinst another 48 we now place one note against another. A doc represented stone: just 25a point is the beginning of a line as well as its end, a sound or tone marks the beginning and end of a melody and forms the consonance out of which ‘counterpoint is made. Perhaps it would have been more reasonable to name this countersound rather than counterpoint, since ane sound was placed agains che other. Not to depart from popular usage, I have con- tinued to all it counterpoint, by which we understand point agaist point or note against note. ‘There are cwvo kinds of counterpoint: simple and diminished, The simple is composed solely of consonances and equal note-values—what- ver these may be—placed against one another. Diminished counterpoint has dssonances as well as consonances, and may employ every kind of note-value, asthe composer wishes. Ie proceeds by intervals or singable spaces, and its values are reckoned according to the measure of is tempus. Iti in the nacure of counterpoint that its various sounds oF steps ascend and descend simultaneously in contrary motion, using inter vals whose proportions are suited to consonance; for harmony has is origin in the joining together of a diversiy of opposed elements. Coun- terpoint is considered best and most pleasing when the bese manners, ‘ornaments, and procedures are gracefully employed, and when this is done according to the rules that the art of good composition require. [gH] Ie should be observed thae by melodic interval is meane the silent passage made from one sound or sep to the next; iis ineligible though inaudible. 2. Tempus ie the scheme of tine measurement that defines the number of se- reves in reve. CHAPTER + The Invention of Clefs and Written Notes [Every mathematical science relies upon demonstration rather than argu> ‘ment and opinion. Certain principles, called premise, are granted, and a demonstration is made which resolves everything easly and clearly. To arrive at such a demonstration the means must be found for making it accesible to our judgment. Mathematicians, understanding this, devised signs, not separate from matter except in esenee, yet distant from it “These were points, lines, planes, solids, numbers, and countless other characters, which are depicted on paper with certain colors, and they used these in place of the things symbolized. In the same manner musi- cians, to make thei specalations and demonstrations evident and suseep- tible to judgment, realizing that sounds could in no way be writen or otherwise depicted on paper or other material, devised certain signs or characters which they called fgares oF notes, and named them as we shall sce later “They named the strings of their instrument and steps of vocal melo- ics with these six syllables inthis order: ut, re, mi so, la, a8 T have shown in Pare Il, Chaper so. They called this series a “deduction” or “reduction,” that is, a leading of the voice from one place to another. “They considered it a natural progression ofthe six syllables. Because this eduction may begin in any of three places—on the degrees C, F, or G— Guido divided his Introduction "into three parts. He applied these sl 1 What is meant by the “Inrodacion" (Inrodutori) of Guido may be dened evoogh a cotespoadence Zino lad with Giovanni Vincenzo Pali in Padua Pinel soughe trough his correspondent to obtain a fll and correc upy of Guido of Aren'ta on music. With a leuer dated Venie, 30 ‘Okober sy, Zaling sere Pal is copy ofthe “Tncodutorio ct Gulden” pnting out tate wa incorret and incomplete, purcalay dhe wong Gliscune onde ms amino melita came, whic, he Sas." very longa contains Seber of nase of his se (Man, Biioree Ambrosana, MS. #19 sup {ot na) Bn asked Girolamo Mei eo compare Zt’ copy to Mell. fepored thar hs copy of "Lnzedutorio di Guidoae” begs: “Temporar Taber "and ended "ed ae plsophise peropimus est” alter whch fl