Thomas Mace's Musicks Monument is a Method to learn singing and playing the lute from 1676, England. Unprecedented is the detail of Mace's explanations, not only about music (how to compose, how to find inspiration) but also about the construction of the lute as an instrument and topics like maintainance.
Thomas Mace's Musicks Monument is a Method to learn singing and playing the lute from 1676, England. Unprecedented is the detail of Mace's explanations, not only about music (how to compose, how to find inspiration) but also about the construction of the lute as an instrument and topics like maintainance.
Thomas Mace's Musicks Monument is a Method to learn singing and playing the lute from 1676, England. Unprecedented is the detail of Mace's explanations, not only about music (how to compose, how to find inspiration) but also about the construction of the lute as an instrument and topics like maintainance.
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oarararal>Concerning the Viol, and ~ i
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Fere Ends all the Direttions for the Prattick Part. BOW:
Cuap, X,
BY whereas I have not Avplified This Viol Part , with fact]
Store of Lefons, as 1 did the Lute Part 5 take Thefe feveral
Reafons for It
Firlt, There is no fuch need in the Generalsbecaule there are Greai|
Store of Viol-Lefons to be had (almoft)every wheres and but Fe
for the Lute; and Thofe Generally Corrupted in the Pricking, &c,
Secondly, Thefé ( Here Set) are Fully Sefficent > both to
Explain my Rules, and alfo to make an Exatt, Able , andl
Good Hand fit for any Undertaking 5 without the Eelp of any other.
Thirdly ; and Laftly, If (by What I have Here Publiih’d )
Shall find a Further Encouragement, by Its being well Accepted ; 1do}
intend ( Ged willing ) to put forth another Piece, in which thal]
be Store of Viol-Leffons, of all forts of Forms, and Shapes s Swited|
tothe Five Beft of the Viol-Tunings, now in ule, viz. Viol-way 3
Fearp-Way-Sharp 5 Harp-Way-Flat 5 High-Way-Sharp 3 and High
Way-Flat. Thefe being Chiefly Set for your Profit ; Thofe will be me
‘for your Pleafure.
iwill therefore Now Conclude This Work, as I Firft began It, viz
with fome Divine Confiderations, and give (ome Hints or Glances,
Worthy your High Regard '; manifefting thereby, the Great Fxcel-
Lency of Mufick, in Reference to the Contemplating Part Thereof
in which you will find there are 3 Great Myfferies lye couch’d, yet|
made Clearly Difeernable, by the Prattick Part. m
eMufick in General. 265
The rihis, concerning the Tr Diffiring, ot Contra-Qualities, $6re0 My-
in whole Nature, viz. The Good, and the Zvils Love, and Ha- fceayyatence
treds “oy, and Sorrows Pleafire, and Pains Light, and Dark: ly Vitsrabie
mofis Feaven, and Pell; God, and the Devils Plainly Percei- °° 8"
ved, by the Conchords, and Difehords 5 Agreements, and Difa~
greements, betwixt the 7 Diftinit Tones.
Two of the which are {0 Horridly-Hateful, and Unpleafing 5 Te, Hat
that xo Harmonical Far is able to endure thems 5 Thole are the 2d. Nature:
and the 7463 both which (ina manner ) are the fame 5 For if
we will admit an Eighth, to be the fame with anUnifon, (as we
mutt dos both fiom the Nature, and U/é of It the 74h, being a
2d.to the 8th.) They mutt needs be both of the fame Nature.
The 2d. That Profound Myftery of Myfferies, viz. of the Holy
Trinity, is Perfpicuoully made Plain, by the Conneélion of Thole
3 Harmonical Conchords, Vit» 1, 3, 5, (more than which Number, o3,Lorel”
cannot (by all the Wit, or Art of Man) be put together at the
fame time, Gin Counter-points) Any one of Them, Sounding Alone,
(or with Its Unities, or Odfaves, (never fo many) is very Plea
fant, and Delightful’s but all 3 Sounding together, is much mores
‘yea Unutterably-Contentive.
The 3d. isthe (nole Strange, than) Stupendions Myftery of
an Otfave, or Fighths the which, although you feem to Abjint,
or go far off from the Unity 5 yetin Its Center Line, you Marvi-
Lou, and Myperionfy Unie, and Harmonize, even as Itwere in
Unity Tt felf.
Iwill {peak a Tittle of a Great Deal, that might be faid of
Thefe 3 Wonderful Myfteries 5 and {0 Finifh This my whole Work,
And in the Contemplation of Thele 3 fo very Notable, High, Concerving
and Sublime Speculations 5 Firlt take Notice, that in This Art, the pic!
very Leaft Imaginable Degree of Departure, ot Seperation from
Unity, is Irksome, and unpleafing to the Ear of any Harmonical,
and Well-Tan'd Soul. As for Example ; Wewill fuppofe, that
the Difance of awhole Note in Mujick, may Confi of 10, 20,
oran 100000 Parts, ot Degreess or as many as you can Imagine,
or Number up, Cwith Pen, Ink, and Paper ) in fo many Years,
ec, (for fo It may be very, Ealie to give a Lively Demonstration
Thereof. )
Ilay, the Leal Departure, ot Distance Imaginable , of any
of Thoft Degrees, from the True Central-Point of Unity, is That
Dif fatisfattion beforeSpecifiedsthe which may be perceiv'd as well
by the Zye, (in the Vibration of a Falfe String, where there may
be difeein’d ‘a kind of Refilefrefi, ot Ungnietnels, by Reafon of
Its Unequal Weight, or Pogfing ) as by the Ear, in the Dif-unity,
or Untunablenefr, either of Voices, ot Stringss for there cannot be
ineither, any True Satisfuition, ot Content 5 but there will fem
to bean Unguiet Srarling,and Farring,ittle or much,according to
the Distance from the Trae Center of Unity; yet when They Meet
(juftin That Central-Point, there will be difeern’d,a Perfect Quies-
inefi, ot Stilnefi 3 a Pleafure unexpreffible : This is apparent to
(All Experience, and may eatily be Try’d, and Prov'd Thus: As
for Example. Mm Let266
A Lively sie
mile of the
Bad Nature.
cheatb ahich
isSaun cone
conor Die
ther
Concerning
the Good Nae
tore, and the
ad. Great
Myflery.
Mufick’s MyStical. and
Let any 2 Voices, endeavour to Sing ( {trongly ) together,
Gara-ut, and A-res A-re, and B-mis or any other 2 of the Seale,
(next adjoyning) and there will quickly be perceiv'd That Tor-
menting Unfufferable Porronr before mentioned; even fich, as a
True Harmonical Ear, ig no more able to endure the noifé of,
than the cutting of his own Flefh.
‘And This is that we call a'Difebord in Muficks and is amoft
Exatt, and Lively Simile of the Bad Nature, viz. Perplexity,
Vexation, Anxiety, Horrour, Torture, Hell, Devilifonefis yea, of
the Devil Ie {elf { Abominably Hateful and Contrary is Ie, to
Perfeet Unity, ot Goadneft : And is the True Nature of Thofe 2
Diftances in Muck, via. the ad. and the 716. fo that although
theybe (of all othcr Diifances ) the neareft to Unity yet are
‘They the Moi# Remote in their Natures Contrary, and Hatefid 5
fo that That Old Common known Proverb, (The Nearer the Church,
the further from God) may Here be id, to find Its Originals and
It may as Aptly be faid of This Experiment, viz. The Nearer to
Unity, the fetes fiom Agreements except involv'd into the very
Eeart, ot Center Thereof.
There is yet another Diffance, call'd a Difeord, via. the 4th.
but nothing of the Nature, or Kind with Thole other Two 3
But (as [ule to fay) avery Favourable Difeord 5 Its Hurts not
like tothe others and thereisa way in Arf found out, ( yet in-
deed is Natural) to make the 4th. a Perféé Harmony 5 and for
my patt, [cannot call Ita Difeords but fhall rather call Te a New=
ter, viz. neither Concord, not Difeord but as Iemay be usd, Tt
is both, and of very Eminent Good Ufe, in the Mixture of Partss
But to Strike It, ot Sound Tt Bare, or Single, to Any one Part,
Ie isa Hard-Staring-Note.
Let Thus much faffice, for the fetting forth the Bad Quality in
Nature 5 Plainly Difeermable, Thus, in This Art of Muck.
‘Now as to the Good Quality in Nature,betore made mention of,
Cand the Contrary to This ) Te will as Plainly thow It elf, by the
very Single Unity (or Unifon ) alone, viz. the Central-Uniting
together of any 2 Voices, or Sounds, at the fame time 5 but is
more wonderfully apparent in the Connexion, or Uniting toge~
ther of the 3 Parts; fiom whence likewite This Old Proverb,
C Tria fins Onmia) may as properly be {aid to take Its Rife3
and will as figiicy Explain, That fore-mentioned 2d. Great
Mystery, which is a kind of Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Tri-
nity, Cwith Reverence be It Spoken ) inthe Confénting, and A-
greeing Chords among Thofe 7 before fpoke of, vis. that in That
vhole Number, there are but only Three, which may,or canbe
Joyned together at the fame time, in Harmonical Agreement 5
which Three Cin the Expreffion of Them) ate All, ( at Unity,
and Confont, that we receive Them, (though AllVarious ) into
our Capacities, as one Infire Unity. And They pleafe us‘ Much
‘More fo United, than any one of Them Single, ot any 2 toge-
ther, ” And there is fuchan Amplitude, ot Fullnefe of Satisfudtion,
in Thofe 3 Conchords, that no Expreffion of Words is fuiene 10
jeclareContemplative ‘Part.
declare the Height of Pleafire, and Satisfaifion recived from
Them. Much lef unfold the Secret, or Occult Myifery which
lies in Them.
Thus much of the 2 Firft Myferies Explain'd from the whole
Number of the 7 Chords, ot Keys in the Art, beyond which
(according to the very Natare of It) we cannot Pafssyet we are
{iid to Execed,into the 81b. th. roth. 11th, 12th. 13th. 14th. 15th.
&e. which is the Double Eighth: All which are no more, (In-
deed ) than to Repeat over, the very fime Chords again 5 for
the ff is a8an Unifon, the othe as a 2dthe roth.asa 3d. &e. But
This ig (ill more a Stupendionjly-Strange-Myflery 5 for although
you fem to Abjent, or go farther off, from the Unity 5 yerin
the End, you Marviloufly Harmonize, Accord, and Agree, even
as It were in the Unity It (elf.
Now Reafon in all Thefe Things, is at a perfett Stand; can ay
Nothing Satisfattorily unto Its How, or by what Means, It thould
Thus come to pats But that Itis(, is Pain by AU Experience.
T will a Little Demonfirate the Wonderfiulnefs of an Eighth, in
Mufick, according to my belt Conceptions, Cthough very weak
“Abilities .) yet doubt not, by what I fhall fay, but to give you
fome fach Lively Apprekenfions of the Truth, and Keality of
This Vat. Myitery, that you thall certainly be touck’d with d-
miration, in a Due Confideration Thereupon.
'ASFilt, take Notice of the Grownd,and Certainty of an Eighth,
‘bus.
The 34, stu-
pendious, and
oft Adini-
rable Myftery.
What is the
Certainey, ot
Ground of
“By Experience, we find, that in any String, be It of what ee Myfey
of an 8¢b, in
« Length foever, (Short, or Long.) the very midit of That String, Sates.
« will produce an 8¢h. Sothat (to comequickly to difeern This
< Wonder) you may fuppole a Siring tobe 10c00 Miles Longs ot
«fo Zong, as would Encompats the whole Earth, or Heavens
«That Siring divided in the midft, would produce but Only One
« Odaveor FightisCbut you mutt fuppole by fome Artior Power,
«that That Strang may be Stretcb'd,andmade toSound:)Then again,