Appendix I: Vicentino's Petition to Venice for a Printing Privilege

Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Senate, Filza 10 (Sept.-Feb. 1549: halfway

through)
Registered]
Most Serene Prince and Most Illustrious Seignory:1
Inasmuch as the Reverend Sir, Father Nicola Vicentino, had already
begun his studies of musical theory and practice fifteen years ago,2 and
has by dint of his very heavy labors and wakeful nights restored to the
world the practice of singing and playing in the two genera (long ago
lost),—that is, the enharmonic and chromatic so highly praised by
Ptolemy and other celebrated philosophers—he throws himself at the
feet of Your Sublimity and the Most Illustrious Seignory to petition the
favor of permitting him to print the said music, as much for the benefit
of mankind (since this music is unknown in our time) as for his own.
And so that the said [Father Nicola] may continue to study and control
the said music, as its discoverer, let it be granted that no one, regardless
of rank or station in this domain, may print the said music—that is, the
practice of the enharmonic and chromatic genera—for the period of the
next ten years, under penalty of 100 ducats, to be imposed on whoever
violates the said privilege. And let it also be granted that all the works
printed on the practice of the enharmonic and chromatic genera are to
be made and sold on behalf of the Reverend Sir, Father Nicola, so that he
may be recompensed for his many labors. This will enable him to carry
on more willingly with this arduous, honorable, and great task, in praise
of God, and for the glory of this state and the benefit of mankind.
[Duplicate of Registro 36, given below]
Father Nicola, for the printing of music
109
2
1

1. The person addressed as Most Serene Prince is the doge of Venice, at that time Francesco
Dona. The Seignory, Signoria or Minor Consiglio, consisted of six counselors who, with the
doge, presided over all other Venetian institutions.
2. The assertion in this official document corroborates the thirdhand testimony given by
Danckerts.

445
446 Appendixes

Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Senate, Registro 36 (1548-49), fol. 158v

(179v)
1549, the 30th Day of October
As certified by this Council,3 let it be granted to the Reverend Father
Nicola Vicentino that for the next ten years no one other than he, unless
it be with his permission and commission, may, either in this city or in
any of our lands and territories, print or sell printed works written by
him on the practice of singing and playing in the two genera—enharmonic
and chromatic—under penalty of losing the works of the said Father
Nicola and, moreover, of paying one hundred (100) ducats,4 one-third
of which goes to the accuser, one-third to the magistrate or official who
hands down the penalty, and the last third to our arsenal, provided that
the said Father Nicola is ready to comply with everything enjoined by
our laws and regulations with respect to publication.
For 109
Against 2
Abstaining 1

Appendix II: Diagram of the Keys in One Octave on the

Archicembalo. Two Keyboards, Each with Three Ranks of
Keys
The Second (Upper) Manual

3. The Council of Ten, the powerful executive branch of the government, actually had
seventeen members because the doge and the Seignory always attended its meetings.
4. See Introduction, note 17.
 Appendixes 447
The First (Lower) Manual

Appendix III: Chart of the Steps from the Comma to the Proxi-
mate Major Third**
Comma Book I, chapter 14
Minor Diesis Book I, chapter 25
Major Diesis/
Minor Semitone Book I, chapters 16-18
Major Semitone Book I, chapters 19-20
Minor Whole Tone Book I, chapter 21
Whole Tone Book I, chapters 22-23
Major Whole Tone Book I, chapter 24
Minimal Third Book I, chapter 25
Minor Third Book I, chapters 26—27
Proximate Minor Third Book I, chapter 28
Major Third Book I, chapters 29-30
Proximate Major Third Book I, chapter 31

5. If the minor and major thirds are enlarged by a comma instead of a minor diesis, they
then become most proximate intervals. See Bk. I, chap. 31.
448 Appendixes

Appendix IV: Copy of the Original Warrant Made on the De-

bate, with the Wager, the Deputation or Election of the
Judges, and Other Matters, Etc.
We, Don Nicola Vicentino and Don Vicente Lusitano, began a musi-
cal debate a few days ago over a composition on Regina coeli, sung in the
house of His Excellency Bernardo Acciaiuoli, or Rucellai, who lived on
[the Via] delli Banchi in Rome.61, the aforesaid Don Nicola, offered to
prove that no composer of music understands the genus of the music
composed and sung commonly every day. And I, the aforesaid Don
Vicente, replied in the name of all musicians and offered to prove that I
know the genus of the music written by composers today, etc. And on
this issue we each wagered two gold scudi, to be paid by the loser to the
winner, according to the judgment and verdict of His Honor Bartolom^
de Escobedo and His Honor Ghiselin Danckerts, learned and expert
musicians and singers in the papal choir.
In order that the aforesaid debate could be properly resolved and con-
cluded, we, the above-named competitors, each one independently, went
to the church of the Orfanelli of Rome at Capranica on 2 June 1551.
There, at the request of the Very Reverend Cardinal of Trani,7 the singers
of the papal choir had assembled to sing a polyphonic Mass of the Most
Blessed Sacrament. We affirmed to Their Honors the judges and our
arbitrators all that was said above, requesting Their Honors to be so good
as to accept the trouble of hearing our disagreement and proofs, and to
judge and condemn the loser to pay the above-named reward to the win-
ner as a token of his victory. We promised them to accept and abide by
the judgment and sentence made by Their Honors the judges and our
arbitrators, without any appeal. Which appeal each of us renounced ab-
solutely, on pain of being called a wretch and a liar and no longer counted
among men as a musician and singer.
For this reason, a condition was added; namely, that if Their Honors,
the said judges Bartolome and Ghiselin, should happen to disagree and
fail to arrive at the same verdict, then and only then the Reverend Julio
da Rezzo,8 a man also very expert in music whom we elect as a third
judge, should join them. He should decide, according to God and his

6. For a map of Rome in 1551 showing the street, see Maria Augusta Alves Barbosa,
Vincentivs Lvsitanvs: Ein portugiesischer Komponist und Musiktheoretiker des 16. Jahrhunderts
(Lisbon, 1977), facing p. 208.
7. Gian Domenico de' Cupis was elected cardinal in 1517 by Leo X.
8. In the paragraph below, the name is spelled Julio da Reggio.
 Appendixes 449

conscience, which of the two [judges] seems to him to have the better
judgment. Otherwise, he should not intervene.
When the Very Reverend Cardinal of Ferrara, whom I, the aforesaid
Don Nicola, serve as chaplain, was notified of the debating contest, he
sent for us, the debaters, and two aforesaid judges. He wanted to hear
the discussion and dispute, and the above-mentioned proofs, for it was
his wish that the sentence be pronounced in his presence on Thursday,
4th of the aforesaid June. And so, everyone gathered there, except for
His Honor the judge Ghiselin, who had left Rome on horseback early
the day before.
The aforesaid debating contest, therefore, took place before the said
Very Reverend [Cardinal], Their Honors the aforesaid Bartolom^ de
Escobedo and Julio da Reggio, the extra judge, and many other learned
and noble persons. The said Very Reverend [Cardinal] wished that His
Honor Escobedo, with His Honor Julio, the extra judge, should pro-
nounce the sentence. But His Honor, the said Escobedo, stated that he
could not deliver a verdict without His Honor, the said Ghiselin, be-
cause these two were the true judges, whereas His Honor Julio was only
an extra judge in case the two could not agree. For this reason, the said
Very Reverend [Cardinal] ordered these two, Their Honors Escobedo
and Julio, to report to His Honor, the said Ghiselin, what had occurred
during the debate just concluded, in order that by the next and nearest
Sunday the two judges would be obliged to hand down the sentence in
writing.
Therefore, on the following Friday, 5th of said June, they went to re-
port to His Honor, the said Ghiselin, what had happened in the presence
of the Very Reverend [Cardinal], as above. Hearing discrepancies in some
parts of the two reports, the said Ghiselin declared that he could not
make a judgment based on inconsistent words. As a result, it was neces-
sary for each competitor or debater to put in writing what he had said
about the debate during the contest. And thus, each of us, the two com-
petitors, submitted to the said judges our proof in writing, written in his
own hand, requesting them to render a verdict on the basis of our writ-
ings, and to pronounce the sentence for or against each as he merited,
according to God and their conscience.
In witness to the truth and confirmation of all that was said above, we,
the two competitors, each one independently, have signed below in his
own hand. In Rome in the Apostolic Palace, in the papal chapel to be
exact, where most of the singers were present, having just concluded the
singing of a solemn polyphonic Mass on 7 June 1551.
450 Appendixes

I, the aforesaid Don Nicola, confirm all that is written above.

I, Vicente Lusitano, confirm the above writing.
I, Battista Preccarese, called "Aspro," acknowledge the above first sig-
nature to be in the personal hand of Don Nicola Vicentino. And in wit-
ness thereof I sign below in my own hand in Rome on 24 November
1555.
idem Jo. Batt.a P. Aspro
I, lacopo Martelli, acknowledge the above-written signature, where he
names himself, to be truly in the personal hand of Don Nicola. And in
witness to the truth I myself sign here this 14 April 1556.
I, Stefano Bettini, called Fornarin[o], acknowledge the above signa-
ture to be in the personal hand of the said Don Nicola Vicentino. And in
witness thereof I have written this in my own hand this 29 April 1556.1,
Stefano, in Rome.
I, Antonio Barre, acknowledge the above signature, where he names
himself, to be in the personal hand of the said Don Nicola Vicentino.
And in witness to the truth I myself sign here below in my own hand on
this 1 May 1556.

Appendix V: Table of the Names of the Keys on the Archicembalo

in Descending Order
A la mi re primo 1A
A la mi re secondo 2G#
A la mi re terzo 3A1*
A la mi re quarto 4A
A la mi re quinto 5A1*
A la mi re sesto 6A
G sol re ut primo 1G
G sol re ut secondo 2P
G sol re ut terzo 3&
G sol re ut quarto 4G
G sol re ut quinto 5G1'
G sol re ut sesto 6G
F fa ut primo 1F
F fa ut secondo nel terzo ordine 3B*
F fa ut terzo nel quarto ordine 4F
[F fa ut sesto] [6F]
E la mi primo IE
E la mi secondo 2E^
 Appendixes 451

E la mi terzo 3D*
E la mi quarto 4E
E la mi quinto 5 E*
E la mi sesto 6E
D la sol re primo ID
D la sol re secondo 2O
D la sol re terzo 3D^
D la sol re quarto 4D
D la sol re quinto 5D^
D la sol re sesto 6D
C sol fa ut primo 1C
C sol fa ut secondo nel terzo ordine 3B*
C sol fa ut terzo nel quarto ordine 4C
[C sol fa ut sesto] [6C]
B fa B mi primo IB
B fa B mi secondo 2B17
B fa B mi terzo 3A#
B fa B mi quarto 4B
B fa B mi quinto 5 B^
B fa B mi sesto 6B

Appendix VI: Table of String Lengths Based on Lemme Rossi9

IF 20736 4C? 27117

30 21205 K6Q] [27421]
4E^ 21684 1C 27730
[6E] [21928] 3B« 28357
IE 22174 4B 28999
5Eb 22676 [6B] [29325]
2Eb 23188 IB 29655
3D* 23713 5B^ 30325
2B
4D 24249 ^ 31011
[6D] [24521] 3A« 31712
4A
ID 24797 , 32429
5I> 25358 [6A] [32793]
1A 33162
3D^ 25931
20 26517 5A> 33912

9. See Sistema musico overo musica speculative p. 86. Rossi uses an A-A octave and omits
the keys in the sixth rank. The table translates his string lengths to an F-F octave, in keeping
452 Appendixes

3^ 34679 3Gk 38781

2G» 35463 2F» 39657
4G 36264 4F 40554
[66] [36672] [(6F)] [41012]
1G 37084 IF 41472
5<> 37923

Appendix VII: Table of Cents Values for the First Tuning Sys-
tem of the Archicembalo10
IF 1200 2C» 774
39 39
3FJ 1161 4C 735
38 [19]
4E 1123 [6C] [716] 38
)
20 [19]
6E 1103 39 1C 697
19 39
IE 1084 3B» 658
39 39
5F> 1045 4B 619
39 j 19
2E* 1006 6B 600 38
38 19
3D» 968 IB 581
39 39
4D 929 5 ft 542
19 39
6D 910 39 2Bk 503
20 39
ID 890 3A« 464
38 38
5F> 852 4A 426
39 19
3I> 813 6A 407 39
39 20
with Vicentino s tuning method, and also includes my calculations for the string lengths of
the keys in the sixth rank, including the hypothetical ones for 6C and 6R The number
before each key represents the rank on which it is located.
10. The number before each key represents the rank on which it is located.
 Appendixes 453
1A 387 5& 155
39 39
5A^ 348 3Gfc 116
38 38
3A^ 310 2F» 78
39 39
2G« 271 4F 39
39 >
[20]
4G 232 [6F] [19]
19 [19]
6G 213 38 IF 0
19
1G 194
39

Appendix VIII: Table of Cents Values for the Second Tuning

System on the Archicembalo11
IF 1200 IB 581
[6F] 1166 5B^ 508
3E» 1161 2Bk 503
4E 1089 6B 470
IE 1084 3A» 464
6E 1012 4A 392
2tf 1006 1A 387
5E1- 973 6A 315
3D» 968 3Ak 310
4.D 896 2G» 271
ID 890 5Ak 276
6D 818 4G 199
3D» 813 1G 194
5I> 780 6G 160
2O 774 3Gfc 116
4C 702 5G^ 83
1C 697 2F» 78
[6C] 663 4F 5
3B» 658 IF 0
4B 586
11. The number before each key represents the rank on which it is located. The true fifth
in the ratio of 3:2 is calculated at 702 cents.
454 Appendixes

Appendix IX: Table of the Major and Minor Triads in the Sec-
ond Tuning of the Archicembalo12
Major Triads
IF 387 1A 315 4C
2F» 386 3A» 316 5Dt
1
3G - 387 2B11 315 6D
1G 387 IB 315 5F>
2G» 387 3B» 315 5E1"
3A1- 387 1C 315 6E
1A 387 2C» 315 4E
3A« [6F]*
2B1" 387 ID 315 4F
c C^\>
IB 387 3D» 315 J
3B» 6G*
1C 387 IE 315 4G
2O 387 3E» 315 5Aj1"
3D1" 387 IF 315 6A
ID 388 2F» 314 4A
3D» 6B*
2E1" 388 1G 314 5^
IE 387 2G» 315 4B
3E» [6C]*
Minor Triads
IF 315 6A 387 4C
2F» 314 4A 388 5Dj1"
30 6D*
1G 314 C ~D\>
!x -D 388 4D
2G» 315 4B 387 5F>
3A1" 6E*
1A 315 4C 387 4E>
3A» 316 5Db 386 [6F]
>
2B1" 315 6D 387 4F
IB 315 4D 387 50

12. The number before each key represents the rank on which it is located. As in App.
VIII, the true fifth (3:2) has the value of 702 cents. Since the first three ranks are in meantone
tuning, the major thirds in the second tuning will remain, at about 387 cents, slightly larger
than the just major thirds (5:4) of 386 cents. The minor thirds, however, at about 315 cents,
are closer to the just minor thirds (6:5) of 316 cents than were the tempered minor thirds in
the first tuning (310 cents).
 Appendixes 455
3B» 315 5fc 387 6G
1C 315 6E 387 4G
20 315 4E 387 5Afc
3D^ 6A*
ID 315 4F 387 4A
3D» 315 4F 387 6B
2E1" 5B^
C "Dk*

IE 315 4G 387 4B
3E» 315 5A^ 387 [6C]
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