Roberta Vidic – Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, D

VIII European Music Analysis Conference, Leuven 18th September 2014

Rameau and the Italian Tradition

» On ignore le premier Inventeur de l’Art harmonique, par la même

raison qu’on ignore le premier Inventeur de chaque Science. «

(d’Alembert 1762)
Session 1B:
Analysing Rameau – Rameau Analysing.
German and Italian Ways of Reception in the 18th Century.

Session Convenor:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Birger Petersen, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany)

Thursday, 18 September 2014

French room 00.14

2 R. Vidic – Rameau and the Italian tradition.

 Index

[1] Rameau and the Italian Tradition

[2] „There is no Italian Rameau“
[3] Scenario 1 Break. Italy had a Rameau. Padua. Mathematics.
[4] Scenario 2 Continuity. Italy had tradition. Authority principle.
[5] Break. Priorities. Generative fundamental.
[6] Barbieri Identity of a chord with its inversions.
[7] Christensen Inversional derivation & equivalence.
[8] Barbieri Origin diatonic scale in 3 fundamental notes.
[9] Break. Controversies.
[10] Academies 1 principle. Rameau. Tartini.
[11] d’Alembert “Calculations upon calculations”.
[12] “ “ 2 principles. Rameau + Tartini.
[13] Tartini 3 principles. Galilei & proportions.
[14] Vallotti Rameau + Tartini well-fonded for Major only.
[15] “ Vallotti / Rameau. Raisons & proportions.
[16] Zarlino Proporzione. Voce. Corpo sonoro… proporzionato.
[17] Aristotle @Padua
[18] Introduction Scholasticism & Humanism. Science & Art.
[19] Aristotle Mathematics. Hierarchy. Quantity.
[20] Acquinas Sensus. Intermediate sciences.
[21] Regiomontanus Quadrivium. Optic. Music.
[22] Zabarella Good news from Aristotle. Voce. Art.
[23] Continuity. Authority principle.
[24] Introduction Mos italicus. Definition. Aims.
[25] Authority Hierarchy. Chronology. Application.
[26] “ Supertemporal, correct, not contradictory.
[27] Opinion Explanation. Translation. Use.
[28] “ Communis opinio doctorum.
[29] Truth “Plato is my friend, but…”.
[30] “ Calegari & the “historical mistake” of Zarlino.
[31] Continuity. Musical Matters.
[32] Gen. Fundamental? Octave replication. Octave transfer.
[33] Penna/Calegari 1st division. Consonances. Dissonances.
[34] Calegari Consonante complesso. Dissonante complesso.
[35] Gen. Fundamental? Base di prim’Armonia. Identical source.
[36] Chord Disposizione. Consonance, dissonance, discordance.
[37] Rameau/Padua Comparison. Consequences.

[38] Conclusion. Restoration or flexibility?

EuroMAC VIII – Leuven 2014 3
 Glossary

Aristotelism/Padua
- quantità Quantity; the object of Mathematics, defined by Aristotle as
“scientia considerativa quantitatis”.
- numero (semplice) (Simple) number; the object of Arithmetic, represents discrete
quantity.
- numero sonoro Sonorous number; the object of Music, represents applied
discrete quantity.
- proporzione (1) Proportion; the object of Music, represents applied discrete
quantity in the proportions tradition, or derived number.
- proporzione (2) Method of calculation proper of the speculative
mathematician.
- voce Voice; the object of Music, represents applied discrete quantity
in the abacus tradition, or number with perceptive quality.
- abacus Method of calculation for practical use, mostly in merchandise.
- all’aritmetica subordinata Subordinate to arithmetic; Music share the number object with
arithmetic, but in a less perfect form.

Armoniali tuoni Harmonic tonalities; the only 2 “veritable modes” in modern

music are C-Major/d-Minor (Calegari) or C-Major/a-Minor
(Vallotti).
Armonico numero Harmonic number; Calegari and followers: the “veritable”
numbering in Harmony, in contrast to the thorough bass.

Authority principle
- mos italicus Italian custom/habit; tradition of jurisprudence from the
Middle Ages to early modern age. France developed from the
Renaissance an own mos gallicus.
- corpora Bodies; the ancient right books from Corpus Juris Civilis (Body
of civil law, 6th cent.) and Corpus Juris Canonici (Body of canon
law, from 12th cent.).
- glossa Short commentaries on single words of texts from the
Corpora.
- consilia Longer comprehensive commentaries for practical use in court.
- arbitrium Capriciousness; individual opinion was not very authoritative.
- communis opinio Common opinion (of the doctors); coincidence of major
(doctorum) authorities in the doctrine.
- ratio & veritas Reason & truth; principle of evidence in a trial; it based on
Aristotle’s heritage as well.

Consonance-Dissonance/Padua
- consonanza Consonance; free practicable, obligatory.
- dissonanza Dissonance; mostly prepared & resolved, 7-9-11-13, optional.
- discordanza Discordance; off-beat notes, grace notes, optional.
- consonante complesso Consonant complex; the basic consonant harmony 1-3-5-8.

4 R. Vidic – Rameau and the Italian tradition.

- formola organica Organic formula; term used by Tartini for the basic chord.
- dissonante complesso Dissonant complex; Calegari builds a 2nd complex 7-9-11-13-14.
- subsyncopatio When the dissonance occurs under the other voices; it leads to
contradictions in the notation that represent a major challenge
for Italian theorist in 17th and 18th century.

corps sonore Sonorous body; Rameau: any vibrating system with harmonic
corpo sonoro overtones; Vallotti: overtones are not binding for Harmony.
corpo sonoro proporzionato Proportionate sonorous body; Zarlino: the vibrating string,
proportionally divided, and any system able to these sounds.

Fundamental
- basse fundamental Fundamental bass.
- basso fondamentale
- sons/notes fondamentales Fundamental notes; I, IV and V.
- note fondamentali

Generative fundamental
- inversional derivation Christensen’s term for inversions in 17th century; it assumes (1)
no full equivalence of the 3 chord forms, (2) pedagogical use only.
- inversional equivalence Christensen’s term for inversions in 18th century after Rameau; it
assumes (1) identical source for all 3 chords, (2) octave transfer.
- octave transfer A chord note maintain his identity after octave transposition, too.
- octave replication An interval is equivalent to his replications on base 7, f.e.: 1-8-15.

Harmony
- armonia Term used in Italian theory for (1) music for several voices, (2)
polyphony, (3) counterpoint, (4) science of harmony, (5) chord,
(6) basic chord, and even more.
- disposizione Good setting; as Sanguinetti and Holtmeier observed,
thoroughbass figures always preserved their contrapuntal
component in the partimento tradition; the Paduan theorists
applied it to inversions, too.
- elementi del contrapunto Elements of counterpoint/voices; the seven intervals in the practical-
elementi sonori oriented theory (f.e. Penna 1672); Calegari called them “pure
voci material numbers of the abacus”.
- base (di prim’Armonia) Base of first harmony; fundamental note in Paduan theory, bass
note of the basic chord.
- grave Low; bass note.
- parti di mezzo Middle parts; Penna: inverted intervals; Calegari: inverted chords.

Proportions
- raisons & proportions Reasons (numbers) & proportions.
- ragioni & proporzioni
- numeri & proporzioni

saltem quoad praxim At least in the practice.

terzo suono Tartini’s combination tones.

EuroMAC VIII – Leuven 2014 5

 Select Bibliography

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des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 7 Foang – Gythium, 54-63. Paris: Durand
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Breton, Durand.
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pere & fils.

Barbieri, Patrizio. 1987. “Martini e gli armonisti ‘fisico-matematici’: Tartini, Rameau,

Riccati, Vallotti.” In Padre Martini. Musica e cultura nel Settecento europeo, ed.
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———. 1991. “Calegari, Vallotti, Riccati e le teorie armoniche di Rameau: priorità,
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302.

Calegari, Francesco Antonio. 1732. Ampla dimostrazione degli armoniali musicali tuoni. In
Schurr 1972, vol. II, 17-251.

Christensen, Thomas. 1993. Rameau and Musical Thought in the Enlightenment.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
———. 2010. “Thoroughbass as music theory.” In Partimento and continuo playing in
theory and practice, ed. Dirk Moelants, 9-42. Leuven: Leuven University Press.

Falk, Ulrich. 2006. Consilia. Studien zur Praxis der Rechtsgutachten in der frühen Neuzeit.
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Gallo, F. Alberto. 1989. “Die Kenntnis der griechischen Theoretikernquellen in der

italienischen Renaissance”. In Italienische Musiktheorie im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert
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Groth, Renate. 1989. “Einleitung”. In Italienische Musiktheorie im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert
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Herrissone, Rebecca. 2000. Music Theory in Seventeenth-Century England. Oxford and New
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6 R. Vidic – Rameau and the Italian tradition.

Holtmeier, Ludwig. 2007. “Heinichen, Rameau, and the Italian Thoroughbass
Tradition: Concepts of Tonality and Chord in the Rule of the Octave.” Journal
of Music Theory 51/1 (Spring 2007), 5–49.

Lester, Joel. 1974. “Root-Position and Inverted Triads in Theory around 1600”. Journal
of the American Musicological Society 27/1, Partimenti (Spring, 1974), 110-119.

Liberati, Antimo. 1666. Epitome della Musica. Source: Bologna, Museo Internazionale e
Biblioteca della Musica, MS D. 92/A, f.1r-48r.
———. 1685. Lettera scritta dal Sig. Antimo Liberati in risposta ad una del Sig.
Ovidio Persapegi. Roma: Mascardi.

Martin, Nathan John. 2012. “Rameau’s Changing Views on Supposition and

Suspension”. Journal of Music Theory 56/2 (Fall 2012), 121-167.

Mikkeli Heikki. 1992. An Aristotelian response to Renaissance Humanism: Jacopo Zabarella

on the Nature of Arts and Sciences (=Studia Historica 41). Helsinki: Suomen
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Rameau, Jean Philippe. 1722. Traité. Paris: Ballard.

———. 1758. Lettre à M. d’Alembert, sur ses opinions en musique, insérées dans les articles
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Sanguinetti, Giorgio. 2012. The art of partimento: history, theory and practice. Oxford and
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Schurr, Walter William. 1972. Francesco Antonio Calegari (d. 1742): Music Theorist and
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Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (online project).

http://plato.stanford.edu

Tartini, Giuseppe. 1767. De’ principj contenuti nel diatonico genere. Dissertazione. Padova:
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Vallotti, Francesco Antonio. 1731. Raggionamenti…, 24. November 1731, Source: Padua,
Pontificia Biblioteca Antoniana, MS A.VI.537, f. 1r-<15v>.
———. 1779. Della scienza teorica e pratica della moderna musica libro primo, Padova:
Stamperia del seminario.

Vidic, Roberta. 2014. Der Übergang von F. A. Calegari zu F. A. Vallotti. Der Streit um die
Molltonart angesichts der Tonartenlehre von F. A. Calegari (BA thesis Hamburg 2014).

Zarlino, Gioseffo. 1589. De’ tutte le opere… L’istitutioni harmoniche. Venezia: Francesco de’
Franceschi Senese.

EuroMAC VIII – Leuven 2014 7

Contact:
roberta.vidic@hfmt-hamburg.de
roberta_vidic@libero.it

8 R. Vidic – Rameau and the Italian tradition.