Adam von Fulda, German musician, composer and teacher,
completed his important treatise on music in 1490. While
representing a conservative, northern tradition in late-medieval
music theory, it also shows some evidence of
humanist influence.
The treatise is divided into four books which discuss
the origins and uses of music, the theory of plainchant,
mensuration and notation of rhythm, and proportions,
respectively. Thus, throughout this informative work, Adam
mixes the practical with the speculative. Although his
style of explaining technical matters is clear and succinct,
he also engages the reader's interest with his polemical and
rhetorical digressions.
This dissertation presents a detailed commentary upon
Book II of the treatise, on musica plana (plainchant),
accompanied by a translation from the Latin. The first two
chapters of the dissertation are concerned with the
biographical information available on Adam von Fulda, as
well as with the format and transmission of the treatise.
Three chapters of the dissertation serve as the
commentary. Chapter III discusses Adam's treatment of the
practical aspects of singing plainchant, including his
discussions of the Guidonian hand, the gamut, the naming of
pitches, hexachords and mutation (material covered in
Chapters 1 to 6 of the treatise's second book).
Chapter IV of the dissertation considers the subject of
musical intervals as covered by Adam, and the ten rules of
composition provided in his Chapters 7 to 12. These rules
are perhaps the most interesting and unusual part of Book
II, as they go beyond the stated subject of plainchant.
Written composition, not just improvised counterpoint, is
treated in a manner that anticipates later humanist regard
for music as an art.
Finally, Chapter V examines Adam's treatment of the
modes of plainchant (discussed in his Chapters 13 to 17). A
conclusion summarizes Adam's impact on later theorists and
the importance of the treatise.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/8966 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Slemon, Peter John |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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