Luanne Fose, Ph.D. - Dissertation
(Posting in Progress - The conversion of the entire 518 pages into PDF format has not been completed just yet!)
Abstract:
The Musica Practica of Bartolomeo Ramos de Pareia: A Critical
Translation and Commentary
Fose, Luanne Eris. Doctor of Philosophy (Music
Theory),
May, 1992, 518 pp., 20 tables, 29 illustrations, bibliography,
119 titles. Research director: Thomas Sovik. DDM Code: 39trFosL; DA no.:
RILM no.: UM no.:
This dissertation contains the first complete Latin-English
translation of one of the most controversial music theory treatises of
the fifteenth century -- the Musica Practica (Bologna, 1482) of Bartolomeo
Ramos de Pareia. Its title as well as its content illustrate the Renaissance transformation
from the abstract mathematical approach of "musica speculativa" to
that of an emphasis upon the everyday demands of the practicing musician.
Although Ramos provides traditional explanations of the modes, counterpoint, "musica
ficta," and white mensural notation, his innovations in temperament,
solmization, mutation, and the gamut set this treatise apart from other
fifteenth-century music treatises. Ramos's rejection of the traditional
Pythagorean-Boethian-Guidonian explanations, coupled with his strong
polemic criticisms of the auctoritas , resulted in a treatise that remained
at the center of heated debate well into the sixteenth century.
Part I of this dissertation includes a commentary in which the specific topics of the Musica Practica are examined. Part II of this dissertation consists of a critical translation of the Musica Practica, with endnotes to illuminate issues that may prove confusing to the twentieth-century reader. These endnotes include translations of Franchinus Gaffurius's marginal annotations, as well as biographical information for the many musicians to whom Ramos refers in the text.
The translation is presented in parallel columns to facilitate a comparison of the original Latin text (A-80 edition) with its English translation; discrepancies between the extant editions (A-80, A-81, and A-7-35) have been catalogued in an appendix.
PDF Files Available for Download Here
Part I: The Commentary
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Biography of Bartolomeo Ramos De Pareia
Chapter 3: The Division of the
Monochord According to Bartolomeo Ramos De Pareia
Chapter 4: The Application and Evaluation of the Monochord According
to the Division Proposed by Bartolomeo Ramos De Pareia
Part II: The Translation (Latin to English)
First Treatise, First Chapter
Second Chapter: The Division or Arrangement of the Elementary Monochord