Page:Pratt - The history of music (1907).djvu/89

 former supplies the most extensive of mediæval treatises, treating of intervals, consonances and dissonances, ancient music, the church modes, solmization, measured music and discant, all regarded with decided conservatism. The latter, represented by several works, is much more radical, and, like Philippe de Vitry, advocates counterpoint for several voices, with free use of chromatics and rhythmic variety. Indeed, it is now queried whether the 'Ars nova' ascribed to Philippe de Vitry does not belong to this second Johannes de Muris.

Arabic writing upon musical topics was voluminous during the mediæval period. The earliest theoretical writer was Chalil (d. 776), followed in the 9th and 10th centuries by writers like al-Kindi (d. 862) and the illustrious al-Farabi (d. c. 950), the latter of whom was a diligent student of Greek authorities. Much later, especially in the 14th century, came a host of writers under Persian influence, prominent among whom were Saffieddin and al-Khadir. In their writings there seems to be a mingling of some ideas derived from Arabian tradition with a large amount from other sources. How these elements are to be disentangled is not clear. The doctrine of the 'messel' (proportion or measure), expounded by Mahmud Shirasi (d. 1315) and others, was a noteworthy effort to systemize the mathematics of intervals, including the earliest-known recognition of both major and minor thirds and sixths as consonances. Among the discussions of æsthetics mention may be made of a striking essay by al-Ghazzali (d. 1113) on the relation of music to religious emotion.



37. Secular Song.—At just the period when the scholastic music of the Church was clumsily struggling with the problem of polyphony, came the first signal outcroppings of secular song as an equally important part of musical development. These instinctive efforts of the popular spirit to find an outlet in music, though without far-reaching purpose, achieved some striking immediate results and at length contributed much to the enrichment of the art.

For convenience, the successive movements are treated summarily, though the last of them runs over into the 16th century.

38. The Troubadours.—The first definite movement occurred in Provence (now southeastern France), probably soon after 1100. This was presently paralleled in northern France by a similar, though distinct, movement. The first was that of the Troubadours, the second, of the Trouvères (both words meaning 'finders' or 'inventors'). As will be seen, these were poet-singers, at first wholly of the upper or wealthy class, and their impulse was more literary than musical. The musical consequences of their work appeared later.