Dear Tomoko, Ron
The interval between the 3rd and the 2nd courses is certainly a fourth
(a-d).
I am not that well informed in renaissance music theory, but a rather
secure guess is that the natural sign stands for B natural, whereas b
stands for B flat. Compare to the German note names used nowadays.
Dis (I'I^1I) is an adverb used also as a prefix, meaning twice, double.
Compare to the latin bis.
The prefix dys- (I'II-) is equivalent to the english un- or mis-,
giving negative or opposite force in adjectives. For example, dyslexia,
dystonia, dysplasia, dysfunction etc. You may consult the Liddell Scott
Greek-English Lexicon for these terms.
Conserning disdiatessaron, it turned out that my seemingly logical
explanation (based on dis:double and tessaron:fourth) of this interval
as a double fourth (e.g. A-D+D-G) equalling to a seventh (A-G), is
incorrect. I have just read in the entry symphonia in Solon
Michaelides: The Music of Ancient Greece - An Encyclopaedia, London,
Faber & Faber, 1978 that the consonant intervals according to the
ancient Greeks were as follows:
diatessaron: a fourth
diapente: a fifth
diapason: an octave
disdiapason: a double octave, a 15th (Dowland agrees with that in his
table)
disdiatessaron: a fourth compound with an octave, an 11th
disdiapente: a fifth compound with an octave, a 12th (what Dowlands
calls diapente cum diapason in his table)
trisdiatessaron: a fourth compound with a double octave, an 18th
trisdiapente: a fifth compound with a double octave, a 19th
trisdiapason: a triple octave
It seems the terminology of ancient Greek music theory wasn't
tranferred always equally succesfully by the theoriticians of the
Middle Ages and the Renaissance, a well known example being the
discrepancy between the names of the ancient Greek modes to the church
modes.
Stathis
__________________________________________________________________
From: Tomoko Koide <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]; Ron Andrico <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2015 7:03 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Disdiatessaron
Thank you very much, Ron.
I might stick at trifles but the drawing shows
the width between 2nd and 3rd is seemingly bigger than the other
"diatessaron (a forth)" width..
[1]http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/7/76/IMSLP71875-PMLP1
44099-Robert_Dowland_-_A_Varietie_of_Lute_Lessons.PDF#page
And the letters in the bottom have unusual "natural sign" between "b"
and
"c".
I referred to Thomas Morley's Scale of Music chart in "Plain and Easy
Introduction"
but could not find the "natural sign" between those two letters.
[2]http://imslp.nl/imglnks/usimg/b/bc/IMSLP160042-PMLP09691-morley_1597
.pdf#page=5
(Besides above two points,
I cannot understand that the interval between 2nd and 3rd is a third.
Isn't it a forth?
I fear I might be making vital mistake..)
Tomoko
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Ron Andrico" <[3][email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2015 12:09 AM
To: "Tomoko Koide" <[4][email protected]>;
<[5][email protected]>
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Disdiatessaron
> As you point out, a diatessaron is the interval of a fourth. The
> prefix "dis" means "apart" or "reversal". As we know, the interval
> between the second and third strings (Smale meane and Great meane)
is
> an interval of a third. Someone else may offer a better answer but
I
> assume that Besard, Dowland, or whomever compiled the tuning chart
> meant to describe a fourth minus one, or a third.
> RA
> > Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2015 14:34:59 +0900
> > To: [6][email protected]
> > From: [7][email protected]
> > Subject: [LUTE] Disdiatessaron
> >
> > Dear Collective wisdom,
> >
> > I am perusing the diagram at the end of the chapter "Of tuning the
> lute" of
> > "Other necessary observations" by John Dowland and found
> > the interval between Smale meane and Great meane is
"disdiatessaron"
> not
> > "diatessaron"
> > as seen between Treble-Smale meane, Contratenore-Tenor and
> Tenor-Base.
> >
> > Could anyone help me with clarifying the reason?
> >
> > I am not quite sure of the term for "disdiatessaron" either...
> ("Octave
> > plus perfect fourth"??)
> >
> > regards,
> >
> > Tomoko
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > To get on or off this list see list information at
> > [8]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
> --
>
--
References
1.
http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/7/76/IMSLP71875-PMLP144099-Robert_Dowland_-_A_Varietie_of_Lute_Lessons.PDF#page
2.
http://imslp.nl/imglnks/usimg/b/bc/IMSLP160042-PMLP09691-morley_1597.pdf#page=5
3. mailto:[email protected]
4. mailto:[email protected]
5. mailto:[email protected]
6. mailto:[email protected]
7. mailto:[email protected]
8. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
