The Principles of Counterpoint According to Andreas Omithoparchus in Musice active micrologus (1517): Tradition, Comments and Translation

Abstract

This study consists of the commented translation of the principles of counterpoint present in the fourth book of Musice active micrologus (1517) by Andreas Ornithoparchus. As a practical music treatise inserted in the context of Lateinschule, this source is a carefully compiled compendium from the late 15th century treatises, including documents from the so-called Cologne School. Musice active micrologus is inserted between two significant aspects of German music theory in the sixteenth century: the beginning of a pedagogical proposal developed essentially by Wollick, Schanppecher, and Cochlaeus, and the paradigmatic changes promulgated by the musica poetica proposed by Dressler. In this way, the examination of the elements of counterpoint throughout the fourth book of this treatise corroborates for an understanding of the contrapuntal structures, mainly cadential, from this context. Comments on the translation comprise schematic, conceptual and analytical summaries that include criticism of the formulation process inferred by Ornithoparchus. Possible traditional theoretical paths used as a basis for the author's arguments are examined through a comparative approach.