Edward Morris Bowman
Published: 2015-08-04
Total Pages: 38
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Excerpt from Harmony: Historic Points and Modern Methods of Instruction It is not probable that harmony was employed prior to the ninth century, except perhaps in the music of the spheres. Up to that period, Psalms and Hymns were sung in unison, notwithstanding the already known possibility of simultaneously uniting different sounds. Dr. Ritter says, in his valuable epitome of Musical History, "The oldest historical document of which we have any knowledge, on harmony, in the modern acceptation of the term, is by Isidore, Archbishop of Seville, who lived at the time of St. Gregory (from 570 to 636 A. D.), and whose friend he was. Isidore says, in his 'Sentences on Music, ' 'Harmonious music is a modulation of the voice: it is also the union of simultaneous sounds.' He also speaks of two kinds of harmony, Symphony and Diaphony. By the first word he meant probably a combination of consonant, and by the latter of dissonant intervals." It seems certain that the earliest efforts in part-singing were in fourths, fifths and octaves. Hucbald, a Flemish monk who lived, according to Fetis, from about 840 to 932 A. D., was the first theoretical writer of eminence. He left a treatise on harmony, or, as it was then called, Organum or Diaphony, entitled "Enchiridion Musicae," in which rules and examples are given for the proper progression of the different parts or "symphonies," as they were then termed. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."