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Scan 138
A dictionary of musical terms, 1889
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1divided into symphonic and diaphonic, the former including 4ths, 5ths, and octaves (and their compounds); the latter 2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths. That they should not have called it "harmony" would not surprise us if they were only cognizant of the exact force of the Greek ἀρμονία, but it happens that Isidorus of Seville (in the 6th century), gives the following definition of harmony, "consonantia plurimorum sonorum et coaptatio," a definition which so far diverges from that of the Greek, that it might have included all the efforts of the diaphonists, and indeed might almost pass muster as a definition of modern harmony. Why diaphony or the diaphonia cantilena was also called organum it is difficult to say. A later explanation, namely, that it was because of a supposed similarity to the music of the instrument "organ" is plainly untenable (apte similitudinem exprimat instrumenti, quod organum vocatur)—J. Cotton in Gerbertus Script. II. 263. In time of Charlemagne the art of diaphony must have reached some degree of perfection, as it is certain that Roman cantors were called upon to teach certain French chanters the ars organandi, and pueri symphoniaci were part of the musical staff of Vitalian at the end of the 7th century. The earliest forms of diaphony were of four kinds; when the organum was added to the "principal" or subject throughout at the interval (1) of an octave, (2) of a fifth (3) of a fourth, (4) at an octave above and below.
3These species were combined in three or four-part music, thus presenting to the ear a simple succession of consecutives. It is unnecessary to give examples of each of the above: the following (from Gerbertus) will suffice as illustrations:—
5T tris sempiturnus es
6T Pa Fi
7S es li
8T Tu tris sempiturnus us.
9T Pa Fi
10T li
11S Tu us.
13In the above S stands for semitone, T for tone. It is thus rendered by Gerbertus (De Cantu, &c., I. 112.):
15Ex. 1.
16Tu Pa-tris sem-pi-turn-us es Fi-li-us.
18He also gives the following, but in old notes and clefs:
20Ex. 2.
21Tu Pa-tris sem-pi-turn-us es Fi-li-us.
23The next example is from Kiesewetter (Hist. of Modern Music):
25Ex. 3.
26Sit glo-ri-a Do-mi-ni in sæ-cu-la,
27lae-ta-bi-tur Do-mi-nus in o-per-i-bus su-is,
29In another kind of organum, one voice held on a note like a drone while a second sang the tune.
31But the first step towards harmony was to allow the organizing voices to have a choice of intervals, instead of compelling them, as seen in the examples above, to move in parallel quarts, quints, and octaves. The following example (No. 4) is from Gerbertus:
33Ex. 4.
34Te hu-mi-les fa mu-li mo du-lis
35ve-ne ran do pi-is.
37In the above it will be observed that several 3rds are introduced; the admission of this interval (both minor and major) into the list of consonances represents another forward movement in the art of music. But 3rds (and afterwards 6ths) were not allowed to be perfect, but classified as imperfect consonances, a title which to this day adheres to these beautiful intervals, although their superiority to 4ths and 5ths has compelled modern writers to call a 4th a discord, and to forbid consecutive 5ths as an abomination. Franco and Garland have a division of intervals which is interesting as marking the transition from the treatment of 3rds and 6ths as discords,
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