The "Musica" of Hermannus Contractus

Description

Long recognized as one of the most important medieval treatises on music, the Musica of Hermannus Contractus is here presented in a newly revised translation, with commentary reflecting the best current scholarship. A polymath and monk, Hermannus Contractus (1013-54) contributed to the important advancements made in European arts and sciences in the first half of the eleventh century, writing on history, astronomy, and time-keeping devices, among other topics, and composing several chants. His music theory, founded on a systematic treatment of traditional concepts and terminology dating back to the ancient Greeks, is concerned largely with the organization of pitch in Gregorian chant. Hermann's approach stems from Germanic species-based thought, and is marked by a distinction between aspects of form and aspects of position, privileging the latter. He expresses this in terms imported from then-new developments in Italian music theory, thus acting as a nexus for the two traditions. Numerology and number symbolism play significant roles in Hermann's theories, and his critiques of other theorists offer insights into medieval intellectual life.  Read more... Preface to Leonard Ellinwood's 1952 EditionPreface to the Second EditionAbbreviationsIntroductionMusicaVariantiae Figurarum Variantiae NeumarumPlatesAppendix 1: Biographical Documents in English TranslationAppendix 2: Chants CitedAppendix 3: Hermann's Diastematic NotationBibliographyIndex VerborumIndex CantuumGeneral Index