Gallicus (Carthusiensis, Legiensis, Mantuanus), Johannes

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 1

Gallicus [Carthusiensis,Legiensis, Mantuanus], Johannes Page 1 of 1

Gallicus [Carthusiensis, Legiensis,


Mantuanus], Johannes
(b Namur, c1415; d Parma, 1473). French humanist and theorist, active in Italy. He
wrote that he was born at Namur and learnt to sing there, but studied formally under
the celebrated educator Vittorino da Feltre (1378–1446) at Mantua, where he later
became a Carthusian monk. His primary treatise was written during the pontificate
of Pius II (1458–64). One of the manuscripts is in the hand of his pupil Nicolaus
Burtius, who recorded his date of death as 1473. Hothby, who stated that they had
been students together at the University of Pavia, referred to the theorist as
‘Johannem Legiensem’ (Legiensis, ‘of Liége’), which was misread by Seay as
‘Legrensem’; Seay mistakenly inferred a family name ‘Legrense’, which has
become widespread in scholarly writings. Hieronymus de Moravia used the name
‘Johannes Gallicus’ to refer to Johannes de Garlandia.
Gallicus's three treatises begin ‘Praefatio libelli musicalis de ritu canendi
vetustissimo et novo’ (CoussemakerS, iv, 298–396; ed. in Seay), ‘Praefationcula in
tam admirabilem quam tacitam et quietissimam novorum
concinetiam’ (CoussemakerS, iv, 396–409) and ‘Tacita nunc inchoatur
stupendaque numerorum musica’ (CoussemakerS, iv, 409–21). The first survives in
GB-Lbl Add.22315, ff.1–60 and Harl.6525, ff.1–76v, the others only in Harl.6525,
ff.77–96. Coussemaker, however, made them appear to be one continuous work by
taking the obituary from f.60 of Add.22315 and placing it after the material
transcribed from Harl.6525 (ff.77–96). The first part of the largest treatise,
comparing the old and the new, covers the materials of music, proportions, the
division of the monochord and the genera. Its second part, an introduction to
singing, explains the modes and psalm tones, solmization and counterpoint; an
interesting part of this section is concerned with secular music. The second treatise
is taken up with arithmetic, while the third discusses musical proportions with
reference to Aristides Quintilianus; Seay doubted whether they were actually by
Gallicus.
Through random remarks advocating a return to the ideals of an earlier era,
Gallicus established himself as the first 15th-century musician to demonstrate the
attitudes of the Renaissance. He realized that Boethius had written about the music
of late antiquity rather than contemporary music, and in particular he was the first
writer to point out that the Greek modes and those of his own time were entirely
different systems; in his hands the study of Boethius was transformed from part of
the medieval Quadrivium into a humanistic recovery of ancient thought. These
ideas are directly attributable to the influence of Vittorino da Feltre, whom he
succeeded at Mantua and later at Parma. The spirit of humanism, introduced into
music theory by Gallicus, inspired many of his successors whether they agreed with
his opinions or not.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
J. Hothby: Excitatio quaedam musicae artis per refutationem (MS, c1485, I-Fn; ed.
in CSM, x 1964), 51
C.D. Adkins: The Theory and Practice of the Monochord (diss., U. of Iowa, 1963)
A. Seay, ed.: Johannes Gallicus: Ritus canendi (Colorado Springs, CO, 1981)
C.V. Palisca: Humanism in Italian Renaissance Musical Thought (New Haven, CT,
1985), 7, 280–83
C.V. Palisca: ‘Boethius in the Renaissance’, Music Theory and its Sources:
Antiquity and the Middle Ages: South Bend, IN, 1987, 259–80
CECIL ADKINS/R

mk:@MSITStore:D:\Bittorrent\TheNewGroveDictionaryOfMusicMusicians\The%20... 14/09/2018

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy