The words being “Laudate Dominum de cœlis.”
The harmony of Hucbald was as peculiar and barbaric as his scale system.
He followed the principle of the ancients in treating intervals of thirds and sixths as dissonances, and therefore did not allow them to appear in his works. In common with some of his predecessors, he held that the only pure intervals were fifths and fourths. To us this succession of discords appears most appalling, but it is probable that in the practical use of music it was ameliorated somewhat. At this time when the organ was in such a primitive state that the organist struck the keys heavily with his fist in playing, the left fist was sometimes allowed to hold a tone (in the manner of an organ point), while the right played a succession of tones with the singers. The constant rejection of sixths and thirds as impure intervals, must ever remain a mystery to us; yet the effect of even this harsh and uncouth singing was deep on those who heard it. History tells us that King Canute was deeply impressed on hearing the monks chant, while being rowed in his boat, near a monastery, and a lady upon hearing the music of the first organ erected in France, went raving mad, from excess of emotion.
We will leave the rude harmonies of Hucbald, with a final example showing the succession of fourths used in his organum (or art of composing).
The letters T, and S, signify tone and semitone.
| Do- | ||||||||||||
| T | mini | |||||||||||
| T | Sit | oria | in | cula | bitur | |||||||
| S | glo- | Do- | sae- | ta | ||||||||
| T | mini | lae- | } etc. | |||||||||
| T | Sit | oria | in | cula | bitur | |||||||
| S | glo- | sae- | ta | |||||||||
| T | lae- |
Sometimes four voices were thus written on a staff of fifteen lines. Although this system was so cumbrous, yet the right path had been attained, and the progress was continual; little inventions followed one upon the other, and many of the modern usages in music date their rise to this obscure age of Musical History.
The next great name, in the art, is that of Guido Aretino, or of Arezzo, a monk of the Benedictine order, born at Arezzo. He flourished about A. D. 1030 though the date of his birth and death, is not accurately known. His work has had more influence in shaping modern music, than that of any one before him. Yet much of his life and work belongs to the hazy realm of legend. He attained such celebrity that every invention to which his successors could not find a father, was attributed to him.
Guido’s great success lay in the fact that he was a specialist. He did not undertake, like Gregory and Ambros, to shine in all art, science, and enterprise; his position precluded that; he says “The ways of Philosophers are not mine, I only occupy myself with what can be of use to the church, and bring our little ones (the scholars) forward.”
There was need of such a man; for though music teachers were sought in every country at this time, and those from Italy, Greece, France and even Germany, were highly prized, yet there were many who presumed on this state of affairs, and the consequence was that incompetent teachers were the rule. To remedy this great evil was the aim of Guido’s life.