#cantus firmus

[rembrandtswife]

This is very funny if you have a very weird sense of humor and some knowledge of pre-Baroque music

[theferretgeneral]

First Species Counterpoint

(https://images.app.goo.gl/JrAgFS6weEXB3VnP7)

First species counterpoint is the simplest of all counterpoint. It consists of:

- Two or more voices (Only one for now)

- Notes of the same length

- Only consonances

To make sure we understand these terms, let’s review!

Consonances and Dissonances

There are two types of intervals: Consonant intervals and dissonant intervals. Consonances can be divided up into two sections: Perfect and imperfect. Perfect consonances are completely stable and pure. They consist of unisons, fifths, and octaves.

Imperfect consonances are less stable, but still consonant. They consist of thirds and sixths.

Dissonances are unstable and discordant. They consist of seconds and sevenths.

Fourths are a bit tricky. Sometimes they’re consonant and sometimes they’re dissonant.

Rules

In first species counterpoint, we are only allowed to use unisons, thirds, fifths, sixths, and octaves. We must start and end with a perfect consonance (unison, fifth, or octave). It is recommended that we use imperfect consonances in our counterpoint (except for the first and last note which must be a perfect consonance), though perfect consonances are acceptable.

When one moves into a perfect consonance, we must do so in contrary motion (two voices move in opposite directions).

Oblique motion (one voice moves while the other does not) and especially contrary motion should be employed as often as possible so we can more easily avoid mistakes.

A cantus firmus (A pre-written melody. See picture below) will be given. It will consist of only whole notes. One must write another voice above OR below the cantus firmus on a different staff. The voice you write is the counterpoint.

(It is not required, but it is helpful to label intervals between each voice.)

A cantus firmus written by Johann Joseph Fux in his book “Gradus ad Parnassum”:

(Notes if unreadable: D, F, E, D, G, F, A, G, F, E, D)

Example of counterpoint given by Fux:

(The numbers above the bottom staff are the intervals. The numbers above the top staff are the measure numbers.)

Remember the rules:

- Only consonances are allowed.

- One must begin and end on a perfect consonance (unison, fifth, octave).

- One must try to move as often as possible in contrary motion and oblique motion to make the voices sound independent from each other.

- No augmented or diminished intervals are allowed.

- No jumps greater than a fifth (except for the octave and minor sixth which should only be employed in an upward direction)

- Large jumps should try to be “recovered” so things don’t sound discombobulated (See example).

(The jump of an octave F to another F is “recovered” by “filling in the gap” afterwards.)

If there are any errors or anything I should add, please let me know! Thanks!

Sources:

Fux, Johann Joseph. Gradus ad Parnassum. Translated by Alfred Mann, W. W. Norton & Company, 1965.

“How to Compose 1:1 Counterpoint.” Youtube, uploaded by Jacob Gran, 31 March 2020, https://youtu.be/b5PoTBOj7Xc

Tchaikovsky, Pyorr Ilyitch. Guide to the Practical Study of Harmony. Dover Publications, 2013.

[iannozzigiuseppe]

Fuad Rifka - L’ultima parola sul pane - Collana: Cantus firmus - Anima Mundi edizioni

Fuad Rifka – L’ultima parola sul pane – Collana: Cantus firmus – Anima Mundi edizioni

Fuad Rifka L’ultima parola sul pane Cantus firmus  – collana di poesia a cura di Franca Mancinelli e Rossana Abis  Traduzione di Piero Bruno, Adnan Haydar, Paolo Ruffilli e Aziz Shihab Introduzione di Tommaso Tiddia con tre ritratti fotografici di Dino Ignani e con un’intervista di Ottavio Rossani Anima Mundi edizioni “Nell’ora che il corpo sarà terra, la terra sabbia e polvere la…

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[mebwalker]

Sir Karl Jenkins' "L'Homme armé"

Sir Karl Jenkins’ “L’Homme armé”

Christ Pantocrator, Sainte-Sophie, Istamboul (fr Wikipedia) The Fall of Constantinople I have continued my research on L’Homme armé. Setting a Mass to a secular song is an oddity. But the title of this mass The Armed Man is otherwise intriguing. Moreover, Sir Karl Jenkins (b. 1944), a Welsh composer, dedicated his work to the Kosovo genocide, which is not a coincidence. The genocidal wars that…

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[reallybadmusicjokes]

Why is Cantus Firmus so easy to date?

Because it has low standards

[incandescent-justice]

There are certain threshold moments when we sense something of this destiny to which we are called. Such moments unsettle us. We long to hear the cantus firmus (the enduring melody) sound louder in our souls, for that vague horizon of our ultimate vocation to become clearer in our hearts. And there will always be one autumn in our lives when this restless compulsion for completion seems particularly compelling. Urgently we seek to see the whole picture while there’s time, to accomplish the calling.

Fr Daniel O’Leary (x)

[brandonjnelson]

Today's Composer Prompt (Upset a Medieval Pope)

Today’s Composer Prompt (Upset a Medieval Pope)

Compose a piece for string quartet.

You will establish a “cantus firmus.” It should consist of a well-know (ideally public domain) melody presented here in, at minimum, double augmentation.  It could be presented, and remain, in the cello part, though it could be distributed between the other parts at your discretion.

The other voices should be, in contrast, highly active.  Imitative counterpoint…

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[getstupiddontstop]

This will forever bring me joy and sadness