'The Strascino [slide] (which is the continued plasma of the Ancients, and which is done by raising or lowering continuously the voice,...

‘I offer you namely my arrangement of the famous Stabat mater by Palestrina, in the original manuscript of which there were no expression...

III. Diminution Diminution occurs when larger notes are broken into many parts by the smaller ones in motion. The which must not...

‘2. To produce a good note, the singer should be in an easy posture, with his head upright and his shoulders back, so as to allow the...

‘But supper having ended, and music books having been brought to the table, according to the custom: the mistress of the house presented...

‘A great defect into which some of the best modern singers have fallen is that of having introduced florid ornaments into recitative,...

‘A few trials will suffice to prove that every shade of passion, however slight, will effect in a peculiar way the physical condition,...

'In regard to the accommodation of the melody to the natural pitch of the vowel sounds, the composer is assisted by the spirit of the...

‘He then recited a heroic poem that he himself had previously written in honour of our Piero dei Medici. This [poem] was indeed his, and...

Dowland’s Translation: ‘Every man lives after his owne humour; neither are all men governed by the same lawes, and divers Nations have...

‘How often may the master [Palestrina] himself have conducted it [the Missa Papae Marcelli] with sublime enthusiasm, full of the fire...

‘The reasons why professional musicians have failed to apply our very extensive and ever-increasing knowledge of Classical- and...

‘The great scale, properly elaborated in practice, accomplishes wonders: it equalizes the voice, makes it flexible and noble, gives...

A. Begin the anatomy at the head and finish it at the soles of the feet. Put in all the exits that the veins make in the flesh and their...

‘As for singing on the book in many parts made impromptu, my sentiment is that it is almost impossible to do well… I maintain that it is...

‘Now let us proceed to teach a man to Trillo, and what he must do, for to come to do it well. The first Trial is as follows. Let any...

‘What Must be Observed when Improvising a Third Part on Two Given Parts: Skilled contrapuntists occasionally want to improvise a third...

[fol. 22r.] Chapter two: of the definition and the division of melodía Melodía is to adorn and to grace the sounds of plainchant. Melodía...

The time table of daily duty was, 9 to 9.45, scale practice; 10 to 11, morning service; 11 to 12.30 or 1, music practice; 2 to 3.45,...

‘As for the disposition of the words under the notes, it is necessary to take great care to set them so well, that not only no barbarism...