‘First therefore let the whole choir endeavour to control their voices, so that the words may be clearly heard and understood by the...

‘Nonetheless there are others who are of the opinion that half of the note value of the syncopated semibreve is deemed to be dead—whereby...

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

‘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...

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...

‘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...

‘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...

‘[Alemanno Benelli:] But because of the presumptuous audacity of performers who try to invent passaggi, I will not say sometimes, but...

(Summary) The Rules of Solfaing When solfaing, the singer must be aware of the mode of the piece, since this will tell them what sort of...

'As for singing upon a plainsong, it has been in times past in England, as every man knows, and is at this day in other places, the...

'Having learned these species [of intervals] and the method, here is how we ought to use them. The boy should provide himself with a...

‘Today, music has such great license in churches that even along with the canon of the mass certain obscene little ditties sometimes have...

‘To teach the art of singing well and elegantly to a boy, I advise first that he choose a teacher who sings pleasantly and sweetly with a...

‘I have no doubt at all that the counterpoints above a cantus firmus from the introits by Constanzo Porta and Giovanni Matteo Asola,...

‘The hundred passaggi above, all having been printed in various works by modern authors, have been assembled with much study and...

‘It should be noted that the [ancient] tonoi were not sung as we do [ours], that is, the bass [singer] intones re or ut or some other...

‘When I learned descant [1] from my master Bold he, seeing me so inclined and willing to learn, always had me in his company, and because...

I become nauseated when I recall some singers I have heard, whether solo or accompanied by others, improvising on a choirbook, not caring...