Enharmonica |
enharmonic, enharmonic genus, enharmon, enharmonic, enharmonic genus
Greek enarmonion (genos), enarmonion, from enarmonios – en (g) harmonic, lit. – consonant, consonant, harmonious
The name of one of the genera (types of interval structures) of ancient Greek music, characterized by the use of a pair of tiny intervals, in total equal to a semitone. Main (Aristoxenian) view of E.:
(Architas, Eratosthenes, Didymus, Ptolemy have other values.)
For enharmonic melody. genus is characteristically melismatic. singing the reference tone with microtones adjacent to it (similar to ancient lame, see Chromatism), a refined, pampered expression is typical. character (“ethos”). Specific E.’s interval is a quarter tone (Greek diesis – enharmonic diysa). Enarmonich. pyknon (pyknon, lit. – crowded, often) – a section of a tetrachord where two intervals are placed, the sum of which is less than the value of the third. preserved; sample E. see Art. Melody (1st Stasimus from Euripides’ Orestes, 3rd-2nd centuries BC). In the era of the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, E. in music. practice was not used (however, the case of mentioning E. in the Montpellier code, 11th century is known; see Gmelch J., 1911), but according to tradition, it appeared in many musical-theoretical. treatises. In N. Vicentino (16th century), there are samples of monophony with E. (see an example in column 218) and 4-voices (transferred in the notation of the 20th century; means an increase of 1/4 tone):
N. Vicentino. Madrigal «Ma donna il roso dolce» from books «L’antica musica» (Roma, 1555).
M. Mersenne (17th century), combining the tones of all three ancient genera, received a complete 24-step quarter-tone scale (see Quarter-tone system):
M. Mersenne. From the book. “Harmonie universelle” (Paris, 1976, (vol. 2), book 3, p. 171).
References: Vicentino N., L’antica musica ridotta alla moderna prattica, Roma, 1555, facsimile. reprinted, Kassel, 1959; Mersenne M., Harmonie universelle…, v. 1-2, P., 1636-1637, facsimile. reprint, v. 1-3, P., 1976; Paul O., Boetius und die griechische Harmonik…, Lpz., 1872, facsimile. reprint, Hildesheim, 1973; Gmelch J., Die Vierteltonstufen im MeÀtonale von Montpellier, Freiburg (Schweiz), 1911.
Yu. H. Kholopov
