Andreas Ornithoparcus his Micrologus, or Introduction: containing the art of singing Digested into foure bookes. Not onely profitable, but also necessary for all that are studious of musicke. Also the dimension and perfect vse of the monochord, according to Guido Aretinus. By Iohn Douland lutenist, lute-player, and Bachelor of Musicke in both the Vniuersities. 1609.

THE FIRST CHAPTER.

Of the Definition, Diuision, Profit, and Inuentors of Musicke.

BEing to deliuer the Art of singing, than which in the world there is nothing sweeter, lest out of a small errour a great may arise, let vs begin with the defi∣nition, by which the nature of all things is knowne: that is with the easiest things first, that so the Art may be more fitly deliuered. And then, hauing vnfolded the nature thereof in generall, wee will proceede to the perticulars, first making the generall diuision, and afterward handling each part seuerally.

The generall Description of Musicke.

MVsicke (as Franchinus Gafforus in the third Chapter of the first booke of Theorie writeth) is a knowledge of Tuning, which consists in sound and Song. In sound (I say) because of the musicke which the motion of the coelestiall Orbes doth make. In Song, least that melody which our selues pra∣ctise, should be secluded out of our definition.

The Diuision of Musicke.

BOétius (to whom among the Latine writers of Musicke, the praise is to be giuen) doth shew in the second Chapter of his first booke of Mu∣sicke, that Musicke is three-fold. The Worlds Musicke: Humane Musicke: and Instrumentall Musicke.

Of the Musicke of the World.

VVHen God (whom Plutarch prooues to haue made all things to a certaine harmonie) had deuised to make this world moueable, it

was necessary, that he should gouerne it by some actiue and moouing power; for no bodies but those which haue a soule, can moue themselues, as Fran∣chinus in the first Chapter of his first booke of Theoric saith. Now that mo∣tion (because it is the swiftest of all other, and most regular) is not without sound: for it must needs be that a sound be made of the very wheeling of the Orbes, as Macrobius in Somnium Scip. lib. 2. writeth. The like sayd Boêtius, how can this quick-mouing frame of the world whirle about with a dumb and silent motion? From this turning of the heauen, there cannot be remo∣ued a certaine order of Harmonie. And nature will (saith that prince of Romane eloquence Cicero, in his sixt booke de Reipub.) that extremities must needs sound deepe on the one side, & sharp on the other. So then, the worlds Musicke is an Harmonie, caused by the motion of the starres, and violence of the Spheares. Lodouicus Coelius Rodiginus; lectionum antiquarum lib. 5. cap. 25. writeth, That this Harmony hath been obserued out of the consent of the heauens, the knitting together of the elements, and the varietie of times. Wherefore well sayd Dorilaus the Philosopher, That the World is Gods Organe. Now the cause wee cannot heare this sound according to Pliny is, because the greatnesse of the sound doth exceede the sence of our eares. But whether wee admit this Harmonicall sound of the Heauens, or no, it skils not much; sith certaine it is, that the grand Work-maister of this Mundane Fabricke, made all things in number, weight, and measure, where∣in principally, Mundane Musicke doth consist.

Of Humane Musicke.

HVmane Musick, is the Concordance of diuers elements in one compound, by which the spirituall nature is ioyned with the body, and the reason∣able part is coupled in concord with the vnreasonable, which proceedes from the vniting of the body and the soule. For that amitie, by which the body is ioyned vnto the soule, is not tyed with bodily bands, but vertuall, caused by the proportion of humors. For what (saith Coelius) makes the pow∣ers of the soule so sundry and disagreeing to conspire oftentimes each with other? who reconciles the Elements of the body? what other power doth so∣der and glue that spirituall strength, which is indued with an intellect to a mortall and earthly frame, than that Musicke which euery man that des∣cends into himselfe finds in himselfe? For euery like is preserued by his like, and by his dislike is disturbed. Hence is it, that we loath and abhorre dis∣cords, and are delighted when we heare harmonicall concords, because we know there is in our selues the like concord.

Of Instrumentall Musicke.

INstrumentall Musicke, is an Harmony which is made by helpe of Instru∣ments. And because Instruments are either artificiall, or naturall, there is

one sort of Musicke, which is made with artificiall Instruments; another, which is made with naturall instruments. The Philosophers call the one Harmonicall; the other Organicall.

Of Organicall Musicke.

ORganicall Musicke (as Coelius writeth) is that which belongeth to artifici∣all Instruments: or it is a skill of making an Harmony with beating, with fingring, with blowing: with beating, as Drums, Tabors, and the like: with blowing, as Organs, Trumpets, Fluits, Cornets: with fingring, as those Instruments which are commanded, either with the touching of the fingers, or articulating of the Keyes. Yet such Instruments as are too voluptuous, are by Coelius Rodiginus rejected.

Of Harmonicall Musicke.

HArmonicall Musicke, is a faculty weighing the differences of high and low sounds by sence and reason, Boetius: Or, it is a cunning, bringing forth the sounds with Humane voyce, by the helpe of naturall Instruments, and iudging all the Sounds which are so brought forth. This as Placenti∣nus writeth in the third Chapter of the second booke of his Musicke: is two∣fold, Inspectiue and Actiue.

Of Inspectiue Musicke.

INspectiue Musicke, is a knowledge censuring and pondering the Sounds formed with naturall instruments, not by the eares, whose iudgement is dull, but by wit and reason.

Of Actiue Musicke.

ACtiue Musicke, which also they call Practick, is (as Saint Austine in the first booke of his Musicke writeth) the knowledge of singing well: or according to Guido in the beginning of his Doctrinall, it is a liberall Sci∣ence, dispensing the principles of singing truely. Franchinus (in the third Chapter of his first Booke of his Theorick) doth so define it: It is a know∣ledge of perfect singing, consisting of sounds, words, and numbers; which is in like sort two-fold, Mensurall, and Plaine.

Of Mensurall Musicke.

MEnsurall Musicke, is the diuers quantitie of Notes, and the inequalitie of figures. Because they are augmented or diminished according

as the moode, time, and prolation doth require: of this wee will speake at large in the second Booke.

Of Plaine Musicke.

PLaine Musicke, (as Saint Bernard an excellent searcher into regular and true Concinence) doth write in the beginning of his Musicke, saying: It is a rule determining the nature and forme of regular Songs. Their nature consists in the disposition, their forme in the progression and composition. Or plaine Musicke is a simple and vniforme prolation of Notes, which can neither be augmented nor diminished.

Of the Profitablenesse of this Art.

THe Profit of this Art is so great, (as writeth Pope Iohn the 22. of that name, in the second Chapter of his Musick) that whosoeuer giues him∣selfe to it, shall iudge of the qualitie of any Song, whether it be triuiall, or curious, or false: He knowes both how to correct that which is faulty, and how to compose a new one. It is therefore (saith he) no small praise, no lit∣tle profit, no such labour as to be esteemed of slightly, which makes the Artist both a Iudge of those Songs which be composed, and a Corrector of those which be false, and an Inuentor of new.

Of the difference betwixt a Musitian, and a Singer.

OF them that professe the Art of Harmony, there be three kindes; (saith Franchinus in the first Book the 4. chap. of his Theoric) one is that which dealeth with Instruments; the other maketh Verses; the third doth iudge the workes both of the instruments, and of the verses. Now the first, which dealeth with Instruments, doth herein spend all his worke; as Harpers, and Organists, & all others which approue their skil by Instruments. For they are remoued from the intellectuall part of Musicke, being but as seruants, and vsing no reason: voide of all speculation, and following their sence one∣ly. Now though they seeme to doe many things learnedly and skilfully, yet is it plaine that they haue not knowledge, because they comprehend not the thing they professe, in the purenesse of their vnderstanding; and therefore doe we deny them to haue Musicke, which is the Science of ma∣king melodie. Fot there is knowledge without practise, and most an end greater, than in them that are excellent Practitioners. For we attribute the nimblenesse of fingring not to Science, which is only residing in the soule, but to practise, for if it were otherwise, euery man the more skilfull he were in the Art, the more swift he would be in his fingring. Yet doe we not de∣ny the knowledge of Musicke to all that play on Instruments; for the Or∣ganist, and he that sings to the Harpe, may haue the knowledge of Musick,

which if it be, we account such the best Artists.

The second kind is of Poets, who are led to the making of a verse, rather by a naturall instinct, than by speculation. These Boêtius secludes from the speculation of Musicke, but Austin doth not.

The third kind of Musitians, be they which doe assume vnto them the cunning to iudge and discerne good Ayres from bad: which kind, (sith it is wholy placed in speculation and reason) it doth properly belong to the Art of Musicke.

Who is truely to be called a Musitian.

THerefore he is truely to be called a Musitian, who hath the faculty of speculation and reason, not he that hath only a practick fashion of sing∣ing: for so saith Boêtius lib. 1. cap. 35. He is called a Musitian, which taketh vpon him the knowledge of Singing by weighing it with reason, not with the seruile exercise of practise, but the commanding power of speculation, and wanteth neither speculation nor practise. Wherefore that practise is fit for a learned man: Plutarch in his Musicke sets downe (being forced vn∣to it by Homers authoritie) and proues it thus: Speculation breedeth onely knowledge, but practise bringeth the same to worke.

Who be called Singers.

THe Practitioner of this facultie is called a Cantor, who doth pronounce and sing those things, which the Musitian by a rule of reason doth set downe. So that the Harmony is nothing worth, if the Cantor seeke to vtter it without the Rules of reason, and vnlesse he comprehend that which he pronounceth in the puritie of his vnderstanding. Therefore well saith Ioan. Papa 22. cap. 2. To whom shall I compare a Cantor better than to a Drunkard (which indeed goeth home,) but by which path he cannot tell. A Musitian to a Cantor, is as a Praetor to a Cryer: which is proued by this sen∣tence of Guido:

Musicorum, ac Cantorum, magna est distantia, Isti sciunt, illi dicunt, quae componit Musica, Nam qui facit, quod non sapit, diffinitur bestia Verum si tonantis vocis laudent acumina, Superabit Philomela, vel vocalis Asina.

Twixt Musitians, and Practitians, oddes is great: They doe know, these but show, what Art doth treat. Who doeth ought, yet knoweth nought, is brute by kind: If voices shrill, voide of skill, may honour finde? Then Philomel, must beare the bell, And Balaams Asse, Musitian was.

Therefore a Speculatiue Musitian, excels the Practick: for it is much bet∣ter to know what a man doth, than to doe that which another man doth. Hence is it, that buildings and triumphs are attributed to them, who had the command and rule; not to them by whose worke and labour they were performed. Therefore there is great difference in calling one a Musitian, or a Cantor. For Quintilian saith, That Musitians were so honoured a∣mongst men famous for wisedome, that the same men were accounted Musitians and Prophets, and wise men. But Guido compareth those Cantors, (which haue made curtesie a farre off to Musicke) to brute Beasts.

Of the Inuentors of Musicke.

THe best writers witnesse, That Musicke is most ancient: For Orpheus and Linus (both borne of Gods) were famous in it. The inuention of it is attributed to diuers men, both because the great antiquitie of it, makes the Author incertaine; and also because the dignitie of the thing is such, and maketh so many great men in loue with it, that euery one (if it were possible) would be accounted the Authors of it. Wherefore some thinke Linus the Thebane; some, that Orpheus the Thracian; some, that Amphion the Dircean; some, that Pythagoras the Samian found out this Art. Euse∣bius attributes it to Dionysius, Diodorus, to Mercury, Polybius, to the Elders of Arcadia, with whom there was such estimation of Musicke, that it was the greatest disgrace that could be in that place to confesse the ignorance of Musicke. Neither did they this, saith Coelius lib. 5. antiquarum lection. for wantonnesse or delicatenesse, but that they might mollifie and temper their dayly labours, and besides their austeritie and seuere fashions; which befell them by a certaine sad temperature of the clyme with this sweetnesse and gentlenesse. Yet if we giue any credit to Iosephus, and the holy Writ, Tubal the Sonne of Lamech was the chiefe and most ancient Inuentor of it, and left it written in two tables, one of Slate; another of Marble before the flood for the posteritie. The Marble one (some say) is yet in Syria. But least some errour arise out of the multitude of these Inuentors, it is cleere that Tubal before the flood, that Moses among the Hebrewes, that Orpheus, Amphion, and such like among the Gentiles, that Pythagoras among the Graecians, that Boêtius among the Latines, was first famous for Musicke.