Historical Views of Sethus Calvisius in “Exercitatio musica seconda”

Zhanna Savitskaya

Issue № 2 (786) │ 2024

Research article

Historical Views of Sethus Calvisius in “Exercitatio musica seconda”

This article is written in Russian. You can read it here.

References

Kal’viziy, Z. “Melopeya.” Ed. by S. N. Lebedev, introd. article, trans. and comments by S. N. Lebedev and A. M. Saltykova. Nauchnyy vestnik Moskovskoy konservatorii [Journal of Moscow Conservatory], vol. 13, no. 1, 2022, pp. 8–93, doi:10.26176/mosconsv.2022.48.1.01. (In Russ.).
Savitskaya, Zh. V. “Kal’viziy Zet.” In Bol’shaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya: nauchno-obrazovatel’nyy portal [Great Russian Encyclopedia: Scientific and Educational Portal], https://bigenc.ru/c/kal-vizii-zet-843680?v=7406548 (accessed May 5, 2023). (In Russ.).
Tatishchev, V. N. Istoriya rossiyskaya [Russian History], book 1, part 1, Moscow, 1768. (In Russ.).
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Calvisius, S. Compendium musicae pro incipientibus conscriptum, [ed. secunda], Leipzig : Bartholomaeus Voigt, 1602.
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DOI 10.34690/390

Author Zhanna V. Savitskaya

Affiliation Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, Moscow, Russia

Email savejane@yandex.ru

ORCID

0009-0000-7845-1299

Abstract

The work of the German chronologist, music theorist, teacher and composer Sethus Calvisius “Exercitatio musica seconda” (1600) is a unique document that provides an excursion into the history of music from biblical antiquity to the 16th century. The author of it attempts to connect ancient Greek history and mythology with Biblical history, and also combines the history of music with the universal one, ordering events and evidence about them (including answering the “problematic questions” about the “discoverers of music”), as well as evaluates information critically, following the desire to establish the truth through available evidence and its analysis. The urge for a comprehensive coverage of musical history leads Calvisius to the interpenetration of different areas of musical science. “How music developed” is reflected in the section on tetrachords, and the “current flowering” of music is presented in the light of the discussion of polyphonic notation. The article examines the main historical provisions in “Exercitatio musica seconda,” supported by quotes from the original Latin edition with translation into Russian.

Keywords musical historiography, S. Calvisius, chronology of music history, “Exercitatio musica seconda”

For citation

Savitskaya, Zh. V. “Historical views of Sethus Calvisius in ‘Exercitatio musica seconda’.” Muzykal’naya akademiya [Music Academy], no. 2, 2024, pp. 60–73, doi:10.34690/390. (In Russ.)

Acknowledgments

For assistance in preparing the translation and comments, I express my gratitude to the Candidate of Art Criticism, Associate Professor Sergey N. Lebedev (Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory)

Published 08.10.2023

Approved 28.12.2023

Submitted 28.06.2024

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