Worth The Price of The Musurgia Universalis - Athanasius Kircher On The Secret of The

Worth the price of the "Musurgia universalis": Athanasius Kircher on the secret of the
"metabolic style"
Author(s): Jeffrey Levenberg
Source: Recercare , 2016, Vol. 28, No. 1/2 (2016), pp. 43-88
Published by: Fondazione Italiana per la Musica Antica (FIMA)
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26381940
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Jeffrey Levenberg
Worth the price of the Musurgia universalis: Athanasius Kircher

on the secret of the "metabolic style"
Towards the culmination of the first volume of the Musurgia universalis,

Athanasius Kircher pledged to make the hefty price of his treatise worth
while by divulging a secret style then practiced by the master musicians.
Typical of Kircher, the musicians' secret would be spread cloaked in an eru
dite Graeco-Latin garb:1
Verum hoc arcanum solis peritioribus magistris notum est quem nos non incongruè
stylum metabolicum appellamus. Verum operae pretium faciam, si hic aliquot hui
us metabolici styli paradigmata inseram, ut quid intendam, lector facilius intelligere
possit.
[Truly, this secret, which we name not incongruously the metabolic style, was known
only to the most skilled masters. Truly, I will make the price of the work if I insert
several examples of this metabolic style, so that the reader might more easily under
stand what I will try to prove].
Kircher was not being hyperbolic. Under obligation to his patrons, peers,
and readers, he would earn his keep (so he imposed upon himself) only
if he could elucidate and exemplify this most obscure matter of how cer
tain modern musicians had re-instated the "metabolisms" of ancient Greek
I am pleased to acknowledge the support for this research from a Mellon Fellowship at the
Vatican Film Library at St. Louis University. The work described in this paper was also partially
supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region, China (CUHK 24608916). All reproductions in the examples are with permission from the
Biblioteca Nacional de Espana.
l. Athanasius kircher, Musurgia universalis sive ars magna consoni et dissoni in 10. libros di
gesta, qua universa sonorum doctrina & philosophia, musicaeque tarn theoricae, quam practicae sci
entia, summa varietate traditur, 2 voll., Roma, Eredi di Francesco Corbelletti, 1650, 1, bk. VII, ch.
8, p. 672. Unless otherwise specified, all subsequent Kircher citations refer to vol. 1 of the Musurgia
universalis.
Recercare xxvin/1-2 2016

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44 Jeffrey Levenberg
music.2 Ostensibly wo
er's extraordinary-sou
metabolico, featured
modal terminologies
mixed, and so forth c
Représentative of the
sical examples for the
oretical discourse, exc
Heraclitus (Ex. 1), Dom
Della Valle's Esther (Ex
al discourse) F Ionian t
the opposition betwe
The second example e
("lagrime"), such as F
the first example in ter
as indicated above the
their ancient Ptolemai
("sdegni") that ought n
latter. Whether for K
seem to be rather str
ie, considering Kirche
What precisely, then,
such a discourse on th
2. In fact, Kircher had alread

in ecclesiastico cantu" and th
"making the price of the wo
subséquent book Magia conso
Recercare xxvm/1-2 2016

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Athanasius Kircher on the secret of the "metabolic style" 45
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Ex. i: Kircher's first example of the metabolic style, take

Democritus et Heraclitus

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Paradigrna II. Styl
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Ex. 2: Kircheibs second example of the metabolic style, Domenico Mazzocchi's Lagrime
amare

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Paradigma III.
Phrygio
Giialtri tuo'imperi fpefio auuic chc fdegni No c piu da foffrire (I temcrario ardi rc
Taflatura Mezana. Taftatura Alta.
Ex. 3: Kircher's third example of the metabolic style, taken from Pietro della V
This chapter has already been scrutinized in varying detail fo

poses by a select few of Kircher's readers. John Hawkins was
incorporate the metabolic style into general music history, bri
it as part of the continued attempts to revive ancient music po
Alfred Einstein, in the first current-day study on the metabo
preted it as "the change of mode as well as the change of key
modem usage", adding that in Kircher's discussion of Carissim
we encounter "perhaps for the first time in history, the équation
key with the gay mood and of the minor key with the gloomy".4
ly, Eric Chafe cited the metabolic style as evidence for his his
ical approaches to Monteverdi's "tonal language", based prima
within the durus-mollis system.5 The most focused and syste
of the metabolic style to date were carried out firstly by Pa
and, following his lead, Martin Kirnbauer. Not only has Barb
defined the metabolic style, retracing it to the paradigm-sett
théories of Giambattista Doni, he has also unearthed several ke
pertaining to its origins and performance.6 Kirnbauer subseq
olated beyond where Kircher left off and performed a corpus s
in the metabolic style in mid-seventeenth Century Rome.7 Bot
Kirnbauer agree in their basic définitions of the metabolic sty
3. John HAWKiNS, A general history of the science andpractice of music, 5 vols.

and Son, 1776, m, p. 98.
4. Alfred Einstein, "Democritus and Heraclitus: a duet in major and minor
Warburg Institute, 1/2,1937, pp. 177-180:177.
5. Eric CHAFE, Monteverdi's tonai language, New York, Schirmer, 1992, p. 376.
6. patrizio barbieri, "Pietro della Valle: the 'Esthèr' oratorio (1639) and other
the 'stylus metabolicus'", Recercare, xix, 2007, pp. 73-124.
7. Martin Kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik: Spielarten chromatischer und enharm
Rom in der ersten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts, Basel, Schwabe, 2013.

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interms of common us
and expression: 1. the m
3. the mode's species (d
tive altération of mode
tal gamut inevitably h
or enharmonie instrum
conceived and realized.8
Gli eruditi classificavano

iche,' cioè modulanti attrav
uso nell'antica Grecia. Molte
di strumenti, da tasto e ad
richiesto non solo dalla pra
sità di modulare da un tonos all'altro.
Still other scholars have mentioned the metabolic style in passing for its
colorfulness in metaphor,10 while most have implicitly dismissed it as eso
teric (perhaps understandably so) and inconsequential for understanding
musical practices of the time." The many scholars who have examined the
universalness of Kircher's musical knowledge have not probed deeply into
the metabolic style, presumably on account of its highly technical musical
theoretical components.12
I propose here a new revised reading of the metabolic style. While I agree
with Barbieri and Kirnbauer's interprétation of the mutation of mode,
transposition of final, and change of species, I disagree that all of the mu
sic in the metabolic style was intended for and performed exclusively with
chromatic and enharmonie instruments. While comparing and contrasting
Barbieri and Kirnbauer's readings of Kircher's and Doni's treatises to my
own, I underline overlooked passages that indicate some of the metabolic
music was performed with non-extended instruments (just twelve pitch
es per octave). I argue that the "practical" music in the metabolic style by
Mazzocchi, Carissimi, and others was originally conceived as employing out
of tune mean-tone tempered sonorities as expressive text-setting devices,
8. Kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik, p. 149.

9. patrizio barbieri, review of Kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik, Recercare, xxv, 2013, p. 162.
10. Lorenzo bianconi, Music in the seventeenth Century, Cambridge - New York, Cambridge
University Press, 1987, p. 58.
11. The literature on modal analysis in the renaissance is too vast to single out select examples; in
this article I have cited those that have discussed the metabolic style in some detail.
12. See, among others, Melanie wald, Welterkenntnis aus Musik: Athanasius Kirchers "Musur
gia universalis" und die Universalwissenschaft im 17. Jahrhundert, Kassel, Bärenreiter, 2006.

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while the "theoretical" music in the metabolic style by Pietro D

Pietro Heredia, and other scholar-musicians who followed Doni'
precisely were, as Barbieri and Kirnbauer have shown, indeed
monie instruments. The out of tune sonorities, whose affective
will be seen, left Kircher at a loss of words, are one key to unl
secret of the metabolic style. In presenting this case, I do not de
metabolic music of Mazzocchi, Gesualdo, Michelangelo Rossi,
was indeed performed in tune and with effect on Donian instrum
Barberini academy in Rome;131 acknowledge the historical recor
Barbieri and Kirnbauer indicate this with certainty. What I cali o
to, however, is that the same historical records also indicate tha
was performed with out of tune mean-tone tempered sonorities
context. Within the Barberini academy, it was a routine meetin
em practice and antiquarian theory: While the theorists wrote
the practitioners' irrational tempéraments, favoring their own
agenda instead, the practitioners lacked the capacity to explicate
music in correct terms. But what Kircher and Doni did write of
is sufficiently telling.
In what follows, I provide a close reading of Kircher's discour
metabolic style, often proceeding sentence-by-sentence, if not
word, inasmuch as previous readings have been selective. Tbe stu
in two sections. The first section reconsiders Kircher's writing o
icism. It reveals that practical musicians were using out of tune
sonorities written in acoustically incorrect notations. I cite str
cordances from the writings of Doni and the Gesualdo circle to
Kircher was not off base. The second section reconsiders Kirch
on mutation of modes. Seeking out the origins of his lexicon, I e
the applications of ancient Greek metabolisms to modern music
conceived first by Zarlino in the 1580's; both Doni and Kircher di
ly acknowledge their indebtedness to him. Critiquing Kircher's e
the metabolic style anew, I evince how he conflated two incom
repertoires, one practical and one theoretical. As tuning and te
figured prominently in the studies of Barbieri and Kirnbauer, I
their work more so than that of Chafe, who, following Dahlha
large separated this acoustical aspect from his analytical metho
13- For the historical context of these musical theoretical inquiries and performan
erick hammond, Music and spectacle in Baroque Rome: Barberini patronage under U
Häven, Yale University Press, 1994.
Recercare xxviii/1-2 2016

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modal mutations and t

of the theorists to invi
in the metabolic style,
Doni's enharmonie tuni
reader to set aside (at l
is the musical and mus
that ideal in practice.
la. Kircher on enharmonicism
In book seven of the Musurgia universalis,16 devoted to ancient and mod

ern music and divided into theoretical ("erotematica") and practical com
ponents, Kircher engages, among other topics, the "great controversy"
among "modern authors" concerning the applications of the three species
of tetrachords: "Magna inter authores modernos controversia est, de tripli
cis generis compositionibus".17 Chapter seven's section on enharmonicism,
in particular, as Kirnbauer has observed, is to be taken in tandem with the
subséquent chapter on the metabolic style. But, whereas Kirnbauer présent
ed his reading of these chapters in the reverse of Kircher's ordering, that
is, metabolicism and then enharmonicism, I maintain that the section on
enharmonicism is a prerequisite and must be studied first.18 This is not an
ordinary discourse on the enharmonie species ("De enarmonico genere"),
as it was marked by Kircher himself with the phrase "ab authore intento" —
short for the lengthier "in sensu ab authore intento".19 This qualifier has been
overlooked and, so far as I have found, this is the only time in the Musur
gia universalis in which Kircher indicates that what follows is intended ex
pressly according to his own unique sense. The reader familiar with Doni's
and others' influences on Kircher must here temporarily remove them from
14- See Carl Dahlhaus, Studies on the origin of harmonie tonality, trans. Robert Gjerdingen,
Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1990.
15. A historically informed performance of this repertoire is La tavola cromatica: un'accademia
musicale dal cardinale Francesco Barberini, The Earle his Viols, with Evelyn Tubb, soprano; Marie
Nishiyama, harp, Raumklang, RK 2302, 2004.
16. At this point, the reader may like to have a copy of the Musurgia universalis (readily available
in digitalization) at hand. Although I présent quotations with translation here, the reader may wish to
follow along and compare my parsing of the text to the originai.
17. kircher, Musurgia, p. 635.
18. Kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik, pp. 200-210.

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Athanasius Kircher on the secret of the metabolic style 51
their minds. Let us do precisely that and ascertain

say about enharmonicism.
This section may be subdivided into theory and p
the more remarkable (and for which "ab authore
The opening portion on theory begins by rehears
among the ancients on the enharmonie species (save
ty in song), its eventual abandonment, and the high le
singing it.20 The subséquent two-page long démons
portions of enharmonie species is commonplace. W
vis-à-vis Kircher's section on enharmonie practice
enharmonie diesis, which is the proportion by wh
maior thirds fall short of the octave.21 Tt is. for all nractical intents and nur
poses, identical to the garden variety quarter-comma mean-tone tempéra

ment diesis. For example, the discrepancy between DU and El» is identical in
the just and mean-tone tempered sequence of major thirds El» G, G B, and
B DU, the two accidentai pitches transposed to the same octave, the sharp
being flatter than the fiat.22 Kircher exhibits three enharmonie tetrachords
using the A to represent the diesis: "B, BA, C, E", "E, EA, F, A", and "B, BA,
C, E" an octave higher.23 He then lists the wide variety of intervais that may
arise from these three tetrachords, ranging from the enharmonie diesis itself
(B BA) to an octave raised by that diesis (Ex. 4a).24 From this variety, Kircher
isolâtes those enharmonie intervais that do not also pertain to the diatonic
and chromatic species (Ex. 4b).25 These theoretical preliminaries, although
unremarkable, must be looked over, for Kircher's account of enharmonicism
20. kircher, Musurgia, p. 658. I paraphrase "Multi veterum de genere enarmonico var
ia tradiderunt, & in nonnullis quidem conueniunt, in quibusdam discrepant. Conveniunt omnes,
quod ad cantandum sit difficile, adeo ut fere derelictum sit; & quod non nisi a peritioribus in arte
cantantaretur".
21. kircher, Musurgia, p. 658. "Omnes conveniunt, quod in tetrachordo enarmonico procede
batur per diesin & ditonum, diesin plerique exhibent sub proportione 125:128".
22. While I otherwise abstain from the mathematics of tuning and tempérament in this paper
in favor of a practical perspective, I presume a working fluency with the various tunings and tem
péraments of the time (Pythagorean, just, mean-tone and its extensions, equal tempérament). While
the literature on this subject is vast, perhaps the foundational reference is still J. Murray barbour,
Tuning and tempérament: A historical survey, 2nd ed., East Lansing (mi), Michigan State College
Press, 1953.
24. kircher, Musurgia, p. 659. "Sed iam videamus, quantum intervallorum varietatem exhi
beant tetrachorda sic disposita".
25. kircher, Musurgia, pp. 659-660. "Ex hisce patet omnia intervalla consonantiasque tum dia
tonici chromatici generis in enarmonico genere contineri; prçterea propria intervalla quae nihil cum
praedictis duobus generibus commune habent possidere, qae hic separatim apponenda duximus".
Recercare xxvni/1-2 2016

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in practice features
cannot obtain; ancien
Scd iam vidcamus, quantam

diipolita.
l Habebirurigiturprimb.dicfis enar- I 15 Quinta in chotdisenaamoni
monica vt i ft a. EE a. j cis E a 6 A.
i Diedschromuica non tamen acci- j 16 Quintafuperflua 1) F.
dentaliscum 6aC. EaC. I 1? Quintafuperflua minusa. if aF.
Scmltonlum minus b C. EF. ) is Scxta minor ditono contra;ic rc
Tonuscum A. A I; a. I fpondens EC. AF.
SemiditOnus AC. I 19 Scxta minor diminuta A. EaC.
Ditonus CE. FA. ! 20 Scxta maiot femiditono contrarifc
Ditonus auftus A. C E a. j correfpondens C A.
Quarta pcrfetFa line diatefTa [ 21 Scptimaminor corrclpondcns tono
ton b E. E A. maiori il A.
Quarta diminuta a. 4 a E. E a A.
Quarta autFa a. (i F A. 23 Septima maiot C b.
Quarta in chordis cnarmonicis fal 24 Dupla 6ft.CC-(
fa h a E a, 2$ in Chord's enarmonicis &AliA
Quinta perfefta Eb. 2S Otiauadiminuta a. 6aG
Quinta diminuta a. EaIi. | 27 Qdauaauita.i. 6 b a.*
Quintaaufta a, E b a. |
Ex. 4a: Kircher's list of intervais that may be formed by enharmonie tetrachords
Dicfts Enarmonica a 6 6 .1, | s Quinta fupcrflua minus a 6.1F,

TonuscuniA, A6 A. I 9 Scxtaminorciiminuua 1. a C
Tertiamaiorati&a A CEa. j 10 Septima minor plus a c 3
Quarts acuta aucta A 6Ea. 11 Septima maiorplus a (iaA.
Quartadiminuta a 6 a E. ■, 12 0:taua in chordisenacmon. b\b.
Quinta aucta a Eft a. j 13 Otiauadim nuta a fia/i.
Quinta diminuta A Ea&. | 1+ Oifciua autli a b 6 a.
Ex. 4b: Kircher's list of enharmonie intervais not formed by diatonic and chrom
tetrachords
In contradistinction to the intervais listed in (Ex. 4b), Kircher remarks,

"Quod vero dictae consonantiae enarmonicae sint, experientia nos docet
in instrumentis; in quibus subindè huiusmodi intervalla usurpare cogi
mur" ("Those that may be truly called enharmonie consonances, experience
teaches us according to instruments on which we are presently compelled to
use intervais of this kind"). Kircher thus abandons the rational restrictions
26. kircher, Musurgia, p. 660. "Atque haec sunt intervalla, quae in triplici tetrachordo enar
monico erui [sic] possunt, patetque hoc genus multo reliquis duobus laxiores habenas obtinere; cum
omnia reliquorum, & alia prœterea hic recensita propria contineat". Kircher here continues with a
metaphorical reference to "loose" "reins" or "lashes" [laxiores habenas] in the relationship between
these enharmonie intervais and the two other species. This metaphor, tangential to the présent study,
ought to be contextualized.

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of tetrachordal combinations and turns to musical instruments t

another variety of enharmonie intervais. He then names one exam
many: "v.g. nos usurpamus DU loco diesis chromaticae in Eh & ta
hac distat diesi enarmonica" ("For example, we use DU in a chro
tone position [from D] on Eh yet that [DU] is at a distance of an
diesis from this [Et]".27 Kirnbauer and I agree on the reading of
sentence. He translates it as follows:28
Was genau die genannten 'consonantiae enarmonicae' sind, lehrt un

fahrung mit Instrumenten, an denen wir schnell lernen, derartige Interva
wenden. Z.B. gebrauchen wir Dil anstelle von Et, obschon sie um eine 'dies
monica' voneinander entfernt stehen".
That is to say, the D El? diatonic semitone has substituted for the
matic semitone, where, on mean-tone tempered instruments, t
between Dit and El> is one enharmonie diesis. For Kircher's next
cites a minor third lowered by one enharmonie diesis. This is t
enharmonie interval not found in Ex. 4b: "Habemus praeterea sem
diminutum A, quo in instrumentis utimur F Gli loco F Ak' ("M
have a minor third diminished by a A, which [occurs] on instrum
we use F G# in place of F Ak').29 Again, the Gli is one diesis lower t
Kircher then temporarily deviates from his listing of practical
ie intervais and reports that Galeazzo Sabbatini demonstrated t
enharmonie keyboard, which was exhibited in the preceding bo
Musurgia universalis.30 There, Kircher détails Sabbatini's Vicen
27. kircher, Musurgia, p. 660. Whereas Kircher uses (as was common at the tim
"diesis" in a two-fold manner, one for the enharmonie diesis and another for the sem
translate "diesis chromaticœ" as "chromatic semitone" to avoid confusion. Such potent
terminological confusion will arise again shortly.
28. Kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik, p. 205. His translation stops here and does not c
next sentence.

30. kircher, Musurgia, p. 660. "Quae omnia pulchre demonstravit doctissimus Galeazz
bathinus in mira illa tastatura, quam vide in libro sexto praecedenti inter reliquas recensitam". B
Kircher/Sabbatini, the use of such intervais as F Gtt also appears in the Discorsi, 0 lezioni accade
of Antonio Maria Abbatini, who is elsewhere cited throughout (and suspected to have collabo
with Kircher in writing) the Musurgia. Unfortunately, Abbatini's Discorsi, being of a pedant
démie nature, do not include practical musical examples or citations; his madrigals are lost. The
corsi are edited in Galliano ciliberti, Antonio Maria Abbatini e la musica del suo tempo (1595-16
Documenti per una ricostruzione bio-bibliografica, Perugia, Tip. Gestisa, 1986. Such intervais m
also be found in the manuscript writings on tuning by Pier Francesco Valentini (many of whic
too fragile to be handled at présent). However, they are not mentioned in lucas kunz, Die Tonar
lehre des Romischen theoretikers und Komponisten Pier Francesco Valentini, Kassel, Barenreiter,

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
board with whole-tones divided into five enharmonie dieses. One can im
agine Sabbatini demonstrating the F G# substitution for F At», versus the F
At> in and of itself, among other enharmonie intervais. Perhaps Kircher's
discourse on enharmonicism is not as independent as he would lead us to
believe.
Resuming his list of examples of enharmonie diesis substitutions, he cites

those found on string (non-keyboard) instruments:31
Experimur id in cythara, testudine & in similibus instrumentas loco aliorum hosce

enarmonicos consonantiarum gradus, licet ut plurimum A auctos diminutos que
usurpari, ut Et pro Dit. G# pro Ak F pro EH. C pro bS [sic]. B? pro AS"
[We experience it [the enharmonie diesis] and these grades of enharmonie conso
nances on the cithara, lyre, and on similar instruments, granting in most cases the
increase and decrease of a A to be used, as in Et> for DS, GS for Ak F for ES, C for BS,
Bb for AS]
zu mis pomi, naving dui nsreu excnanges or snarps anu nais separaieu uy
one enharmonie diesis, Kircher passes his aesthetic judgment on this p
cal enharmonicism. He does not censure these out of tune sonorities as one
might expect, but, tellingly, he does begin by acknowledging their limita

tions, before ultimately accepting them: "& tametsi tales consonantiae ad
modum sint languidae, flebiles & molles, si tarnen eleganter & cum industria
iudicioque disponantur, non tantum non sunt incongruae harmonico ne
gotio, sed & nescio quid abditum habent ad affectus incitandos ("Although
such consonances may be very languid, weak, and soft, they may neverthe
less be disposed elegantly with diligence and judgment, such that they are
not incongruent to harmonico negotio, but — and I know not why — they
have the secret to stir the affections)".32 Even cognizant of its cause, Kircher
is at a loss to rationalize this practical enharmonie music's powers.

32. kircher, Musurgia, p. 660. Kircher's neologism "harmonico negotio" is here left untrans
lated, as such does not detract from the understanding of the musical practice under considération.
With this term Kircher is drawing upon his discussion of the affections in the theoretical section of
this book on ancient and modern music, where "harmonico negotio" is introduced. The chapter is:
"Erotema VII. Physiologum. Quomodo numerus harmonicus affectus moveat", pp. 551-552 of the Mu
surgia. Claude Palisca made inroads with this highly metaphysical chapter; tellingly, his translation
trails off with an ellipsis as he arrives at this term. See Claude palisca, Music and ideas in the six
teenth and seventeenth centuries, Urbana-Champaigne - Chicago, University of Illinois Press, 2006,
p. 195. fn. 45

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Although Kirnbauer and I began in agreement in the reading o

tion, we here diverge. He translates the above passage as follows:33
Man erkennt in besaiteten Bundinstrumenten unterschiedliche Positionen für sol

che enharmonischen Tonstufen, sei es auch, daß mal mehre oder weniger A [enhar
monische Tonstufen] verwendet Warden, wie Et und DK, G# und At, F und Eft, C und
HÜ, B und Alt. Und obgleich solche "consonantiae" gerade matt, rührend und weich
lich sind, so können sie doch geschmackvoll und mit Sinn und Verstand verwendet
werden. Sie sind nicht so sehr inkongruent mit den harmonischen Verhältnissen,
aber ich weiß nicht, was sie an sich haben, das die Affekte anstachelt".
Having first understood that Kircher indicated the use of Et in place of D#,
Kirnbauer here understands Kircher as reporting that both Et and D# (et
al.) are distinctly in use in this enharmonie practice. I believe Kirnbauer was
misled by Kircher's reference to Sabbatini's enharmonie keyboard (as well
as the non-keyboard string instruments, which he presumed to be in the
manner of the enharmonie ones invented by Doni). Kircher's writing in
deed says otherwise; the translation of the préposition "pro" ("for") as "und"
("and") is erroneous. In each of the pairs of pitches given, the first Substi
tutes for the second. All of the indicated substitutions are consistent with
those that would have to be performed with the common-practice mean
tone tempered gamut of two flats (B and E) and three sharps (F, C, and
G). In other words, the substitution of Et» for DU is the enharmonie music,
because the two pitches differ by one diesis. Enharmonicism is of course
also the use of Et> and DU as two distinctly tuned pitches—but that is not the
enharmonicism Kircher is describing here ab authore intento.
For want of a rational explanation of the affective powers of these enhar
monie intervais, Kircher simply continues enumerating enharmonie appli
cations in practice:34
Hinc in cantibus subindè utimur diesi enarmonica, nam saepè in cadentijs deprim
imus vocem post dissonantiam ad # auctam A ut E Et. pro E Dit. & F# B [sic], pro Fx
[sic] AS; Patet & hoc in infra ponendis clausulis, ubi eadem diesis tam in acuto quàm
gravi ponitur; & tarnen G# ab At per diesin enarmonicam distat. huius generis est
tertia clausula.
[Hence, we presently use the enharmonie diesis in songs, for offen on cadences we
suppress the voice after the dissonance from increasing the I to A, as E Et for E Dit and
F# Bt for F[tt] Alt. It is clear this is to be placed below the cadences, where the same
33- Kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik, p. 206.


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diesis is placed in the acut

monie diesis, of which sp
Kircher's allusion to
and FU major triads
sharp leading-tones is
The precise meaning b
for G# is less plausib
these cadences for su
deny the possibility
wards his musical exa
Ut proinde multa sint, qu

colligitur, e polyphoniam
authores. Immo pulchre
tiones enarmonicas ex seq
[Thus, there are many [ca
[songs], From this, it is o
impossible as these author
be revealed that enharmon
with deep beauty and inge
lb. A concordance to Kircher on enharmonicism
There are, in fact, several concordances in other seventeenth-century sourc

es that reinforce the enharmonie practice reported by Kircher.37 He was una
ware of them. Here I présent just one, strategie to the metabolic style, which
Barbieri discovered: Fabio Colonna's La sambuca lincea, annotated by Sci
pione Stella (1618-1622). This unique source contains a polemical debate be
tween a musician previously in Carlo Gesualdo's employment, Stella, and a
Neapolitan scientist, Colonna, over the reconstruction of a neo-Vicentinian
keyboard.38 As the music of Gesualdo will be found lurking within Doni's
and Kircher's citations of metabolic music, this is a fitting complément to
35- kircher, Musurgia, p. 660.

37. I rehearse them in my dissertation, "Giovanni d'Avella's Regole di musica: a defense of Ge~
sualdo's chromaticism", Princeton University, 2014. In fact, I there présent Kircher's Musurgia uni
versalis as one concordance to d'Avella's treatise, which reports that Carlo Gesualdo was using the
same out of tune text-setting devices.
38. Fabio colonna, La sambuca lincea overo dell'istromento musico perfetto. Con annotazioni
critiche manoscritte di Scipione Stella (1618-1622), ed. Patrizio Barbieri, Lucca, lim, 1991, p. lii.

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the Musurgia universalis.39 The concordance occurs at the outset

of La sambuca lincea. Barbieri has expertly edited, translated, an
Stella's annotations, which I excerpt below. Here Colonna assert
are fretted in equal-temperament (following Vincenzo Galilei, a
ers). He claims, in particular, that the Iute has the major third
pitches FU and BN, which are not found on the standard keybo
however, rejects this claim and retorts that lutenists use B'b and
the given major thirds, which are "inexact" (note he does not t
"enharmonie"). As Barbieri glosses in the brackets, this indicat
lutenists around Stella fretted their instruments in a (non-exte
tone tempérament.40
Colonna's La sambuca lincea Stella's manuscript annotations
"The Iute does not have the major third of Ffaut

It is true that on the Lute there are major thirds
above semitoned Ffaut made by the semitones with the semitone: instead of the true alamire
of Alamire, that are not found on the harpsi with semitone, lute-players make use of i>fa,
chord or harp; the lute also has major thirds which is inexact. The same can be said for the
above Bfabemi naturai, made by the semitones major third of bmi which should be desolre
of Dsolre which are not on the harpsichord with the semitone; instead they use elami with
either [...]" l fiat.
[a rectification that corresponds to a Iute tuned
in mean-tone tempérament]".
le. Mazzocchi's enharmonicism
Kircher next enquires into the historical origins of this practical enharmon
icism.41 In an elaborate panegyric, he names Domenico Mazzocchi as its
inventor:42
Subolfecit & hanc ingeniosam componendi rationem, ex practicis musicis, primus

ni fallor, excellentissimus symphoneta Dominicus Mazzocchius operis nobilissimi
39- kircher, Musurgia, p. 675. On Kircher's sélection of Gesualdo to lend credence to his own
"amateurish" musicality, see kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik, p. 156 and p. 211.
40. colonna, La sambuca lincea, p. 3. Translation by Patrizio Barbieri.
41. In fact, as aptly as Kircher's désignation "enharmonie" fits this music, he would have found
that many of the précédents were called "chromatic". For example, Lasso's renowned Prophetiae Sib
yllarum has a B major triad on the "chro" of "Carmina chromatico" (which is followed by c-sharp
minor on "ma" and E major on "tico"). If one understands it to be part of this practice, Kircher would
have had to include it in this chapter as a "Carmina enarmonico". Among numerous studies of Lasso's
chromaticism, the first proposais for mean-tone tempérament were notably put forward by Martin
rhunke, "Lassos Chromatik und die Orgel-stimmung", in Convivium musicorum: Festschrift Wolf
gang Boetticher, ed. Heinrich Hüschen, Berlin, Merseburger, 1974, pp. 291-308.

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Romae impressi madrigaliu

quem diatonico-chromatico
[Unless I am mistaken, this
most excellent symphonet
printed in Rome by this m
lamented in the designated
Kircher reprints the la

bly, it is a vocal work
polyphonie enharmonie
Analyzing the beginnin
see that Mazzocchi begi
Fit major triad in the f
lingers on this sonority
Euryalus' mother looks
second verse of the poe
of herseif in the sleep
a B suspension résolves
inversion diminished t
enharmonie diesis, Bt>
ing a B major triad (B
bewails "How could yo
linguere" [...]) The four
minor triads, as she as
te sub" [...]). As she the
left to the Latin dogs
triads: B, C#, and F# m
"knirschende klänge"
Kirnbauer doubted his
match the gamut of an
Kircher lends credence
is a bit too strong a ch
guid", "weak", and "sof
43- kircher, Musurgia, p. 66

musicis ad imitandum proposi
cedentibus fuse [sic] dictum es
44. See Ross duffin, "Just int
12/3, 2006.
45. Kirnbauer, Vieltönige M
Zeitsprünge: Forschungen zur F
Kecercare xxviii/1-2 2010

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Curiously, Kircher only labels the CS major tr

the staff. Why did he not also label the previou
enharmonie? This question is paramount; I suspec
obscured the opening "enharmonicism" from Kir
looked at the passage, saw the Ex, and concluded
harmonie". Moreover, why is Mazzocchi's C# ma
instead of ES? Kircher stated explicitly that F is use
an ES? An E with an x is conventionally underst
diesis above E, whereas ES, being a chromatic se
triad should be notated with an ES. If the ES is
would have a major third raised by one diesis. If
the triad would feature a major third lowered by
is possible, in terms of text-setting, but which
askew between Kircher's discourse and Mazzocchi
Kircher and Mazzocchi included further explana
Mazzocchi wrote two équivalent Statements on
diesis, the most substantial one as a "notice" at
hook of Dialoghi e sonetti (to which the given l
er one the preface to the 1638 partitura for his
for the Dialoghi e sonetti, Mazzocchi's définitio
x is clear, although not what a theorist would ex
chromatic (or minor, in mean-tone tempéramen
is the major third above GS. BS was already use
tone higher; to form this major third, one need
for which Mazzocchi rejects BS and BSS. Instead
source of confusion for theorists, who, like Kircher
minor semitone and enharmonie diesis), he selec
in turn, be repeated for the given major third
rized this process of dividing the whole-tone in
in Ex. 6, which Kircher inserted immediately af
Although Mazzocchi did not write explicitly tha
tone is mean-tone tempered, this may be inferr
the first two bars, in which Bl> fa is a minor semit
major semitone from C. The major semitone (se
46. Domenico mazzocchi, Dialoghi e sonetti posti in music

(facs. Bologna, Forni, 1969), pp. 179-182.
47. Domenico mazzocchi, Partitura de' madrigali a cinque vo
Francesco Zanetti, 1638 (facs., ed. by Luca Mancini, Lucca, lim, 2

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6o Jeffrey Levenberg
H Vncego tc Eu ryale a fpi

lilt ci
_ 1J ! S 4_ J H ' 4 JX +
?j|e J lEE?EE5jE~lr-~ ':f.=p|- EE
r ""i? s
pliiiiiiilipiliil
of tunc ilia scneclj seramca: re quics? po tu i fti lin.
% 6 \X 7Za ZS
gj-jjjAS
£
js_j_~s J:
—7
76
ilfSliiiBllliiiiii
-3f
qucrc fo^- lam crude lis rise tc Tub tanta pe.

S*
fl-S—F— + PI r::::
'Mr$. —
Eli: in
:S EE "ZZZ
Enafmoaicnm
CV yA
tsferae
riculamiftu af fari cxtremu, mi datadata
copia,
copia,matt
matti ? Hcu, terra i
76 S4 S 4 4
S ,76
76
t-z:z2
WWM
iillllililiiiiiS:
' gnota canibusdataprcdalatinis, alt tibusqueia ccs nec tctu a
^ *^j- 6 — . A *76
Ex. 5: Kircher's first example of enharmonie music, Mazzocchi's Planctus ma
(abridged)

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a "chromatic diesis", on account of the B#. The minor semit

is doubly termed an "enharmonie diesis", on account of the
diesis with a value of one between Bx and C is named a "minimal semi
tone" or "minor enharmonie diesis" (the latter is not included in Kircher's
diagram).48 Nowhere in his writings did Mazzocchi state that the minimal
semitone appears in the substitution of sharps and flats. Had he done so in
the manner of Kircher, he would have written here that C is used for Bx.
If Kircher was working from Mazzocchi's prints, from where did he derive
his divergent explanation of this enharmonie music?49 Is Mazzocchi's expla
nation of his own music really déficient? One plausible explanation is that
Kircher listened to Mazzocchi's music in performance and then, stirred by
the listening experience, theorized what he heard before Consulting Maz
zocchi's prints for inclusion his treatise. He then would have found a dif
férence between his listening experience and Mazzocchi's notice. If so, it is
rather astonishing that Kircher—a polymath with musical learnedness, but
not necessarily a practical understanding of reserved madrigal techniques—
heard this practice and explained its notation relatively clearly in theoretical
discourse. To résolve this discrepancy between Kircher's and Mazzocchi's
enharmonicisms and figure out how Kircher learned this practice, we need
but read on in the Musurgia.
Kircher begs to differ with Mazzocchi's division of the whole-tone. To be
sure, Kircher had correctly understood Mazzocchi's notice, but found it in
need of some revisions:50
Nota in hoc dialogo characterum x esse diesin enarmonicam; qua semitonium

minus crescit uno commate, quamuis author huius eam passim si valorem spectes
confundat cum hoc # signo chromatico, quod Signum in chorda b. auget semitonium
48. See richard englehart, "Domenico Mazzocchi's Dialoghi e sonetti and Madrigali a cinque
voci (1638): a modem édition with biographical commentary and new archivai documents", Ph.D.
diss., Kent State University, 1987, p. 311. For an excellent diagram and discussion of Mazzocchi's tun
ing, see, also, kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik, pp. 23-25.
49. There are several omissions from Mazzocchi's printed notation as reprinted in Kircher's
treatise. These, however, do not undermine Kircher's discussion. The most notable omission is that
the messa di voce signs (V's), which indicate a graduai increase of both volume and pitch, are missing
in bar five (the V's should not be mistaken with A's). Mazzocchi included these in his définition of
practical enharmonies. In that same bar, the E should be an Ex.
50. kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik, p. 207, passes over Kircher's critique of Mazzocchi's division
of the whole-tone. Barbieri and I agree on the interprétation of this passage. See patrizio barbieri,
"Cembali enarmonici e organi negli scritti di Kircher. Con documenti inediti su Galeazzo Sabbatini",
in Enciclopedismo in Roma barocca. Athanasius Kircher e il Museo del Collegio Romano tra Wunder
kammer e museo scientifico, ed. Maristella Casciato - Maria Grazia Ianniello - Maria Vitale, Venezia,
Marsilio, 1986, p. 128, fn. 32.

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uno commate, mutando f

in libro 5. expositum est
adiungit # signo chroma
crucem representare; ade
seguens paradigma refert
bfa h mi dicfis chroim
$
av: ■ft—:x
v^;J
Scmitunanin: Scmiton.-maitis Semtton:msnus Scmjminimum.
Ex. 6: Kircher's reprinting of Mazzocchi's enharmonie division of the whole-tone
Kircher first asks his readers to "Note that in this dialogue the character x
is an enharmonie diesis". In the next clause, he contrasts Mazzocchi's and
his définitions of the diesis. Kircher's terminology, here, is unfortunately in
consistent; he equates (as was common at the time) the term "comma" and
"diesis". The clause reads as follows: "The character x is an enharmonie die
sis, in which direction a comma (i.e. a diesis) increases a minor semitone".
The increase of a minor semitone is part of Mazzocchi's définition (i.e. BU
was increased a minor semitone from Bl> en route to forming a major third
with G#, notated as Bx). However, the value of a comma for the enharmonie
diesis is Kircher's définition. For Mazzocchi, the enharmonie diesis equaled
the minor semitone in value. Kircher next points out that Mazzocchi was
mistaken: "Although, if you look at the value, the author of this [dialogue]
confuses it [i.e.: the enharmonie diesis] everywhere with this chromatic sign
According to Kircher, Mazzocchi should have used the # sign to indicate
the rise of one enharmonie diesis, not only on the major third of the given
C# major triad, but elsewhere. Why? Reading on, Kircher's clarification is
unfortunately a bit convoluted: "[This chromatic sign #] on a b pitch increas
es the [minor] semitone one comma [i.e.: one enharmonie diesis], changing
fa into mi, in which manner #, t>, and t) might truly be distinguished, as was
already exhibited in Book Five". That is to say, in répétition of Kircher's
previous explanations, placing a minor semitone Dit above D raises the Dtt
one enharmonie diesis when El? is used in its stead. For the C# major triad
in Planctus matris Euryali, Mazzocchi should have indicated EU mi, which
would be sounded by F fa, and thereby raised a diesis. However, "In order
51. kircher, Musurgia, pp. 663-664.

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that the minor semitone might truly be increased into a major se

author [i.e.: Mazzocchi] appends the enharmonie sign x to the
sign tt". Kircher concludes that this "#x" (which Mazzocchi short
"x") is, "otherwise, usually represented by a triple cross [a 3 by
sharp sign]". At this point, we have worked through a dense an
paragraph. While Kircher reprinted Mazzocchi's diagram of the
the Bi> C whole-tone, "so that the steps might be divided accor
mind of the author [Mazzocchi]", he unfortunately did not prov
sion of this whole-tone, side by side. I have done this in Ex. 7 for cl
Diatonic and Enharmonic Division Remarks

Chromatic Di of the Whole-Tone
vision OF THE
Whole-Tone
Bb 2 Bit 3 C Bb 2 Bit 2 Bx i C 2 ctt Bx is the dia. semitone to Ctt.

o
N
N Bb 2 Bit id iBx 1 c 2 Ctt d is a maj. third below Eb.
s [Bb iC-x j Bit iCT] C-x is a maj. third below E-x.
Bb 2 BN 3 C Bb 2BN iBa ! BH iC 2 Ctt Bit is the dia. semitone to Ctt.

<u
Bb 2 Bt| 1 BA 2 Bit 2 Ctt Bit raised an enh. diesis to C; C is

u
2 the chr. semitone to Ctt.
Bb 2 Bb 1 d Bit 1C 2 at (Alternatively, d = Bx)
Ex. 7: A comparison of Mazzocchi's and Kircher's enharmonie divisions of the whole-ton
As seen in the first column of Ex. 7, Mazzocchi and Kircher agree on t

vision of the whole-tone into large diatonic and small chromatic semit
For both, Bt> and B-natural are small semitones followed by large semi
B-natural C. However, Mazzocchi prefers Bit to be notated in place of BN. F
thermore, the fifth divisions of the mean-tone tempered whole-tone r
understood by the theorist Kircher, must be supplied for the practit
Mazzocchi. The small semitones have the value of two-fifths of a whole
and the large semitones, three-fifths of a whole-tone. In the second col
the whole-tone is subdivided into enharmonicism. For Mazzocchi, the
harmonie diesis x between the large semitone Bit (i.e.: BN ) C must be place
small semitone above Bit. Thus, there are two consecutive small semiton
BU and B# Bx. Subtracting the sum of these two semitones from the w
tone Bl> C's total of five, we get a value of one between Bx and C. Adding t
small semitone CU on top of C, we confirm that Bx is indeed a large
tone from Cil (as remarked in the third column); it is thus a properly t

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
leading-tone above Gtt

of the whole-tone has lef
line below, one may fil
minus a small semitone
however, did not consi
notation such as "C-x",
aligned below Mazzocc
whole-tone differs. For
tone above Bk not two.
BA), as remarked in th
and the proper leading-
"experience" with musi
must therefore shift Bit
of C; this is done in th
diesis too sharp to form
marked, sharpens such
according to Kircher—
shows that, alternativel
er. Having worked thro
major semitone, the re
tone to find that Mazz
Kircher, be an E# and s
Kircher sums up his
the short paragraph fo
whole-tone: "Atque in h
cedenti discursu patuit
zocchi] differs from m
Kircher retreats from
cal practice and tolerat
Si practicam id tolerari utc

cae non imperitum, specula
produxerit.
52. Having here evinced Kircher's theoretical adeptness with mean-tonal practice, I must also
point out that he evidently misunderstood Vicentino's divisions of the whole-tone. Whereas Vicenti
no's whole-tone was theoretically divided into fifths, his practice only made use of five of the six pitch
es at a time, alternating, for example, G# and Al>. This was evidently a source of confusion for Kircher,
who misread Vicentino's whole-tones as being divided into fourths; see kircher, Musurgia, p. 638.
n fo vvrnn /

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[If the practice is tolerated in any way, then it can be whatever it may be
[Mazzocchi] has shown himself not ignorant of theory, and thus to have
ulation to practice, so as not to produce an unpleasant effect].
but ir Mazzocchi cieariy knew enougn tneory to correctly rorm tue major
third justly over G#, albeit with an unconventional enharmonie discourse,
one wonders why he could not similarly state the actuality that Bx was
sounded by C. Likewise, why could he not state that G# is used for Al- and
then formulate, in the manner of Kircher, a succinct affective doctrine for
such substitutions? Furthermore, if he wanted to form a justly intoned major
third over Gît used as At, he even had the theoretical tools and discourse at
his disposai. He would simply have had to subtract his "minimal sentitone"
or "minor enharmonie diesis" front C. Yet he did not provide a symbol for
this interval. Clearly, Mazzocchi's enharmonie theory was not completely
worked out (as one would expect from a practitioner) and Kircher, having
recognized this problem, was working out the correct theoretical discourse
for the practice.
ld. Doni on Mazzocchi's enharmonicism
At this point, we may set the Musurgia universalis to the side and ascertain
whether or not there are précédents for this discourse on enharmonicism
in the writings of Doni. It is well-known that Kircher was indebted to Doni,
even if he did not always cite his sources.54 One expects Kircher's report of
practitioners using out of tune accidentais on mean-tone tempered instru
ments to conflict violently with Doni's théories. Doni, after all, conceived an
enharmonie instrument to obviate precisely that problem in tuning. As seen
in Ex. 8a, which is taken from Barbieri's excellent synopsis of Doni's "triha
rmonic" harpsichord,55 Doni adopted a syntonic just tuning. The first round
on the circle of fifths ranged on the sharp side to CU and on the fiat side to Al
(not G# and El-, as on the common keyboard). The pitches in brackets and
beyond are enharmonie. Starting from Dl> and G#, these pitches were clas
sified by Doni as "metabolic", as they could mutate smoothly from mode to
mode on the triharmonic harpsichord. Doni devised an elaborate notation
and coloring scheme on his keyboard to indicate the various functions of
54- Kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik, pp. 200-201.

55. patrizio barbieri, Enharmonie instruments and music, 1470-1900, Latina, Il Levante, 2008,
p. 227, table E.2.I.

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pitches (diatonic, chr

But all this was at od
dentais beyond the ra
abolic" (Ex. 8b).
B2 a2
Ftt2 [Gtt2] [Dtt2]...
D A E" B'
Bt° F° c° G° D°
At" Et"
Ex. 8a: Patrizio Barbieri's diagram of the diatonic, chromatic, and (in brackets) enharmonie
metabolic pitches on Doni's triharmonic enharmonie keyboard. The superscripts refer to
syntonic commas
B5'4 Ftt'6'4 a-"4 Gtt'2 [DIM

D2'4 A'"4 E' B5/4
Bk«'4 P+l/4 c° G"4 D"4
[Gk-] [At-] Ek43'4
Ex. 8b: The same, rearranged to common mean-tone tempérament, to match Kircher's prac
tical enharmonie scheme. Pitches beyond G# and Et are not tuned (n.a.) and substituted for
by their closest enharmonie équivalent
D
T1
-1
c§' ££1-%
o'
Ex. 9: Doni's "triharmonic" enharmonie keyboard (originally in color)

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However, Doni did discuss the very same practice as Kirch

ed the very same work by Mazzocchi as exemplary of it. Doni
of it is in his Annotazioni sopra il compendio de' generi della
published in Rome ten years before Kircher's Musurgia univer
small coincidence, Doni addressed the pertinent portion of the
the first treatise, "On the true tonoi and modes", to the meta
Valle.57 As always, Doni's érudition permeates this lengthy tr
written, seems far removed from common-practice. It is no s
Doni's terse discussion of this practice has been overlooked, as
out entirely in the abstract (without notated musical example
terminologies. He merely acknowledged the practice; he did n
it, as it was at odds with the theoretical foundations of ancie
Kircher showed). Having entered and exited Doni's philological
here extract the concordance to Kircher, not permitting the er
to delay the practical ends of this study.
In his treatise for Della Valle, Doni did not detail the enharm
tutions of flats for sharps and vice versa as literally as Kircher
by note). Only towards the end did Doni mention comparab
but he did not term them enharmonie or présent them with
false notations. As seen in Ex. io, Doni listed a few "altri inter
e stravaganti" ("other unusual and extravagant intervais") that
mutations of mode. These intervais are "molto duri, e difficili d
appena possono haver luogo in alcuna compositione; benché vi
una pausa in mezzo" ("very harsh and difficult to utter; they h
place in any composition, unless there is a rest placed in betw
of them could be re-interpreted as enharmonie in Kircher's sen
later known as the "wolf', could be notated as Et» At>, the secon
Dt-, the third A Gt>, and the fourth F Al», ali enharmonically
manner of the Musurgia universalis.
n
-7 —r-(- —
-w— AM I—
Ex. io: Some "altri intervalli insoliti e stravaganti" according to Doni
56. Giambattista doni, Annotazioni sopra il compendio de' generi, e de' modi della musica,
Roma, Andrea Fei, 1640.
57. doni, Annotazioni, pp. 76-177: "Trattato primo de' tuoni o modi veri. Al signor Pietro della
Valle".
58. doni, Annotazioni, pp. 172.

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Unlike Kircher, who ex

Doni considered the sub
the larger framework o
octave divisions and mo
we nowadays would per
included under the broad term "modulationithere are three kinds.59 Doni
defines each of the three modulationi first in their ideal states, before men
tioning a distortion of them in modern practice:60
cioè la naturale, che si serve delle corde d'alcun tuono fondamentale, & poco o
niente adopra le corde peregrine, o segni accidentali: & questa si riferisce alla specie
hesychastica o quieta; l'alterata co' segni d'abbassamento o b. molli, molti o pochi che
siano; la quale si rapporta alla specie systaltica & malinconica, & la variata col segno
d'alzamento detto diesi, che si referisce alla specie diastaltica & allegra.
First is the "natural, in which one uses the pitches of any fundamental
mode and rarely or never adopts wandering pitches or accidentai signs".
As Doni does not speli these out either in pitch letters or musical notation,
let us take the simplest hypothetical example as a point of reference. A nat
ural modulatione uses the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, G and the Dorian mode
(Doni's Phrygian mode) is built naturally upon D. Second is "its [i.e.: the
natural's] altération with signs of réduction, or soft-b's, whether there are
many or few of them". These accidentais pertain to the "systaltica" or "mel
ancholy" species. On our D Dorian reference, this simply might transpose it
to Dt, among other possibilities on the flat-side. Third is "its [i.e.: the natu
ral's] variation with the raising sign called the diesis [it], which one refers to
the diastaltica and cheerful species". With our D Dorian reference, we might
simply transpose it to Dtt, among other possibilities on the sharp-side.
So far, so simple. But, Doni's three kinds of molulationi then take a twist
towards Kircher's practical enharmonicism:61
59- doni, Annotazioni, p. 173. "Aggiungo in riguardo della pratica un ricordo utile per quelli che
vorranno comporre con diversità di tuoni [...] le tre sorti di modulationi. alle quali si riducono tutte
l'altre". I have omitted via the ellipsis Doni's reference to using three modes (Dorian, Phrygian, and
Lydian) and three types of cadences (on the syllables ut, re, and mi).
60. doni, Annotazioni, pp. 173-4.
61. Doni's désignations for these three kinds of modulationi also resonate with Monteverdi's
discourse; see barbara russano hanning, "Monteverdi's three genera: A study in terminology", in
Musical humanism and its legacy: Essays in honor of Claude V. Pulisca, ed. Nancy Kovaleff Baker -
Barbara Russano Hanning, Stuyvesant (ny), Pendragon, 1992, pp. 160-161.

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Or, benché nella vera & légitima connessione de' tuoni, non sempre i più
naturale, o fondamentale, si servino de' b. molli, & i più acuti de' diesi; ma
riesca al contrario, tuttavia (per accomodarmi alla poca intelligenza de' mer
dico che, senza tante avvertenze & regole, si possono comporre bellissime
osissime cantilene, praticando solo le tre differenze dette; & osservando c
parte della compositione che è sparsa di diesi, si comprenda fra corde più
la naturale; & per il contrario quella che adopra i b. molli, sia più grave di t
corde, benché le distanze fra loro & le cadenze di ciascuna siano irregolari &
Paradoxical though it may sound, that is to say that sharps oft

mode and flats often raise it: "Now, although in the true and leg
nection of the modes, the lower [modulationi] than the naturai
mental [modulatione] are served by flats and the higher ones by
often proves [to be] to the contrary". Having taken this turn, Do
reluctantly from his philological pursuit of "truth" and "accom
himself "to the little understanding of the pure practitioners"
many instructions and rules", Doni admits, "they [the pure pra
may compose very beautiful and affective songs, practicing only
said différent [modulationi], and observing that that part of t
tion that is scattered with sharps contains among the pitches [
are higher than the naturai and, vice versa, that which adopts fl
pitches lower than the tone or pitch". Moreover, "the cadences
irregulär and un certain". Let us pause here, and return to our D
erence, plugging Doni's abstract discussion into it. D Dorian low
Dorian in the pure practitioners' common non-extended mea
pérament is Ctt Et Et F# GS Bt Bt CS. Dit Dorian is Et F FS GS
We readily see sharps (and naturals) lower than flats and flats (a
higher than sharps. Surely, among other possibilities, a cadence o
degree of DS Dorian would be, for Doni, "irregulär and uncerta
the estimation of both Doni and the pure practitioners, "very b
affective" songs might be composed with such modes. His affe
tion matches that of Kircher, although Kircher did not have as
vations about the falsification of theoretical principles.
Lastly, Doni cites Mazzocchi's II lamento della madre d'Euryalo
higher than normal and Mazzocchi's Lagrime amare for flats low
mal, "benché senza pensarvi, & fa buonissimo effetto" ("although
62. doni, Annotazioni, p. 174.

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not think so, it makes

as models for imitatio
a final warning to com
not go lower than the
sharps.641 later résum
when we incorporate
le. Sabbatini's enharm
Setting Doni's Annota

Kircher next offers a
tervais, before offerin
as they were intended
ancient theory's gov
nere styli, oportet ut
triplici tetrachordo d
for whoever is about
necessary that he sho
harmonie tetrachords
rule:66
Secundo ut clausulas enarmonicas non per totum compositionis contextum con

tinue^ sed chromaticas enarmonicis, has diatonicis artificiosè & secundum appositos
gradus commisceat. Secus enim purum enarmonicum fieret, quod fastidio & taedio
non carere, supra ostendimus. Ne quaquam igitur ijs absolute, sed cum magna cir
cumspectione, cautela, & iudicio uti debemus, sicuti enim in diatonico, quod plures
canunt, non est licitum, quibuscunque intervallis & processibus uti; sed cum discre
tione & regularum praescriptione; sic & in chromatico & enarmonico.
63. doni, Annotazioni, p. 174. "Per essempio quella affettuosissima modulatìone del signor Do
menico Mazzocchi, con la quale ha messo in musica il lamento della madre d'Euryalo, H une ego te
Euryale aspicio, è mescolata con le corde del tuono lidio; perché usa quasi per tutto il segno d'alza
mento o diesi 11, benché non sia stata composta con questo fine. Per il contrario quell'altra così bella
& patetica compositione, Lagrime amare, perché abbassa quasi tutte le corde col b. molle, si serve
dell'armonia iastia; benché senza pensarvi; & fà buonissimo effetto". I take up Doni's désignations of
mode in these works in conjunction with Kircher's metabolic analyses in section 2c.
64. doni, Annotazioni, pp. 174-175. "Or se alcuna compositione si servirà di queste tre varietà,
cioè in qualche luogo procederà con le sole corde naturali del tuono, in altre con quelle del sopradetto
lamento, modulando allora più acuto, & altrove sarà variata, con la modulatione del sonetto, Lagrime
amare, cantata in tuono più grave, riuscirà senza dubbio benissimo, purché sia composta con giuditio,
ma non già così bene, se quella parte che si serve de' diesi tornerà più nel grave, & quella che adopra
i b. molli più nell'acuto".

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The composer must make sure that "enharmonie clausulas do not

through the entire fabric of the composition, by artfully mixing
and diatonic [clausulas] with enharmonie [ones], according to the
degrees". Otherwise, "pure enharmonicism would be scornful and
ble". But for Kircher, this is only a general guide and "by no means ab
it ought to be read with "great circumspection, caution, and judgm
the other extreme, diatonicism alone, as "sung by the majority"
"illegitimate" and must be mixed with chromaticism and enharm
"with discrétion" and according to the "prescribed rules". To be su
are all simple guides for the aspiring enharmonicist; recognizing t
er withholds any further rules, in favor of another example:67
Regulas, ne opus nimia rerum multitudine gravaretur, omittendas duxi suffic

aliquod hoc loco lumen ostendisse, quo ad dictarum rerum notitiam vlterior
diante studio pervenire possit sagax musurgus.
[I have drawn out some rules that are to be omitted, lest the work be exce
weighed down by a multitude of things; it suffices for me to show some lig
through which the wise musician may reach, through study, the latest know
the things discussed.]
Kircher concludes with an example that intermingles the three spe
& ne nimis ardua praecepisse videamur, hic in gratiam curiosi lectoris appone
phonium iuxta triplex genus exacte compositum; ex quo veluti ex prototypo
lector cognoscere poterit modum in huiusmodi compositionibus procedendi
[And lest we may be seen to have excessively and arduously instructed, for th
the curious reader, I will add here a triphonium with the three species nearly
composed, from which that certain reader will be able to learn, as though fr
exemplar, the way in which such compositions are to be advanced.]
He wams, however, "Quod tarnen difficulter nisi a peritioribus ta

nascis cantabitur. Quicquid sit, exercitium omnia reddet facili
"proceeds difficultly, unless it will be sung by the more skillful an
of singers. Though this may be, the exercise will render everythin
The triphonium is a motet on Isaiah 55:7, Derelinquat impius v
("Let the wicked forsake his way"), which, as Kircher informs u
among many composed by Sabbatini, "pollet ingenij perspicacitat


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in intelligence and pe
ie music and his the
complete study of his
note is that one of the nine treatises/discourses in Doni's Annotazioni was
dedicated to Sabbatini, but, oddly, Doni did not there address this practical
enharmonicism.71
The motet occupies ten pages of Kircher's treatise, but the text is aban
doned after the first line, leaving readers to infer how the wicked returns to
God's favor via the three species. It has been previously analyzed by Barbieri,
who, in his study of the enharmonie keyboards in Kircher's Musurgia, read
Derelinquat impius viam suam in view of Sabbatini's Vicentinian keyboard
(Book VI of the Musurgia).72 Such a reading maintains that ali of the notated
accidentais should sound in tune as notated.73 My reading differs and argues
that the motet is "enharmonie" in Kircher's sense of the term ab authore
intento. A représentative excerpt of the motet appears in Ex. il. The excerpt
is the third system of the motet, which was highlighted by Barbieri.
H Dcrc linquat im pius viam fu v~' am
Et — vir ini quu* Dc tc linquat impius
3ll|?pf|iz:z=EE= iff:
US viam fu^ am flc^vir m.quus
. W T ^4-5 .i4i ,_U—X_,—4.
3+9 ( •
:zB~
Ex. 11: Kircher's second example of enharmonicism, Galeazzo Sabbatini'

us viam suam (excerpt)
70. kircher, Musurgia, p. 664. "Non dubito quin insignis ille Galeazzus a
eo, quo pollet ingenij perspicacitate componendas prae coeteris animum adi
71. doni, Annotazioni, pp. 234-252: "Discorso primo dell'inutile osservan
Al signor Galeazzo Sabbatini".
72. barbieri, "Cembali enarmonici e organi negli scritti di Kircher", pp.
73. barbieri, "Cembali enarmonici e organi negli scritti di Kircher", p. 1

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Looking first at the basso continuo part of the mo

expresses wickedness with remote Fjt, GS, and CS m
turn to Et, At, and Dt major triads, followed then by
vocal parts' staves, there are some readily observa
raise doubts about a chromatic or enharmonie keyb
tet. First, the fourth bar of the cantus part has an
Ft in the previous bar) notated above the tenore's
uo's CS major triad. This Fk an enharmonie dies
example of Kircher's définition of practical enharm
notated, it is more literal in acoustical exactitude t
for the FN could have been notated as ES, according t
triad. Another such literal notation occurs on the E
the next bar. Of course, the progression from CS
is extremely disjunctive. However, notice that Sab
triads in the tenore, by means of a common-tone
monie diesis lower than the D\> that should be not
Et- major triad. Again, this is Kircher's définition
music in sound. The CS could be notated Dk
The other dues that this is a practical enharm
sense are the diesis indications (A) inserted under t
icai distinctions between the motet and the enhar
tradistinction to the above enharmonicisms, the n
correct where these A's appear. We first encount
tenore on the notated A#. The A marking raises th
sis and, in accordance with Kircher's discourse, is
over FU. We repeat this process in the next bar of t
the B# with a A below is raised one enharmonie diesi
the enlarged major third above Gl To complete the
DU with a A below; this is Ek As the G# major triad
triad, we encounter here an example of what Kir
"enharmonie clausula". Note that the altus' E# is
cantus' Fl> (i.e. F natural) is not.
Although the sharp triads in the motet are clear
monie A's, the fiat triads are conspicuously lackin
three bars of Ex. 11. In fact, this applies for all sh
motet, as reprinted in the Musurgia universalis. Is
For, according to enharmonie practice, the Aks in
in the altus (bar six) should have a diesis indication

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Where are they? To ré

motet, where Kircher
Minima quaedam enarmo

typi signis propriis notat
quae lectorem notare veli
[Some small intervais of
on account of the lack of
there in their place, which
Kircher is here referr

tated dieses on Dit thr
through Fl» is uncertain
The reader of the Mu
notated re-printing of
ées enharmonie keybo
does not have pitches de
and so forth. Barring
are aeoustieally accur
one enharmonie diesis
Bh, Bl»A (=AÜÜ), B. O
impius viam suam on
indicated. For another
harmonie diesis moves d
Gü, GA, G. Here, the
diesis. In the analysis
annotations wanting a
sound as GÜ. On the s
be just that, but it is in
of Sabbatini's keyboar
flattened by an enha
monie diesis). As a fin
above E, Ex, is misprin
monie diesis). The disc
and Sabbatini, continu
74- kircher, Musurgia, p. 67

ge Musik, p. 208.
75. kircher, Musurgia, pp. 4
ers interested in the precise t
atic article.

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Ex. 12: Kircher's illustration of Sabbatini's enharmonie keyboard (excerpt)
In short, Sabbatini's enharmonie motet was written and sound

form of enharmonicism, his enharmonie keyboard, another. Kir
course on enharmonicism thus draws to a close. We have deci
most technical writing on tuning and notation, as well as observ
fine-details in musical practice. Kircher has not yet incorporated
monicism into modes; this undertaking was a chapter in its own r
2a. Tonus, modus, naturalis, metabolicus
Kircher's chapter, "On the mutation of mode or tone; or the metab

was not written ab authore intento.76 What follows, therefore, i
sarily of his own thinking, even though he does not cite his sou
senses that he here voices another's ideas, as his tone towards th
76. kircher, Musurgia, p. 672: "De mutatione modi, sive toni, sive stylo metabolic

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
musicians seems less f

"Putat musicorum vul
notatas intuentur, ch
judge that ali those son
either chromatic or
is an "Error sane ins
qui consumati in musi
able error" and, "for
masters, that which i
ought not to mistake
tetrachords when, in f
bieri has discerned, K
published but three ye
worth quoting the ma
lenient towards prac
placing "barbarus" wit
(Quos diesatos et
(Whìch bemollatos
the igno
vos politioresyou being
exharmonios, more e
opinor) non and metabolic,
generis esse, seda
quicumque intra
of hos
genus, centum
but of
melodijs the
usurpare past
eoshundred
ceperu
ceteris (which
Venusinus more
Princeps tha
f
matici Venosa
generis sonituswas won
atque
quaedam locasounds and
exceperis) inter
mul
enarmonia; sed metabolicos
(except in a fewp
peregrini enharmonie,
cuiusdam atque bu
ext
compositos. composed of no
ied and dissimilar tonoi.
Thus, the metabolic style has many accidentais that are chromatic and/or
enharmonie, but the music cannot simply be designated as such.80 Kircher
next defines metabolicism in more precise terminologies, explaining how
it is a two-fold mutation of modus and tonus. In so doing, he opens for us

78. kircher, Musurgia, p. 672. "Erroris causa est, quod non intelligant, in quo proprie consistant
tria harmonica genera; ac proinde omnem mutationem unius toni in alium confundunt, vel cu m
chromatico vel enarmonico; cum chromaticum & enarmonicum stylum non dicta signa, sed interval
la paulò ante praescripta constituant". Kircher continues with a sentence on how clausulae are formed
in the chromatic and enharmonie species, which, being redundant to the section on enharmonicism,
I here pass over.
79. barbieri, "Pietro della Valle", p. 93. Translated by Patrizio Barbieri.
80. A point emphasized by barbieri, "Pietro della Valle", p. 74.

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Pandora's Box: What does Kircher mean by "modus" and "tonu

fully, at this place the Musurgia universalis, Kircher ventures to
brief:81
Hoc loco quidam discrimen ponunt inter modum & tonum mutationem toni di
cunt; quando systema toni penitus mutatur, modi mutatio dicitur, quando sit proces
sus a chorda naturalis toni ad non naturalem, ut cum processus fieri debet a tono in
tonum, is fiat in semitonium, aut diesin, uti paulo ante dictum est.
Kircher begins by positing that certain distinction they place between mo

dus and tonus", as if "they" in general had only ever made "one" such certain
distinction. His définitions of modus and tonus are a bit convoluted, inas
much as they are embedded within the définitions of their mutations. He
Starts with tonus: "They say a mutation of tonus is when the tonus system is
changed from within". The keyword here is "within" ("penitus"), signaling
that the change of the seven octave species (collectively the "tonus system"
under considération) within one characteristic octave. A tonus, taken in
dividually, therefore would mean one of the seven octave species. The next
définition of modus confirms this reading: "It is called mutation of modus
when [the modus] may be advanced from a chorda of a naturai tonus to an
unnatural tonus". The keyword is "advanced" ("processus"), implicating that
the modus mutâtes when it advances pitch ("chorda"). This seems to refer to
the change of the pitch a mode's final is on. The word "within" is not présent,
indicating that we are no longer constricted within one octave. Thus far, a
modus is consistent with the common understanding of the monophonie
modes. The "mutation" of a modus means transposition—but with a catch:
In the course of the transposition, it has to change from a "naturai" tonus to
an "unnatural" one. To take a simple example, D Dorian may be transposed
to G Dorian, but that is not a mutation understood to be metabolic, because
it did not change octave species, nevertheless change into an "unnatural"
octave species. Now the question is what are "naturai" and "unnatural" toni7.
Kircher answers that a modus mutâtes from a "naturai" tonus to an unnat
ural one when, "in which advancement, that which ought to be made into
whole-tone from a whole-tone, might be made into a semitone or diesis, as
was said a little before". This does not indicate that any particular octave
species are naturai or unnatural in and of themselves, but simply différent;
the original octave species is taken as natural, its mutation unnatural.
8i. kircher, Musurgia, p. 672.

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Kircher compacted on
one paragraph. Recogn
in the margin at the o
summarizing the mea
ier définition justice:
("The metabolic style,
mean something more
condense a thorough d
perhaps the reader oug
is in fact much to be
ing metabolicism with
unacknowledged sourc
source was not Doni.
2b. Zarlino metabolico
Although Kircher likely first learned of the metabolic style from corre
sponding with Doni, he must have read into the subject more than we have
suspected. In fact, the origins of the metabolic style in theory are earlier
than previously thought.83 In a passage of Le istitutioni harmoniche, Zarlino
first introduced the term metabolic in conjunction with the transposition o
modes. This passage has been overlooked on account of the fact it does not
appear in the first édition (1558) or the second (1573) of Le istitutioni har
moniche; it was only added to the third édition, part of Zarlino's collected
works (1588). As seen in the below excerpt of hook four, chapter seventeen,
Zarlino writes that the ancient Greeks called transposition metabolism, re
ferring readers to what he had written in his pinnacle work, Sopplimenti
musicali. The bolded words are those added in the third édition to the first
and second éditions (which were otherwise invariant between each oth
er). Zarlino then warns composers to take heed of instrumental limitations
when transposing the modes, which impinge on the freedom of the human
voice to justly intone pitches. But he acknowledges that not all musicians
follow this advice; instead they compose "capricious" music. Not wanting
to proliferate this theoretically unsound practice further, Zarlino did not

83. barbieri, "Pietro della Valle", p. 92, traces the idea of metabolicism back to Vincenzo Galilei,
although Galilei did not adopt the Greek term in his Dialogo della musica antica, et della moderna.

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exemplify it; he instead demonstrated how transpositions oug

usually are) properly made.84
Se è possibile adunque (per quello che si è mostrato) che per la mutatione d

da nell'altra; cioè, per il porre la chorda b. in luogo della b; overo per dir m
trasportatione del semituono, si possa variare un modo nell'altro [...] Et
tationi sono hora in uso appresso i musici moderni; come furono anche a
gli antichi, Ocheghen, & il suo discepolo Giosquino, & infiniti altri; come
compositioni si può vedere; & furono anco in uso appresso gli antichi gr
può vedere nel cap. 3. del lib. 7. dei nostri Sopplimenti, percioché chiamar
trasportatione pexaßoAq, la quale è di più maniere, come si potrà vedere
debbono sommamente osservare i compositori, quando le vorranno comp
cantare solamente, non sarebbe grande errore, quando segnassero alcune
alcun segno accidentale, che non si ritrovassero sopra l'istrumento; mass
sopra il gravocembalo; come sono le enharmoniche, le quali si trovano in p
menti arteficiali. Et questo ho detto; percioché la voce si può fare acuta &
si può usare in qualunque altra maniera, secondo '1 voler del cantore, che n
far cosi liberamente con tali istrumenti [...]. Ma perche alle volte i musi
per necessità, ma più presto per burla & per capriccio, o forse per volere
cervello (dirò cosi) ai cantanti, sogliono trasportare i modi verso l'acuto, o
il grave per un tuono o per altro intervallo, adoperando non solamente l
chromatiche, ma anco l'enharmoniche, per poter commodamente quando
sogno trasportare ai loro luoghi i tuoni & li semituoni, secondo la propria
modo; però mostraremo il modo & come si potranno trasportare.
[It is possible, as has been shown, to change one mode into another by p
note bt in place of b^, that is, by changing the location of the semitone
transpositions are now in use among modem musicians, as they also wer
ancient musicians, such as Okeghem and his disciple Josquin and innum
ers, as is seen in their compositions And these were also used by the anci
as one may see in chapter three of book seven of my Sopplimenti. They c
transpositions metabolic, of which there are more ways, as one will see.
posers should observe this especially when they write for an instrument,
they want to compose for voice only, it would not be a great mistake to
accidentais a few notes not found on some instruments (especially the c
such as the enharmonie notes available on a few artifkial instruments only
because the voice can reach high and low notes or can be used in any ma
singer wishes, whereas with instruments this cannot be done so freely [...]
musicians, not simply out of necessity but rather as a joke and a caprice,
because they want, so to speak, to entangle the brains of singers, transpose
further up or down by a whole tone or another interval, using not only chro
84- GIOSEFFO ZARLINO, Le istitutioiìi harmoniche, in De tutte l'opere del R.M. Gi

I, Venezia, Francesco de' Franceschi, 1588-1589, p. 410. Save for the bolded addition,
is adopted from gioseffo zarlino, On the modes; part four of Le istitutioni harmo
Claude Palisca, trans. Vered Cohen, New Häven, Yale University Press, 1983, pp. 52-5

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
8o Jeffrey Levenberg
also enharmonie notes in

ly the whole tones and se
mode. I want to show how
Following Zarlino's re
should have referred
latter). These chapters
on the metabolic style
in these chapters, wit
their contents, so tha
bolicist thought. In ch
peTdßoXtj". He quotes
tured upon and parap
da Euclide in cotal m
peTà9eaic;. cioè muta
simile" ("mutation is a
[place])".85 This mutat
3. Mode, and 4. Melop
style detailed by Doni
on poetic meter from
diatonic, chromatic,
stitution", Zarlino ref
Greater Perfect System
the system remains c
after the mutation. Th
which he devotes the en
85. GiosEFFO ZARLiNO, Sop

Zarlino quotes Cleonides, as f
1995, p. 180, as well as jon S
commentary", Ph.D. diss., Un
that Zarlino quotes Cleonides
See the countless application
Harmonie and acoustic theor
Press, 1989.
86. zarlino, Sopplimenti, p. 269. "La mutatione si fà in quattro maniere: l'una per il genere,
l'altra per la costitutione, la terza per il tuono, & la quarta per la melopeia".
87. zarlino, Sopplimenti, p. 269. "Si fà dopoi cotal mutatione nella costitutione, quando dal
tetrachordo congiunto si procede al separato, o da questo a quello. Et questo si fà in due maniere: la
prima quando si passa da una all'altra; è un'istessa costitutione: ne vi è tra loro altra differenza, che la
mutatione del luogo, che si fà dall'acuto al grave, o per il contrario [... ] & si può più tosto chiamare
trasportatione che mutatione. Ma la seconda appartiene più presto alla terza mutatione, che ad altra
specie, per il passaggio che si fà da un altro tuono o modo; della quale ne ragionaremo più abbasso al
suo luogo più in lungo".

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
transposition and, second, the mutation of octave species w

Zarlino does not advocate musicians to do these two mano
only later would that be "metabolic".88
In Zarlino's treatises we find an incipient theorization o
style. In ali probability, Doni first learned of metabolicism
far as I have found, Doni did not acknowledge this in his
Kircher learned of metabolicism from Doni and connected
Zarlino, placing Zarlino's Euclidean définition of it in the m
surgia universalis. By then, however, Zarlino's définition w
2c. Re-reading Kircher's examples in the metabolic style
Having defined the metabolic style, Kircher again pas

judgement:89
Porro mutatio utraque magnam emphasin habet, notabilesque altera

toribus efficit, potestque infinities variari, & quibuslibet affectibus
positissima est.
[Furthermore, the mutation of both together [tonus and modus] ha
for it causes remarkable altérations in the listeners, may be infinite
best appointed to express whichever affections.]
Yet Kircher accepts the limitations of his own explanation

style and, as quoted at the opening of this study, here rest
of the Musurgia universalis on examples that might best
selves.90 Returning at last to Ex. 1-3 with a refined under
monicism and metabolicism, we may expect to see the tw
mutated modes at various transpositions with fluctuation
icism, chromaticism, and enharmonicism. While these thr
not disappoint, one cannot help but sense that something i
them. The Carissimi and Mazzocchi examples would seem t
nature, the Della Valle expérimental. Why does Kircher gro
er? I am not alone in sensing a discrepancy between these
88. ZARLINO, Sopplimenti, p. 273. "Delle mutationi che si dicono farsi pe

mente di Tolomeo, com'habbiamo veduto nel cap. 1, sono due le principali diffe
che dicono farsi intorno al tuono; la prima delle quali è quella, per la quale scor
con più acuta o più grave tensione o voce [... ] Ma la seconda è quella che si fà c
luogo, quando non si muta tutto'l concento, ma solamente una certa parte".
90. kircher, Musurgia, p. 672. Kirnbauer, Vieltönige Musik, p. 203, emph
"arcanum" implicates that this was a form of musica reservata at the Barberin

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
likewise puzzled over t

on the basis that they
tems and signatures.91
instruments in the des
pertained to the prior
ie instrumental concept
these examples can be s
tical enharmonie metab
metabolic music. Altho
more clearly, I believe
that follow, I adopt co
the ancient Ptolemaic
necessary.
The first example is m
it, hypothesizing the m
The first laughs ("rider
gere") in F Aeolian (bar
practical enharmonicism
f minor (F GK C), Dt m
enharmonie diesis or tw
the second cries in Bt
text-setting is unmista
excerpt? Ex. 13 outlines
F Ionian to F Aeolian
"unnatural" with this m
monically lowered thir
Ionian to F Aeolian is e
cause Carissimi has not
mutation. Taken as a w
laughs and F Aeolian we
the criteria of metabol
which would mutate t
er, upon closer inspect
ever so slightly différen
Whereas F Aeolian has
91. chafe, Monteverdi's tonal

92. Kirnbauer, Vieltönige M
93. kircher, Musurgia, p. 67
IKtLClLUTC AÄV1I1/I-Z ZUiU

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
Aeolian has enharmonically lowered third, sixth, and seventh de

Carissimi has enharmonically mutated the Aeolian octave specie
of transposing the modal final. As such, it would seem to meet
criteria for the "metabolic" style—if not for one altération Ca
in the musical surface. He not only withheld the pitch Al in Bt>
raised it to form the dominant triad at the cadence (as he did for
degree in F Aeolian). Therefore, the metabolism in this transpo
fact nullified. Upon final inspection of this example, the only m
is metabolic is from weeping F Aeolian to laughing Bl> Ionian,
has altered octave species, transposed the final, and varied the
fluctuations in pitch.
ridere, F Ionian, diatonic

£
not metabolic-.
piangere, F Aeolian, enharmonic

i
metabolic
+ Cjt.
ridere, bIj Ionian, diatonic

£
not metabolic
piangere, B? Aeolian, enharmonic £

Ex. 13: Summary of the metabolicism in Kircher's example from Carissimi, Democritus et
Heraclitus
What was Kircher's rationale for this example? His analysis is as follows:
"ubi frequentia b mollia nihil chromaticum aut enarmonicum habent, ut
imperiti sibi persuadent" ("inexperienced readers will persuade themselves
that the frequently encountered soft-b accidentais have no chromaticism or
enharmonicism"). That is to say, the transposition from F to Bt- is not chro
matic, just transposed diatonic. We can not concur with this statement, as
we found numerous enharmonicisms among the many weeping soft-b ac
cidentais. Kircher would retract them? He continues: "sed tonum tantum
mutant", (These soft-b accidentais, instead, "mutate greatly the tonus").94

With this too we can not concur, as the "great" extent to which tonus was
mutated was on a microtonal scale. Kircher's analysis consists only of thos
two observations; he leaves his readers ambivalent about whether or not h

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
84 Tf.ffrf.y Lf.vf.nrf.rg
has really met his ow

praise upon Carissim
bolic style.95 Perhap
Tellingly, Kircher
tive terms; he writ
in qua lachrymantis
("how you see and f
dalene, pierced [by t
ysis is entirely want
it solely on account
an example of prac
ing tone occurs in b
eleven. Thereafter,
and fiffeen, Mazzoc
indeed this is metab
ing the transpositio
allowed for; in prin
Let us consuit L>om
did not incorporate
has already been int
of the Annotazioni,
sharps in modulatio
& patetica composit
col b. molle, si serv
composition" is as s
makes use of the I
classification?
To answer this question, we must ever so briefly retrace Doni's theoretical

premises. As Barbieri has elucidated, Doni worked from the Ptolemaic sys
tem of modes seen in Ex. 14.98 Within the Greater Perfect System (G.P.S.
in the first "cascade" of pitches), the Dorian tonos constituted the centrai
95- kircher, Musurgia, p. 673: "metabolici styli ratio luculentius pateret".

96. kircher, Musurgia, p. 674. For a discussion of Mazzocchi's sacred music and Kircher's con
text, see susan shimp, "The art of persuasion: Domenico Mazzocchi and the Counter-Reformation",
Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 2000.
98. barbieri, Enharmonie music and instruments, p. 222.1 have abridged Barbieri's diagram for
the présent purposes. See also Claude palisca, "Giovanni Battista Doni's interprétation of the Greek
modal system", Journal of musicology, xv/i, 1997, pp. 3-18.

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
octave on E (fifth cascade). The Dorian sequence of whole-to

semi-tones (S) could be transposed up or down for sake of variet
the central octave about (see the filled-in note-heads), this créâte
tonoi, with a variety of accidentais. Note, Doni's Dorian correspo
Phrygian, Lydian to our Ionian, and so forth. Iastian is a variant
for Ptolemy's hypo-Phrygian tonos (our Mixolydian).99 As Iasti
es the Dorian sequence of whole-tones and semi-tones down to st
it generates sharps on F and G. Bearing these in mind and retu
grime amare, we find that these are precisely the sharps used as
flats. The pitches At and Dl> are used from the very beginning
perhaps most remarkably, Gt is set on "doglioso" in the third s
ni's désignation "making use of Iastian armonia" now makes
The example is predominantly in Ptolemy's Hypodorian tonos (
transposed to the fiat side, but it makes use of un-transposed Ias
In lieu of "servirsi" ("make use of) another tonos, we might now
with, in common terminology, (however anachronistic) "mode
To reiterate Doni's conclusion about Lagrime amare: "benché
sarvi, & fa buonissimo effetto" (although you would not think so
very good effect").100
99- Greek musical writings 11, p. 360.


177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
-g
,• r p_
£"
P* I
< - I
sfLt
- £
tc
^ a
,0*
^ j
tnwf
Ex. 14: Doni's Ptolemaic system (diagram abridged from Barbieri)
Following a reference to Pietro Heredia's compositions in

style, Kircher présents his third and final example.'01 Unlik
and Mazzocchi examples, Della Valle's Esthèr (Ex. 3) was
posed at a Donian split-keyed triarmoniam. As Barbieri has s
ploys the Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Aeolian, Mixolydian, Hy
Iastian tonoi}02 Of these, Kircher excerpts just one mutation
ìoi. The complete score is available in The Italian oratorio, 1650-1800, i, ed. H
New York, Garland, 1986, pp. 1-35.
102. barbieri, "Pietro della Valle", p. 77.

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
to Phrygian. Kircher's only contribution concerns the listener's

the metabolicism:103
Sed lector modum ex paradigmate facile colliget, in quo est transitus dorij
ium tonum, dum auribus insolitam mutationem adfert; fieri quoque non
animus huiusmodi alteratione immutatus, affectiones non sentiat vehement
[While [this transition from Dorian to Phrygian] brings an unusual mutati
ears, there is also no way that the soul would remain unchanged by a mutati
kind and would not feel furious affections.]
Beyond Kircher's limited sélection of mutations, the problems

this example and one wonders how readily a general seventeent
reader could have made sense of it: In the voice part, the pitches
ody read F, Gif [?], A, Alt, B, C, B, which might be Dorian (hear
from Ex. 14 that Ptolemy's Dorian is our Phrygian). That is coun
against the basso continuo part, which has an F clef half printed
printed on D. Which is it? It only makes musical sense with an F
the voice part would not harmonize with that, a cadence on D. W
the counterpoint, the voice part must be in a C2 clef. Put togeth
parts now seem to be, in our terminology, a D Aeolian cadence
dentai inflections). Taken by itself, this should be Hypo-Dorian i
modal désignations (our Aeolian). Thereaffer, the clefs change (
each metabolism was accompanied by a change of clef), and a
this time around. The modal désignation is correct, Ptolemy's P
ing our Dorian, the fluctuation at the sixth scale degree being ty
the basic premise of the example now becomes clear, the revisi
to perform on it may well leave the reader doubting the quality
3. Conclusion
Did Kircher make the price of the Musurgia universalis worthwhile after
all? His erudite writing on the metabolic style verged on the incompréhen
sible, if not the esoteric; even now, despite our best efforts, it remains not
wholly understood. His musical examples were provocative, but déficient;
sometimes they lacked enough annotation, other times they did not quite
match the principles Kircher himself had set forth, and one was just down
right misprinted. Not a practical musician or, for that matter, even a music

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC
Jeffrey Levenberg
theorist, by profession, Kircher omitted some finer détails in composing

with modes—cadences on abnormal degrees, registrai disposition in po
lyphony, and so forth. Kircher's shortcomings aside, however, the Musur
gia universalis contains compelling evidence about the original conception,
performance, and reception of a mysterious repertoire long prized for (dare
we say?) its chromatic and enharmonie text-settings. Although he was at a
loss of words to rationalize their nowers unon the listener. Kircher rather
clearly outlined the enharmonie substitution of accidentais and the two-fold

mutation of modus and tonus that he had heard and studied in the given
scores. Taking Kircher at his word, it seems that subséquent musicologists
and musicians have not been quite in tune with this repertoire. There are
many ramifications following from this new reading of the metabolic style:
We ought to re-tune our performances and critique how these enharmoni
cisms and mutations fit their artistic, literary, and post-Tridentine contexts.
Although we ought to keep an eye out for Galeazzo Sabbatini's lost treatise,
that need not blind us from his many un-edited works (which seem to be
practically enharmonie in nature) that still await study. Last, but not least,
we ought to analyze anew the use of mode in the madrigals of Gesualdo,
Mazzocchi, Michelangelo Rossi, et al. In many ways, it is rather astonishing
that a seemingly esoteric chapter in music history would have such an array
of practical ramifications. For what it has enabled us to revise and stili yet do
for the history of this metabolic repertoire, it would seem that the Musurgia
universalis was indeed worth the price.

177.141.209.156 on Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:13:46 UTC

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