Prosdocimus de Beldemandis

Prosdochimus de Beldemandis (* 1380, † 1428 ) was an Italian astronomer, mathematician and music theorist of the Quattrocento. He lived and worked in the northern Italian city of Padua. He is in musicological perspective, a theorist who delimits the Italian Trecento notation against the French notation of the Ars Nova.

Life

He started his own words at the Faculty of Arts in Bologna his studies. He studied from 1400 to 1402 the liberal arts at the University of Padua. 1409 he was appointed Master of Arts three years later medicinae Magister. In 1422 he became professor of astronomy.

Work

Prosdochimus is regarded as one of the last music theorist who stood in the tradition of the quadrivium (see also Boethius ). He occupied himself with astronomy, arithmetic and music theory. His treatise Brevis summula proportionum quantum ad musicam pertinet deals with mathematical relations of numbers, without direct reference to the music. In " Parvus tractatulus de modo monacordum dividendi " he describes - also with mathematical relations of numbers - the musical scale formation. This he illustrated by means of the monochord and is thus in Pythagorean tradition.

Expositiones tractatus pratice cantus mensurabilis Johannis de Muris and Tractatus pratice cantus mensurabilis prove that Prosdochimus was very well acquainted with the French mensural. His Tractatus pratice cantus mensurabilis ad modum Ytalicorum intends to halt the repression of the Italian notation by the French stop. Thus, the six Divisiones the Italian notation based on the French four duels ( perfectum mode prolatio minor; perfectum mode, prolatio maior; imperfectum mode, prolatio minor and imperfectum mode prolatio maior ) described. As a special feature of the Italian notation, he cites the lack of Prolationes; through the six Divisiones the Brevis are these superfluous since in this way, a finer subdivision of Briefs is possible. Generally, in the Italian Trecento notation of nine different divisions of the Brevis in three levels possible. 1st level: Binaria, Ternaria. 2nd level: Quaternaria, Senaria imperfecta, Senaria perfecta, Novenaria 3rd level: ( only binary divisions) Octonaria, 2 × Duodenaria.

He manifests itself critically and polemically against the teaching of Marchetus de Padua in his work Tractatus musice speculative. However, he rejects not the entire theory of Marchetus: Tractatus plane musice in it confirms its mode teaching. Tractatus pratice cantus mensurabilis ad modum Ytalicorum also takes on Marchetus ' pomerium in arte musicae mensuratae reference. Contrapunctus contains six rules about consonances and their progressions.

Music Theoretical writings

• Expositiones tractatus pratice cantus mensurabilis Johannis de Muris ( 1404)
• Tractatus pratice cantus mensurabilis ( 1408 )
• Brevis summula proportionum quantum ad musicam pertinet ( 1409 )
• Contrapunctus ( 1412 )
• Tractatus pratice cantus mensurabilis ad modum Ytalicorum ( 1412 )
• Parvus tractatulus de modo monacordum dividendi ( 1413 )
• Tractatus musice speculative ( 1425)