Giovanni Maria Artusi’s treatise L’arte del contraponto (1586) and the tabular organization in sixteenth-century treatises

Abstract

The object of study of this work is Artusi’s tavole in his L’arte del contraponto (1586), considered as an organizational device for the content of Zarlino’s Le istitutioni harmoniche (1558). Initially, the indexes of these works are compared, immediately revealing several topics that were left aside in Artusi’s rereading of Zarlino’s treatise. Next, Artusi’s letter A i lettore sets out the purpose of his work, which is directed toward a less intellectualized audience but one eager for a rudimentary knowledge of counterpoint. This is followed by a detailed analysis of one of the chapters summarized by Artusi, Quello che sia Consonanza, Dissonanza Harmonia e Melodia, and finally by a discussion of the nature of the tavole, which were already present in several sixteenth-century works, though not in an extensive form — except in one case, the treatise Le Scienze mathematiche ridotte in Tavole (1577) by Ignazio Danti, the renowned mathematician from Bologna, suggesting a possible line of influence on Artusi, who was born and lived in the same city.