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Tabulaturen Etlicher Lobgesang

2025-01-23T23:21:25Z

Lex: created stub

'''Tabulaturen etlicher Lobgesang und Lidlein''' is the title of a compilation of sacred and secular instrumental pieces published in 1512 by Peter Schöffer, containing organ and lute music composed by [[Arnold Schlick]]. The purpose of the volume, as described in the composer's son's letter reprinted in the foreword, was to preserve the aging musician's art for later generations, as although he was held in high esteem by his peers, none of his music had been made public in the years prior. In the foreword, there is also an angered retort at an earlier libellous comment by [[Sebastian Virdung]], as well as a short poem introducing the music itself.{{Citation needed}}

The Tabulaturen are notable for being the first substantial print of organ music (earlier examples of printed keyboard notation include a few snippets in Virdung's ''Musica getutscht''). In the context of the German Renaissance tradition, the collection stands out for being written in a style markedly different - while not necessarily "less ornamental" - than that of Schlick's contemporaries further to the south.

{{Stub}}

== Contents ==

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Organ music within Schlick's Tabulaturen
|-
! Page !! Title !! Incipit !! Notes
|-
| 1-18 || Salve regina ||
<score> << \clef treble \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 3/4) d8. e16 f8 g a bes c[ d] e[ f] g4 \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 3/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 d1*1/2 d4 \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 c1*1/2 c4 \bar "" }
>> </score> Ad te clamamus 
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 r \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 f g \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 bes1*1/2 c d c \bar "" }
>> </score> Eya ergo advocata 
<score> << \clef bass \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 f1*1/2 \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g f4. f8 \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 r1*1/2 r bes \bar "" }
>> </score> O pia 
<score> << \clef bass \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 d1*1/2 d d \bar "" }
\\ \relative f, { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r8 f g a bes c d e f g a bes \bar "" }
>> </score> O dulcis Maria 
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r4 d8. e16 f4 f8. g16 \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d8. e16 f8 g a bes32[ a g a] bes!8 a4*1/2 \bar "" }
>> </score>
|
|-
| 18-23 || Pete quid vis ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) c4. c8 d4 e \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 f1*1/2 \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 r f4. f8 g4 a \bar "" }
>> </score>
|
|-
| 24-28 || Hoe losteleck ||
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4 a16 g f g a g a bes a bes! c d \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 f4 d \bar "" }
>> </score>
|
|-
| 29-33 || Benedictus ||
<score>
\relative c { \clef bass \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d8. e16 f d g e a8 g r16 fis g fis! \bar "" }
</score>
|
|-
| 34-37 || Primi toni ||
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8. f32[ e] d16 e f g f g a bes a g a8 \bar "" }
\\ \relative f, { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 d'4 f \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 a \bar "" }
>> </score>
|
|-
| 37-41 || Maria zart ||
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) a4. a32 g a bes c4 bes \bar "" }
\\ \relative f, { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 a1*1/2 a4 bes \bar "" }
>> </score>
|
|-
| 42-45 || Criste ||
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 r2*1/2 d4 \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d8. c16 d c d8 e4 f8 g32[ f e f] \bar "" }
>> </score>
|
|-
| 45-49 || Da pacem ||
<score> << \clef bass \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 r \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g f \bar "" }
\\ \relative f, { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 f g4. a8 bes8. c16 d e f8 \bar "" }
>> </score>
| setting "in discantu"
|-
| 49-52 || Da pacem ||
<score> << \clef bass \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d8. ees16 d8 ees!32[ d c bes] a8. g16 a8 bes \bar "" }
\\ \relative f, { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 d' \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 f \bar "" }
>> </score>
| setting "in tenore"
|-
| 53-56 || Da pacem ||
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4. g8 a8. g16 a g a8 \bar "" }
\\ \relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 <d g, g,>1*1/2 <f c f,,> \bar "" }
>> </score>
| setting "in basso"
|}

After these, fifteen lute pieces follow.

User:Lex

2024-11-13T16:02:03Z

Lex:

Slovak organist and math student, born 2003. Avid fan of Renaissance music and Old German tablature notation.

Aiming to write pages on notable German manuscripts and organists prior to ~1600, along with [[Old German Tablature Notation|a comprehensive guide to the older system of tablature]].

Plays a 1914 organ of one manual and seven stops.
{{Disposition|begin}}
{{Disposition|header|2|Manuál|Pedál}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Principál|8'|Subbass|16'}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Kryt|8'||}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Salicionál|8'|''Annulator''|}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Octáva|4'|''Spoj. pedál''|}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Fléta|4'|''Piano''|}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Mixtura|2 ⅔'|''Forte''|}}
{{Disposition|end}}

Occasionally also an organ from 1861, modified sometime around 1895.
{{Disposition|begin}}
{{Disposition|header|2|Manuál|Pedál}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Kryt|8'|-|8'}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Principál|4'||}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Kryt|4'||}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Oktava|2'||}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Mixtura|||}}
{{Disposition|end}}

===How to read old tablature===
Here are a few hints for those who wish to read music from old tablature. They are all fairly self-evident, but might be worth noting either way.

# Start with easily legible sources: personally, I find [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|Kleber]] to have produced the best notation. The fact that his tablature is divided into manualiter and pedaliter sections also helps with finding easier music to start out with (keep in mind, however, that some "manualiter" pieces are better suited to organs with two manuals, and if your practise instrument only has one, this might be an unpleasant surprise). Avoid [[CH-SGs Cod. Sang. 530|Sicher]] until you are comfortable with reading from sources in good handwriting. Similarly, consider putting off the printed [[Tabulaturen Etlicher Lobgesang|Schlick]] until later: it is easy to read, but quite different from other sources. The three manuscripts associated with Kotter present a mostly decent standard of handwriting, and, even though I enjoy reading from it, the big Buchner book definitely isn't as good.
# Take advantage of common ornaments: although coloration is nowhere near as mechanical as it is made out to be, many small patterns can nevertheless be observed across pieces - these allow the organist to "collapse" several notes into a single, easily memorisable motion, freeing up mental capacity for more substantial things. The most prominent is the cadential ornament, and committing it to muscle memory will go a long way. Even for slower figures, the stems and flags in the superius being similarly "collapsed" into only one for each grouping helps with visual orientation.
# Playing is easier than reading: when analysing a piece written in old tablature, it seems that the least difficult way is to focus on the superius and read the letters through peripheral vision, but this can still be rather unpleasant due to the constant need to translate between two kinds of notation. When playing, the opposite approach tends to work better, reading the letters and letting the contours of the upper part guide the right hand without referencing specific pitches (that is, until one loses their way). This ties into the previous point about getting comfortable with the notation of the superius.
# Figure out the distribution of hands first: as described above, reading staff notation and letters simultaneously isn't the easiest of tasks, especially while sightreading. I suggest first trying to play only the letters with the left hand and marking places where help from the right hand is necessary. Finding out which part is intended for pedals usually only takes a few seconds, but there are exceptions in which the situation is not as clear. Keep in mind also that the notated rhythms serve to coordinate the ''points at which notes are struck'', not their exact lengths - the keyboard technique detailed in Buchner's example fingerings assumes that notes are ''not'' held for their entire written duration if the same hand has other notes to strike elsewhere - which the small-handed organist may use to their advantage in certain situations where an unpleasant passage appears.

I use ScanTailor to create monochrome versions of facsimiles (granted, very unclean ones, full of specks) and save printer ink. Should you run into issues with such a process on your machine, feel free to [[Special:EmailUser/Lex|contact me]] and ask for the particular pages, and I might be able to provide them.

Holtzach Fragment

2024-11-13T14:24:17Z

Lex: /* Contents */ removed unnecessary line breaks

[[File:Holtz3r.png|thumb|right|Folio 3r, on which the organ keyboard is depicted.]]
[[File:Holtz4r.png|thumb|right|Folio 4r, explaining tablature notation.]]
The fragmentary manuscript '''CH-Bu F VI 26c''', signed "Osswald Holtzach / von Basel 1515" on the cover, is written in [[Old German Tablature Notation|Old German tablature]] and contains several pieces of pedagogical music along with other repertoire typical of the time.

It begins with a general introduction to musical notation (using a diagram of the ''gamut'' and several solmisation exercises), as well as an explanation of the specific notation used for organ music. The manner in which this latter part is presented is remarkably similar to that found in [[CH-Bu F IX 22|one of Kotter's tablatures]].

== Contents ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Music in the manuscript CH-Bu F VI 26c
|-
! Folio !! Title !! Incipit !! Notes
|-
| 2v || (''untitled'') ||
<score> \relative c { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 12/4) \clef varbaritone \omit Stem c4 d e f g a a g f e d c } </score>
| Solmisation exercises.
|-
| 4v || Lauffwerck ||
<score> \relative c' { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \clef soprano c8 d16[ e] f[ e d c] d8 e16[ f] g[ f e d] \bar "" } </score>
| Fingering exercises (five patterns are given).
|-
| 5r || (''at end of previous page'') Hie nach folgend Beschluss und / lauffwerck mit Beiden henden / zubruchen uff alle Thon und zu / dem Ersten in das ut ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c'' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) c8 c,16[ d e f g a] g[ a b c] d[ c b a] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) c4 c,16[ d e f] e[ f g a] b[ a g f] \bar "" }
>> </score> Clausel / in .la. 
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d16[ c d e] f[ e f g] a[ g f e] f[ e f d] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d4 d16[ c d e] f[ e f g] a[ g a b] \bar "" }
>> </score> Mi 
<score> << \clef soprano \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c'' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) e8\noBeam c\mordent d32[ c b c] b16[ a] g4 r8 a \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \omit Stem e4*2 e8 c4 b16 a \bar "" }
>> </score> Fa 
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) c2*1/2\rest c16[ b c d] e[ d e f] g[ f g a] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) f16[ e f g] a[ g a bes] \once \omit Stem c4*2 \bar "" }
>> </score> Sol per bmolle 
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g16[ a bes c] d[ e f g] a[ b] c8 bes16[ a g f] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8.\noBeam a16 bes[ c d e] f[ g] a8 g16[ f e d] \bar "" }
>> </score> sol per ♮ durum 
<score> << \clef soprano \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative g' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g16[ fis g a] b[ cis d b] c[ b a g] a[ g a fis] \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4 g8 g a16[ g a b] c[ b c d] \bar "" }
>> </score> Re 
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d4 c16[ d e f] g4 f16[ g a b] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d16[ e f g] a4 g16[ a b c] d4 \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Short phrases demonstrating possible realisations of cadences.
|-
| 6v || Salve Regina / In Re. Hans / Kotter ||
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c'' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) a8\mordent bes16[ a a g f e] d[ e f g a bes] g8\mordent \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d4 r8 c bes4 g \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 a1*1/2 bes \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Different from the first verset of Kotter's Salve in [[CH-Bu F IX 22]].
|-
| 7v || (''untitled'') ||
<score> \relative g' { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \clef soprano r2*1/2 g4 g8 a32[ g f g] f16[ e] \bar "" } </score>
| Colorised version of "Fortuna d'un grand tempo" (attr. Josquin).
|-
| 8v || Min Gmut / unnd plut. ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative g' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8\noBeam fis16\noBeam g\noBeam a[ g f e] f4. g8 \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 d'8[ c16 d e d c b] \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 d \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Colorised version of a song sometimes attributed to Andreas Silvanus. Incomplete.
|}

== References ==
{{OnlFac|sig=CH-Bu F VI 26c|url=https://www.e-manuscripta.ch/bau/content/zoom/2461509|urlc=e-manuscripta.ch|date=13 November 2024}}

Marx, H. J. (ed.) (1967). ''Tabulaturen des XVI. Jahrhunderts / 1, Die Tabulaturen aus dem Besitz des Basler Humanisten Bonifacius Amerbach''. in: Schweizerische Musikdenkmäler. Basel, Bärenreiter-Verlag.

Merian, W. (1916). ''Die Tabulaturen des Organisten Hans Kotter''. Doctoral dissertation, Basel University.

Holtzach Fragment

2024-11-13T13:34:22Z

Lex: images

[[File:Holtz3r.png|thumb|right|Folio 3r, on which the organ keyboard is depicted.]]
[[File:Holtz4r.png|thumb|right|Folio 4r, explaining tablature notation.]]
The fragmentary manuscript '''CH-Bu F VI 26c''', signed "Osswald Holtzach / von Basel 1515" on the cover, is written in [[Old German Tablature Notation|Old German tablature]] and contains several pieces of pedagogical music along with other repertoire typical of the time.

It begins with a general introduction to musical notation (using a diagram of the ''gamut'' and several solmisation exercises), as well as an explanation of the specific notation used for organ music. The manner in which this latter part is presented is remarkably similar to that found in [[CH-Bu F IX 22|one of Kotter's tablatures]].

== Contents ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Music in the manuscript CH-Bu F VI 26c
|-
! Folio !! Title !! Incipit !! Notes
|-
| 2v || (''untitled'') ||
<score> \relative c { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 12/4) \clef varbaritone \omit Stem c4 d e f g a a g f e d c } </score>
| Solmisation exercises.
|-
| 4v || Lauffwerck ||
<score> \relative c' { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \clef soprano c8 d16[ e] f[ e d c] d8 e16[ f] g[ f e d] \bar "" } </score>
| Fingering exercises (five patterns are given).
|-
| 5r || (''at end of previous page'') Hie nach folgend Beschluss und / lauffwerck mit Beiden henden / zubruchen uff alle Thon und zu / dem Ersten in das ut ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c'' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) c8 c,16[ d e f g a] g[ a b c] d[ c b a] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) c4 c,16[ d e f] e[ f g a] b[ a g f] \bar "" }
>> </score> Clausel / in .la. 
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d16[ c d e] f[ e f g] a[ g f e] f[ e f d] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d4 d16[ c d e] f[ e f g] a[ g a b] \bar "" }
>> </score> Mi 
<score> << \clef soprano \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c'' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) e8\noBeam c\mordent d32[ c b c] b16[ a] g4 r8 a \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \omit Stem e4*2 e8 c4 b16 a \bar "" }
>> </score> Fa 
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) c2*1/2\rest c16[ b c d] e[ d e f] g[ f g a] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) f16[ e f g] a[ g a bes] \once \omit Stem c4*2 \bar "" }
>> </score> Sol per bmolle 
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g16[ a bes c] d[ e f g] a[ b] c8 bes16[ a g f] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8.\noBeam a16 bes[ c d e] f[ g] a8 g16[ f e d] \bar "" }
>> </score> sol per ♮ durum 
<score> << \clef soprano \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative g' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g16[ fis g a] b[ cis d b] c[ b a g] a[ g a fis] \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4 g8 g a16[ g a b] c[ b c d] \bar "" }
>> </score> Re 
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d4 c16[ d e f] g4 f16[ g a b] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d16[ e f g] a4 g16[ a b c] d4 \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Short phrases demonstrating possible realisations of cadences.
|-
| 6v || Salve Regina / In Re. Hans / Kotter ||
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c'' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) a8\mordent bes16[ a a g f e] d[ e f g a bes] g8\mordent \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d4 r8 c bes4 g \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 a1*1/2 bes \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Different from the first verset of Kotter's Salve in [[CH-Bu F IX 22]].
|-
| 7v || (''untitled'') ||
<score> \relative g' { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \clef soprano r2*1/2 g4 g8 a32[ g f g] f16[ e] \bar "" } </score>
| Colorised version of "Fortuna d'un grand tempo" (attr. Josquin).
|-
| 8v || Min Gmut / unnd plut. ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative g' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8\noBeam fis16\noBeam g\noBeam a[ g f e] f4. g8 \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 d'8[ c16 d e d c b] \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 d \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Colorised version of a song sometimes attributed to Andreas Silvanus. Incomplete.
|}

== References ==
{{OnlFac|sig=CH-Bu F VI 26c|url=https://www.e-manuscripta.ch/bau/content/zoom/2461509|urlc=e-manuscripta.ch|date=13 November 2024}}

Marx, H. J. (ed.) (1967). ''Tabulaturen des XVI. Jahrhunderts / 1, Die Tabulaturen aus dem Besitz des Basler Humanisten Bonifacius Amerbach''. in: Schweizerische Musikdenkmäler. Basel, Bärenreiter-Verlag.

Merian, W. (1916). ''Die Tabulaturen des Organisten Hans Kotter''. Doctoral dissertation, Basel University.

File:Holtz4r.png

2024-11-13T13:28:53Z

Lex: Folio 4r of Holtzach Fragment.

== Summary ==
Folio 4r of Holtzach Fragment.

File:Holtz3r.png

2024-11-13T13:28:01Z

Lex: Folio 3r of Holtzach Fragment.

== Summary ==
Folio 3r of Holtzach Fragment.

Holtzach Fragment

2024-11-13T12:30:22Z

Lex: created page; will provide images soon

The fragmentary manuscript '''CH-Bu F VI 26c''', signed "Osswald Holtzach / von Basel 1515" on the cover, is written in [[Old German Tablature Notation|Old German tablature]] and contains several pieces of pedagogical music along with other repertoire typical of the time.

It begins with a general introduction to musical notation (using a diagram of the ''gamut'' and several solmisation exercises), as well as an explanation of the specific notation used for organ music. The manner in which this latter part is presented is remarkably similar to that found in [[CH-Bu F IX 22|one of Kotter's tablatures]].

== Contents ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Music in the manuscript CH-Bu F VI 26c
|-
! Folio !! Title !! Incipit !! Notes
|-
| 2v || (''untitled'') ||
<score> \relative c { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 12/4) \clef varbaritone \omit Stem c4 d e f g a a g f e d c } </score>
| Solmisation exercises.
|-
| 4v || Lauffwerck ||
<score> \relative c' { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \clef soprano c8 d16[ e] f[ e d c] d8 e16[ f] g[ f e d] \bar "" } </score>
| Fingering exercises (five patterns are given).
|-
| 5r || (''at end of previous page'') Hie nach folgend Beschluss und / lauffwerck mit Beiden henden / zubruchen uff alle Thon und zu / dem Ersten in das ut ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c'' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) c8 c,16[ d e f g a] g[ a b c] d[ c b a] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) c4 c,16[ d e f] e[ f g a] b[ a g f] \bar "" }
>> </score> Clausel / in .la. 
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d16[ c d e] f[ e f g] a[ g f e] f[ e f d] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d4 d16[ c d e] f[ e f g] a[ g a b] \bar "" }
>> </score> Mi 
<score> << \clef soprano \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c'' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) e8\noBeam c\mordent d32[ c b c] b16[ a] g4 r8 a \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \omit Stem e4*2 e8 c4 b16 a \bar "" }
>> </score> Fa 
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d2*1/2\rest c16[ b c d] e[ d e f] g[ f g a] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) f16[ e f g] a[ g a bes] \once \omit Stem c4*2 \bar "" }
>> </score> Sol per bmolle 
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g16[ a bes c] d[ e f g] a[ b] c8 bes16[ a g f] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8.\noBeam a16 bes[ c d e] f[ g] a8 g16[ f e d] \bar "" }
>> </score> sol per ♮ durum 
<score> << \clef soprano \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative g' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g16[ fis g a] b[ cis d b] c[ b a g] a[ g a fis] \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4 g8 g a16[ g a b] c[ b c d] \bar "" }
>> </score> Re 
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d4 c16[ d e f] g4 f16[ g a b] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d16[ e f g] a4 g16[ a b c] d4 \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Short phrases demonstrating possible realisations of cadences.
|-
| 6v || Salve Regina / In Re. Hans / Kotter ||
<score> << \clef tenor \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c'' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) a8\mordent bes16[ a a g f e] d[ e f g a bes] g8\mordent \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d4 r8 c bes4 g \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 a1*1/2 bes \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Different from the first verset of Kotter's Salve in [[CH-Bu F IX 22]].
|-
| 7v || (''untitled'') ||
<score> \relative g' { \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \clef soprano r2*1/2 g4 g8 a32[ g f g] f16[ e] \bar "" } </score>
| Colorised version of "Fortuna d'un grand tempo" (attr. Josquin).
|-
| 8v || Min Gmut / unnd plut. ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative g' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8\noBeam fis16\noBeam g\noBeam a[ g f e] f4. g8 \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 d'8[ c16 d e d c b] \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 g1*1/2 d \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Colorised version of a song sometimes attributed to Andreas Silvanus. Incomplete.
|}

== References ==
{{OnlFac|sig=CH-Bu F VI 26c|url=https://www.e-manuscripta.ch/bau/content/zoom/2461509|urlc=e-manuscripta.ch|date=13 November 2024}}

Marx, H. J. (ed.) (1967). ''Tabulaturen des XVI. Jahrhunderts / 1, Die Tabulaturen aus dem Besitz des Basler Humanisten Bonifacius Amerbach''. in: Schweizerische Musikdenkmäler. Basel, Bärenreiter-Verlag.

Merian, W. (1916). ''Die Tabulaturen des Organisten Hans Kotter''. Doctoral dissertation, Basel University.

CH-Bu F VI 26c

2024-11-13T09:38:49Z

Lex: created redirect

#REDIRECT [[Holtzach Fragment]]

Old German Tablature Notation

2024-11-12T22:42:32Z

Lex: new general descriptions for each time period category; moved one source across categories to better represent its contents; new reference

[[File:Sicher tab page.jpg|thumb|right|A page from the [[Fridolin Sicher Tablature]] showing an example of Old German Tablature Notation]]
The term "'''Old German Tablature'''" refers to a style of notation popular among German-speaking organists in the 15th and 16th century. Unlike the [[New German Tablature Notation|"new" notation]], it was only rarely used to write down compositions not to be played on a keyboard instrument. Surviving examples show that it could readily support pieces between two and six voices. Examples of more developed notational styles seem to have originated in southern and south-western Germany in two main groups centered around particularly respected organists ([[Conrad Paumann]] and [[Paul Hofhaimer]] respectively).

== General overview ==
[[File:B_ornament.png|thumb|An example of the ornament sign being used on a letter (from Kleber's tablature).]]

The defining feature of old German tablature is the usage of black mensural notation for the voice that is highest in pitch (the ''superius'', as it is often referred to). The organist is usually expected to play this voice in their right hand, using their other hand and both feet to play the lower voices, which are invariably given in letters. The specific style of notation varies significantly between manuscripts, but a few common elements can be observed:

=== Superius ===
In the superius, all stems point upwards, and a downward stem is used to denote chromatic inflections (if it appears plain or crossed with a short, diagonal stroke) or ornamentation (with a loop or curve at its end). Some scribes allow for downward stems that are both crossed and looped, some prefer to only denote the ornament in such cases. A triangular flag may denote proportions or a change in mensuration, typically to signify temporary ternary division of note values when binary division is used throughout the rest of the piece (the Buxheim manuscript, which uses generally larger note values than later sources, utilises the standard technique of ''color'' in cases where such a change occurs among note values too large to be written with flags). In the last third of the 15th century, a curious form of shorthand emerged - in a passage of many notes moving in uniform values, only the first is given with the appropriate amount of flags, while the rest are notated as noteheads only. A double-sided repetition symbol, the shape of which varies between sources but always remains recognisable, can be placed above the staff, wherever it is most appropriate - the specific manner in which the repetition is to be carried out depends on the musical context. The ''custos'' appears often, though not everywhere.

=== Lower voices ===
''Note: Even though the letter notation may look similar to [[New German Tablature Notation#Notation|its counterpart in the "New" tablature notation]], there are some differences between the two.''

In the lower voices, the symbols used generally agree with what is now known as Helmholtz pitch notation: the letters ''C'', ''D'', ''E'', ''F'', ''G'', ''A'', ''H'' belong to the white keys, while for the black keys a specific set of ''Cis'', ''Es'' (or ''Dis''), ''Fis'', ''Gis'', ''B'' is used. These are used even in contexts where the enharmonic spelling should be preferable, with minimal exceptions (presumably for the sake of convenience). At first, the symbols of the black keys may prove difficult to recognise: the raised tones are only written with the base letter and a long S next to it, the I being omitted, and ''Es'', despite being written without any shorthand, tends to become distorted by the scribes' handwriting - in later sources (and most manuscripts written in the newer style), the symbol is formed differently and represents a ''Dis'' note instead.

Regarding octave displacement, a lowercase letter belongs to the octave directly below Middle C, and an uppercase letter (only in 16th century sources) to the octave below that; for octaves above Middle C, horizontal lines should be progressively added above the lowercase letter. Note that, as the higher ranges were usually occupied by the superius, it is rare for the letters to intrude into the double-dashed octave - the specific implementation tends to vary between sources, with some lacking the provisions for such notation entirely. The rhythm is denoted with dots and vertical lines above the letters, as simplifications of the normal noteheads and stems used by mensural staff notation. Given that the shapes of the notes must agree between the superius and the letters below, a note with a dot above its letter has the note value of a semibrevis. Earlier sources tend to write "pausa" (or its shortened form, "pau") instead of a proper rest, and "vacat" if one or more voices are to stay silent for a whole measure. "Pausa" was also used to indicate that a previously struck note is to be sustained over the entirety of the next measure.

Pedal parts (usually identifiable through a general absence of the shortest note values) tend to be given a prominent spot among letter-notated voices, that is, as the one that is placed highest or lowest.

=== Other ===
Where measure lines were not written, the scribe denoted the limits of measures with minute horizontal gaps between groups of letters. A "=" symbol (oriented vertically if used at the bottom of a page) at a measure which was cut off prematurely by the right margin serves to let the reader know that a continuation will follow. Notes can be written across barlines.

Scribal errors happen often, as do intentional omissions of commonly understood interpretative details, and they are of different nature when occuring in the superius and when occuring in the lower voices. It is common for the entirety of the superius to be written without any accidentals, or for some of its notes to have an incorrect rhythmic value assigned (by inappropriate usage of either stems or flags, or both). Somewhat less frequently, accidentals were left out in the lower voices as well. Sections of the top voice are also prone to being written a line too high or too low, producing unmusical results. Similarly to other polyphonic sources in common mensural notation, there are many cases where the total length of a measure in the superius does not match itself as given by the letters.

Another detail in which the old tablature differs from the new one is the arrangement of music on a manuscript's pages: although a specific scribal error in the tablature of Jan of Lublin confirms the existence of sources in which the music was written across two opposing pages, all surviving manuscripts were written from the top down in single pages.

== Specific manuscripts ==
''The following paragraphs attempt to summarise the differences in the style of notation among families of surviving manuscripts, as well as between individual manuscripts of one group. More details and links will be added over time.''

=== Early sources and fragments ===

* [[A-Wnhd Cod. 3617]], a single setting of Kyrie V ("Magne Deus") inserted into a several-hundred-page theological manuscript. The meter is "octo notarum", and the syllables of the text (including the trope) are written next to the letter notation.

* [[PL-WRu I Q 438|The Żagań fragment]], a loose folio with three Gloria versets.

* [[PL-WRu I Q 42|The Wrocław manuscript]], with one tenor setting of a popular song and the beginning of a fundamentum appended to a compilation of theological texts.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 5963]], where a Magnificat setting was inserted between various unrelated texts (on f. 248, marked as 240 in the original). Neumes can also be found elsewhere in the source.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 7755]], a treatise about organ composition, including several short pedagogical pieces, ending with a song setting. Most of the manuscript is taken up by medical texts.

* [[D-Kstb 4° Ms.theol. 18]], where a single page of untitled tablature precedes a psalter.

* [[D-B Ms.theol.lat.qu. 290|The tablature of Ludolf Wilkin]]. ''Currently being digitised, according to the library's online catalogue.''

* [[D-OLI Cim I 39|The Oldenburg tablature]], attributed to Ludolf Bödeker, containing several free pieces, a short fundamentum, and a setting of the Credo. The rest of the manuscript contains neumes for plainchant settings of various parts of the Mass Ordinary and a few sequences.

* [[D-Hs ND VI 3225|The tablature of Wolfgang von Neuhaus]]. Two sets of tablature can be found within, along with several pages of unrelated text, and both mostly consist of instructive pieces.

* [[Ileborgh Tablature|Ileborgh tablature]]. The letter notation in this source is unique: to save space, two-voice accompaniment is written horizontally, so that a pair of letters always takes up the space below a single "measure" in the superius (although most pieces in this manuscript are unmeasured). It is commonly accepted that this signifies the usage of double pedal, the left letter being intended for the left foot and likewise on the right side. ''Further comment on this manuscript is precluded by lack of access to its facsimile or published research of acceptable quality''.

In the music of these sources, as a rule, the tenor only has one note in a measure, and rhythm marks are therefore absent. Moreover, the specific subdivision of tenor notes is often provided at a piece's beginning (such as "trium", "quattuor", or "sex notarum"), a practice also observed among the earlier entries in the Buxheim manuscript. In accordance, measure lines are drawn regularly; only in the free, unmeasured praeambula are they absent.

=== Sources before 1500 ===
In these sources, notes deeper than an octave below Middle C are notated with lowercase letters, as are those directly above them, and thus their reading may be uncertain. Said deep notes are most commonly encountered at the penultimate steps of cadences, where the "lower alternative" is necessary in order to avoid a second-inversion triad. A unified and unambiguous system of rhythmic notation for the lower voices can now be observed across several manuscripts. In the superius, each note has its flags written separately, even in cases where beaming was possible.

==== [[PL-WRu I F 687]] ====
The lower voices are only provided rhythm signs in the last two pieces of this source; the preceding ones use no such notation, similarly to the manuscripts listed above. Some notes in the superius are flipped to avoid intruding too far above the staff; the staff has six lines, and another line is used to separate adjacent systems. Accidentals are notated in the common manner, the downward stem often not being crossed. The "double-stemmed note" (see section on Lochamer-Liederbuch below) appears several times with varying meanings: in at least three cases, it serves as a ''custos'' pointing out the pitch of the first note on the next staff.

==== [[Lochamer-Liederbuch]] ====
The second half of the manuscript (that is, the part which contains pieces in organ tablature) can be further divided into two sections according to the manner in which the notation was written. The point at which a new octave begins was chosen to be between ''B'' and ''H'', for practical reasons. Except for staves written later into the bottom margin in order to keep a piece within the boundaries of a single page, every staff has seven lines. For the clef, the letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'' are used, with abstract symbols for ''F'' and ''D'' (a flower).

* The first section is written in a clear and legible hand. It gives an overall impression of a standardised, consistent system of notation, with only minimal deviations from the norm. Barlines are present and most measures have a regular length of three semibreves (this suggests that ''tempus perfectum'' is assumed); only a few measures are longer than that, typically two or three times the normal amount. In the superius, chromatic inflections use a crossed downward stem. A looping downward stem, identical both in shape and usage to that present in the Buxheim manuscript, is used in the last two pieces ("''Benedicite Almechtiger got''" and "''Domit ein gut Jare''"). Outside of that, it appears that the only notation for an ornament is a double-stemmed notehead with flags on both stems. It typically occurs in passages of uniformly-moving minims, only twice (towards the end of the "''Fundamentum breve cum ascensu et descensu''") does it appear in contexts where the Buxheim loop may be considered appropriate (the double-stemmed symbol does appear in the Buxheim manuscript as well, though extremely rarely). However, Apel claims that it is identical to a semiminim, specifically one on the weak beat, always adding a dot to the preceding minim when transcribing.

: Out of the lower voices, the tenor is written in large black letters, with a double letter being used for its last note (invariably a ''longa''). Note that the symbol for a final ''D'' somewhat resembles that which later notation uses for a common ''Es'', and, similarly, a double ''G'' may look similar to a ''Gis''. At the beginning of a piece or section thereof, a capital, sometimes double, letter is used. Very rarely, multiple letters occur in other places as well; the meaning of such usage is obscure. In some such cases, it may refer to repetition of a note, or perhaps to signify that an unusually long note is to be played. No notation is used for notes of the double-dashed octave, as the lower voices never move higher than g'. The contratenor may be written in either red or black ink, its letters appearing both above and below those of the tenor. Note values are written in red ink above the letters, but only in cases where there are more than three notes in one measure.

* The latter part is distinct by the absence of decorative red ink (except for two pages) and prevalence of white mensural notation for the superius; it begins with black notation, but eventually moves to white midway through a piece (the "''Paumgartner''"), suggesting that the scribe first wrote empty noteheads and intended to fill them in later. A greatly expanded selection of keys is now available for the lower voices: the notes ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', and even ''Dis'' (in an incorrect context, no less) appear in this section for the first time. While still clearly legible, the handwriting is not as orderly as before. In the second-to-last "''Praeambulum super F''", two voices are written in the first staff, forming a plain chordal texture with the third voice below. The tablature on the last page returns to the notational practice observed throughout the first section, albeit less decorated.

==== [[Buxheim Organ Book|The Buxheim organ book]] ====
Throughout the manuscript, seven lines are used for staves, exceptions being the six staves of five lines following the last piece of the collection, as well as the extensive "''Tabula''" on the last folio, which uses twelve lines and serves to explain the notation. The clef predominantly uses the standard "ut" symbol for the ''C'', with small vertical dashes for the ''G'' and ''D'' above; of these, the ''G'' ocassionally uses a letter, and may appear by itself. An F-clef only occurs in the aforementioned Tabula. Rests are now represented with proper symbols indicating their exact lengths. Usage of proportions in the superius can be easily identified, as it is represented a markedly different style of notation for the superius; large note values are written in void notation, a practice reminiscent of ''color'', while smaller ones receive the aforementioned triangular flag. In addition, a simple description of the change at hand (most often "''sexquialtera''") was added in some cases. Where a brevis needs to be chromatically altered, the downward stem almost always receives the diagonal dash, to prevent confusion with a longa. A fermata is sometimes used to denote the ends of musical sub-sections, similarly to its use in vocal compositions of the time.

* Out of the nine fascicles that constitute the manuscript, almost all music in the first eight was written by a single scribe, with five pieces added at the end in another hand. The handwriting observed throughout this corpus is orderly and legible, with all notes of a measure evenly spaced across its width. Barlines are present; as in the Lochamer source, a measure may sometimes take on a whole-number multiple of the regular length. White mensural notation appears in two pieces here. A third scribe added a single untitled piece (No. 239) at the beginning of the ninth fascicle, showing no significant differences from the established style. A new octave begins between ''H'' and ''C'', with ocassional slips where the intabulator added an overscore over an ''H''.

* The fourth successive scribe of the Buxheim organ book was the first to make extensive use of the aforementioned superius shorthand, omitting stems in a group of notes of identical note values, except for the first (a few earlier occurences may be found, but they seem to be accidental). Aside from the crossed downward stem, the standard sharp symbol of mensural notation is used in several places. The point of division between octaves is inconsistent, but it appears the scribe intended for a higher octave to start at ''B''-''H''. For the most part, the scribe omitted barlines - they are only present where the boundary would be difficult to find from the notes alone, and double barlines are used to separate sections of a single fundamentum.

* Two pieces, No. 238b and No. 239, were each entered by a single scribe. The former returns to the original system of beginning a new octave with ''C''. Despite having notably different handwriting from the previous four scribes, neither of the two makes use of any original notational devices, aside from a clef made of the three letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'', exactly as they would appear in tablature, with a single overscore to indicate their high pitch. The first piece has measure lines, the second does not. From No. 239 onward, stems and flags are no longer omitted in the superius.

* Scribe 7, having written pieces No. 240 through No. 244, used a letter for the ''D'' in the clef and only provided barlines once.

* The next, who contributed eight pieces, is notable for an unusual symbol somewhat similar in usage to the modern ''segno'': a circle from which a cross protrudes is used both to divert the performer when playing through a repetition, and to mark the beginning of the "''secunda volta''" in question. The only semblance of measure lines appears where there is a need to separate two pieces on the same staff, and the horizontal spacing between grouped notes varies from minimal to nonexistent.

* A ninth scribe wrote down five pieces, beginning with No. 252 ("''Tant apart''"). They added an overscore to the ''H'' below Middle C about as often as they omitted them, which is in sharp contrast to the generally consistent observation of the ''H''-''C'' divide shown by the other authors.

* The tenth and last scribe, of considerably less legible handwriting than their predecessors, entered the two last pieces of the corpus. Their first intabulation has no barlines, the second uses them consistently, and, once again, seems to echo the style in which the first compositions of the manuscript were written down.

According to the Tabula, notes an octave above Middle C or higher should be notated identically to their lower counterparts - with only one overcore. Uppercase letters are used at the beginning of almost every piece or section thereof, as an initial.

=== Sources after 1500 ===
These newer sources present some differences from earlier attempts at notating organ music. Most notably, the ambiguity of whether a note belongs to the great or small octave is eliminated (for which Schlick's solution differs from the common practice of using uppercase letters). Another "advancement" is the consistent use of proper mensuration symbols, where necessary, in the middle of a piece, which corresponds to the decreased use of ''color'' in only one voice at a time. Furthermore, a constant 2:1 ratio of diminution was adopted for intabulations, so that what was written as a semibrevis would represent a brevis in vocal notation (in the present article, this will not be taken into account, and note values will be named according to their visual value). The omission of stems and flags in the superius becomes standard, at times spreading to the lower voices as well, and small groups of notes may appear with various kinds of beaming - more often in the superius than in letters - depending on the scribe's manner of handwriting. The gamut is typically divided into octaves between ''B'' and ''H''.

==== [[Tabulaturen Etlicher Lobgesang|Tabulaturen etlicher Lobgesang und Lidlein]] ====
As the only surviving example of printed old tablature - and possibly the earliest instance of printed organ music - the notation of [[Arnolt Schlick|Schlick's]] ''Tabulaturen'' differs from that of the other sources. The staff has six lines, and every note is printed complete with its stem and flags. Some of the notes that are placed on or below the top line are flipped in such a way that their stem points down. Chromatic alteration is indicated by a small loop connected to the notehead, opposite the stem. There are no symbols for ornaments of any kind. Sections in perfect time use looped, almost triangular flags on their semiminims and fusae. Like in the Buxheim organ book, lowercase letters are used for notes of the great octave; however, Schlick eliminates ambiguity by adding a horizontal line below the letter. A new octave begins with ''C''. For notes more than an octave above Middle C, only a single overscore is used, but the letter is doubled.

==== [[CH-Bu F I 8a|Fundamentum of Hans Buchner]] ====
Outside of using "modern" beaming for groups of notes shorter than semiminims, the notation doesn't depart from the conventions described above. High notes use double overscores instead of doubled letters. ''The other Buchner manuscript in the possession of Zentralbibliothek Zürich was not available for perusal, but is likely to use the same conventions, as both were written by the same scribe.''

==== [[CH-Bu F IX 22]] ("large" tablature of Hans Kotter) ====
Notes above C5 are represented with double letters and a single overscore, as in Schlick's published works. A staff of six lines is used throughout.

==== [[CH-Bu F IX 58]] ("small" tablature of Hans Kotter)====
This manuscript also uses a six-line staff. High notes do appear (in the "Kochersperger Spanioler"), but are not represented differently from those below them.

==== [[CH-Bu F VI 26c|Holtzach fragment]] ====
A five-line staff is used for the theoretical examples at the beginning of the tablature, while the following organ compositions and intabulations use a staff of six lines. No notes above C5 occur in the tablature proper; there is, however, an explicatory depiction of the keyboard in the first section of the manuscript, where they are notated using double letters with an overscore.

==== [[CH-SGs Cod. Sang. 530|Fridolin Sicher tablature]] ====
To notate binary note values in sections that use (a proportion effectively equivalent to) ternary divisions, the noteheads in question are supplied with two stems, each having a looped flag of its own. The staff alternates between five and six lines.

==== [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|Leonhard Kleber tablature]] ====
Kleber seemingly used a five-line staff as his default, readily adding more lines to it when such an extension was needed.

==== [[CH-Bu F IX 57]] ====
The handwriting of this source's author is, in comparison with other manuscripts written often quite diligently, remarkably even and regular. The source often uses uncharacteristically generous beaming in the lower voices, but in other places also applies to them the omission of stems commonly used for the superius. A staff of five lines is used throughout, and no observation about the notation of high notes in letters can be made, as they do not occur in either of the two compositions.

=== Other sources ===
''Facsimiles of these manuscripts were not available at the time of writing.''

==== [[CH-Zz Z. XI. 301|Clemens Hör tablature]] ====

==== [[Jan of Lublin Tablature|Jan of Lublin tablature]] ====

==== [[Cracow Tablature|Cracow tablature]] ====

== References ==
''Facsimiles of the aforementioned manuscripts can be accessed from their respective pages''.

Kite-Powell, J. (2022). ''German Keyboard Tablature''. https://www.academia.edu/53290890/German_Keyboard_Tablature

Aringer, K (2006). ''Ein Unbekanntes Orgeltabulatur-Fragment des 15. Jahrhunderts in der Erzabtei St. Peter (Salzburg)''. Die Musikforschung, vol. 59.

Meyer, Ch. (2000). ''A Propos d’Un Feuillet de Tablature d’Orgue du Milieu du XVe S.''. https://hal.science/hal-00438192

Marx, W (1998). ''Die Orgeltabulatur des Wolfgang de Nova Domo''. Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, vol. 55.

Warburton, T. A. (1969). ''Fridolin Sicher's Tablature: A Guide to Keyboard Performance of Vocal Music''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan.

Apel, W. (1967). ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700''. Kassel, Bärenreiter-Verlag.

Southern, E. (1963). ''The Buxheim Organ Book''. Brooklyn, Institute of Mediaeval Music.

White, J. R. (1963). ''The Tablature of Johannes of Lublin''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 17.

Young, W. (1962). ''Keyboard Music to 1600 I''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 16.

Lord, R. S. (1960). ''The Buxheim Organ Book: A Study in the History of Organ Music in Southern Germany During the Fifteenth Century''. Doctoral dissertation, Yale University.

Apel, W. (1938). ''Early German keyboard music''. The Musical Quarterly, vol. 23.

Merian, W. (1916). ''Die Tabulaturen des Organisten Hans Kotter''. Doctoral dissertation, Basel University.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin.

Conrad Brumann

2024-11-12T19:48:19Z

Lex: fixed incorrect dating for the online facsimile, copied over from luscinius article

'''Conrad Brumann''' (~1480-1526) was a German organist.

== Biography & Works ==
[[Otmar Nachtgall|Luscinius]] numbers him among the pupils of [[Paul Hofhaimer]]. From 1513 on, Brumann was employed at the cathedral of Speyer, and he is referred to by this title in [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|Kleber's tablature]].

In said source, his compositions are identified by the initials ''V. S.'' (presumably for "''von Speyer''"). Similarly to his teacher, Brumann made use of unusually virtuosic diminutions.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Keyboard music by Conrad Brumann
|-
! Folio !! Title (modernised) !! Title in index !! Title in situ !! Incipit !! Notes !! Ref.
|-
| 58v-59v || Pleni || Pleni sunt celi } Org von Spyr. m. conrat || Pleni / M. Conradus. Or. / Spyrensis. (''above'') 1521 ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d8.\mordent e16[ f g] f8\mordent r32 e f g f e f d f e f g f e d c \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 bes4 d \bar "" }
>> </score>
| || <ref>[http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0002C41800000000 digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de], accessed on 12 November 2024.</ref>
|-
| 59v-60r || Carmen || Carmen in sol } Org von Spyr. m. conrat || (''to the side'') V. S. / de ůl etc ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative g' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 g4 g16 f g a \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8 c,32[ d e f] g[ f g a] g16[ f] e4 c \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4 g g8 g32[ f e d] c'4 \bar "" }
>> </score>
| || <ref>Ibid.</ref>
|-
| 66v-67r || Zucht, Ehr' und Lob || Zucht eer und lob. manu: || Zucht / eer und / Lob. / manüaliter. (''at top of page'') V. S. ||
<score> << \clef bass \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) f4 r16 e32 d c b c d e16 d e f d4 \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 f,1*1/2 c'4 bes16 c d e \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 f1*1/2 g4 bes \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Colorised version of Hofhaimer's song. || <ref>Ibid.</ref>
|}

== References ==
Moser, H. J. (1966). ''Paul Hofhaimer''. Georg Olms, Hildesheim.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin.

[[Category:Renaissance]][[Category:Organists]][[Category:Composers]]

Conrad Brumann

2024-11-10T16:33:17Z

Lex: accidentally omitted part of one title - fixed

'''Conrad Brumann''' (~1480-1526) was a German organist.

== Biography & Works ==
[[Otmar Nachtgall|Luscinius]] numbers him among the pupils of [[Paul Hofhaimer]]. From 1513 on, Brumann was employed at the cathedral of Speyer, and he is referred to by this title in [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|Kleber's tablature]].

In said source, his compositions are identified by the initials ''V. S.'' (presumably for "''von Speyer''"). Similarly to his teacher, Brumann made use of unusually virtuosic diminutions.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Keyboard music by Conrad Brumann
|-
! Folio !! Title (modernised) !! Title in index !! Title in situ !! Incipit !! Notes !! Ref.
|-
| 58v-59v || Pleni || Pleni sunt celi } Org von Spyr. m. conrat || Pleni / M. Conradus. Or. / Spyrensis. (''above'') 1521 ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d8.\mordent e16[ f g] f8\mordent r32 e f g f e f d f e f g f e d c \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 bes4 d \bar "" }
>> </score>
| || <ref>[http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0002C41800000000 digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de], accessed on 28 October 2024.</ref>
|-
| 59v-60r || Carmen || Carmen in sol } Org von Spyr. m. conrat || (''to the side'') V. S. / de ůl etc ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative g' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 g4 g16 f g a \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8 c,32[ d e f] g[ f g a] g16[ f] e4 c \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4 g g8 g32[ f e d] c'4 \bar "" }
>> </score>
| || <ref>Ibid.</ref>
|-
| 66v-67r || Zucht, Ehr' und Lob || Zucht eer und lob. manu: || Zucht / eer und / Lob. / manüaliter. (''at top of page'') V. S. ||
<score> << \clef bass \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) f4 r16 e32 d c b c d e16 d e f d4 \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 f,1*1/2 c'4 bes16 c d e \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 f1*1/2 g4 bes \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Colorised version of Hofhaimer's song. || <ref>Ibid.</ref>
|}

== References ==
Moser, H. J. (1966). ''Paul Hofhaimer''. Georg Olms, Hildesheim.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin.

[[Category:Renaissance]][[Category:Organists]][[Category:Composers]]

Conrad Brumann

2024-11-10T16:23:14Z

Lex: improved incipits

'''Conrad Brumann''' (~1480-1526) was a German organist.

== Biography & Works ==
[[Otmar Nachtgall|Luscinius]] numbers him among the pupils of [[Paul Hofhaimer]]. From 1513 on, Brumann was employed at the cathedral of Speyer, and he is referred to by this title in [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|Kleber's tablature]].

In said source, his compositions are identified by the initials ''V. S.'' (presumably for "''von Speyer''"). Similarly to his teacher, Brumann made use of unusually virtuosic diminutions.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Keyboard music by Conrad Brumann
|-
! Folio !! Title (modernised) !! Title in index !! Title in situ !! Incipit !! Notes !! Ref.
|-
| 58v-59v || Pleni || Pleni sunt celi } Org von Spyr. m. conrat || Pleni / M. Conradus. Or. / Spyrensis. (''above'') 1521 ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d8.\mordent e16[ f g] f8\mordent r32 e f g f e f d f e f g f e d c \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 bes4 d \bar "" }
>> </score>
| || <ref>[http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0002C41800000000 digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de], accessed on 28 October 2024.</ref>
|-
| 59v-60r || Carmen || Carmen in sol } Org von Spyr. m. conrat || (''to the side'') V. S. / de ůl etc ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative g' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 g4 g16 f g a \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8 c,32[ d e f] g[ f g a] g16[ f] e4 c \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4 g g8 g32[ f e d] c'4 \bar "" }
>> </score>
| || <ref>Ibid.</ref>
|-
| 66v-67r || Zucht, Ehr' und Lob || Zucht eer und lob. manu: || Zucht / eer und / Lob. / manüaliter. ||
<score> << \clef bass \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) f4 r16 e32 d c b c d e16 d e f d4 \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 f,1*1/2 c'4 bes16 c d e \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \override NoteHead.duration-log = #2 f1*1/2 g4 bes \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Colorised version of Hofhaimer's song. || <ref>Ibid.</ref>
|}

== References ==
Moser, H. J. (1966). ''Paul Hofhaimer''. Georg Olms, Hildesheim.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin.

[[Category:Renaissance]][[Category:Organists]][[Category:Composers]]

Talk:Otmar Nachtgall

2024-11-10T09:29:55Z

Lex: /* I really love this article */ thanks!

== I really love this article ==

Especially how you made the composition table. Thank you!

--[[User:Fiskfan1999|Fiskfan1999]] ([[User talk:Fiskfan1999|talk]]) 22:29, 9 November 2024 (EST)

: I'm glad you like it!

: [[User:Lex|Lex]] ([[User talk:Lex|talk]]) 04:29, 10 November 2024 (EST)

Conrad Brumann

2024-11-10T09:28:44Z

Lex: added table of works; incipits need more tinkering

'''Conrad Brumann''' (~1480-1526) was a German organist.

== Biography & Works ==
[[Otmar Nachtgall|Luscinius]] numbers him among the pupils of [[Paul Hofhaimer]]. From 1513 on, he was employed at the cathedral of Speyer, and he is referred to by this title (as "Org von Spyr. m. conrat") in [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|Kleber's tablature]].

In said source, his compositions are identified by the initials ''V. S.'' (presumably for "''von Speyer''"). Similarly to his teacher, Brumann made use of unusually virtuosic diminutions.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Keyboard music by Conrad Brumann
|-
! Folio !! Title (modernised) !! Title in index !! Title in situ !! Incipit !! Notes !! Ref.
|-
| 58v-59v || Pleni || Pleni sunt celi } Org von Spyr. m. conrat || Pleni / M. Conradus. Or. / Spyrensis. (''above'') 1521 ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d8.\mordent e16[ f g] f8\mordent r32 e f g f e f d f e f g f e d c \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 bes4 d \bar "" }
>> </score>
| || <ref>[http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0002C41800000000 digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de], accessed on 28 October 2024.</ref>
|-
| 59v-60r || Carmen || Carmen in sol } Org von Spyr. m. conrat || (''to the side'') V. S. / de ůl etc ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative g' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) r1*1/2 g4 g16 f g a \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4 g g8 g32[ f e d] c'4 \bar "" }
\\ \relative g { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g8 c,32[ d e f] g[ f g a] g16[ f] e4 c \bar "" }
>> </score>
| || <ref>Ibid.</ref>
|-
| 66v-67r || Zucht, Ehr' und Lob || Zucht eer und lob. manu: || Zucht / eer und / Lob. / manüaliter. ||
<score> << \clef bass \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) f4 r16 e32 d c b c d e16 d e f d4 \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \omit Stem f,4*2 c'4 bes16 c d e \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \omit Stem f4*2 g4 bes \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Colorised version of Hofhaimer's song. || <ref>Ibid.</ref>
|}

== References ==
Moser, H. J. (1966). ''Paul Hofhaimer''. Georg Olms, Hildesheim.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin.

[[Category:Renaissance]][[Category:Organists]][[Category:Composers]]

Old German Tablature Notation

2024-10-29T08:37:27Z

Lex: /* Specific manuscripts */ corrections, rewordings, restructuring; added two short entries

[[File:Sicher tab page.jpg|thumb|right|A page from the [[Fridolin Sicher Tablature]] showing an example of Old German Tablature Notation]]
The term "'''Old German Tablature'''" refers to a style of notation popular among German-speaking organists in the 15th and 16th century. Unlike the [[New German Tablature Notation|"new" notation]], it was only rarely used to write down compositions not to be played on a keyboard instrument. Surviving examples show that it could readily support pieces between two and six voices.

== Overview ==
[[File:B_ornament.png|thumb|An example of the ornament sign being used on a letter (from Kleber's tablature).]]

The defining feature of old German tablature is the usage of black mensural notation for the voice that is highest in pitch (the ''superius'', as it is often referred to). The organist is usually expected to play this voice in their right hand, using their other hand and both feet to play the lower voices, which are invariably given in letters. The specific style of notation varies significantly between manuscripts, but a few common elements can be observed:

=== Superius ===
In the superius, all stems point upwards, and a downward stem is used to denote chromatic inflections (if it appears plain or crossed with a short, diagonal stroke) or ornamentation (with a loop or curve at its end). Some scribes allow for downward stems that are both crossed and looped, some prefer to only denote the ornament in such cases. A triangular flag may denote proportions or a change in mensuration, typically to signify temporary ternary division of note values when binary division is used throughout the rest of the piece (the Buxheim manuscript, which uses generally larger note values than later sources, utilises the standard technique of ''color'' in cases where such a change occurs among note values too large to be written with flags). In the last third of the 15th century, a curious form of shorthand emerged - in a passage of many notes moving in uniform values, only the first is given with the appropriate amount of flags, while the rest are notated as noteheads only. A double-sided repetition symbol, the shape of which varies between sources but always remains recognisable, can be placed above the staff, wherever it is most appropriate - the specific manner in which the repetition is to be carried out depends on the musical context.

=== Lower Voices ===
''Note: Even though the letter notation may look similar to [[New German Tablature Notation#Notation|its counterpart in the "New" tablature notation]], there are some differences between the two.''

In the lower voices, the symbols used generally agree with what is now known as Helmholtz pitch notation: the letters ''C'', ''D'', ''E'', ''F'', ''G'', ''A'', ''H'' belong to the white keys, while for the black keys a specific set of ''Cis'', ''Es'' (or ''Dis''), ''Fis'', ''Gis'', ''B'' is used. These are used even in contexts where the enharmonic spelling should be preferable (presumably for the sake of convenience), with minimal exceptions. At first, the symbols of the black keys may prove difficult to recognise: the raised tones are only written with the base letter and a long S next to it, the I being omitted, and ''Es'', despite being written without any shorthand, tends to become distorted by the scribes' handwriting - in later sources (and most manuscripts written in the newer style), the symbol is formed differently and represents a ''Dis'' note instead.

Regarding octave displacement, a lowercase letter belongs to the octave directly below Middle C, and an uppercase letter (only in 16th century sources) to the octave below that; for octaves above Middle C, horizontal lines should be progressively added above the lowercase letter. Note that, as the higher ranges were usually occupied by the superius, it is rare for the letters to intrude into the double-dashed octave - the specific implementation tends to vary between sources, with some lacking the provisions for such notation entirely. The rhythm is denoted with dots and vertical lines above the letters, as simplifications of the normal noteheads and stems used by mensural staff notation. Given that the shapes of the notes must agree between the superius and the letters below, a note with a dot above its letter has the note value of a semibrevis (in richly ornamented works of the [[Paul Hofhaimer|Paulomimes]], semisemifusae are a common sight). Earlier sources tend to write "pausa" (or its shortened form, "pau") instead of a proper rest, and "vacat" if one or more voices are to stay silent for a whole measure. "Pausa" was also used to indicate that a previously struck note is to be sustained over the entirety of the next measure.

Pedal parts (usually identifiable through a general absence of the shortest note values) tend to be given a prominent spot among letter-notated voices, that is, as the one that is placed highest or lowest.

=== Other ===
Where measure lines were not written, the scribe denoted the limits of a measure with minute horizontal gaps between groups of letters. A "=" symbol (oriented vertically if used at the bottom of a page) at a measure which was cut off prematurely by the right margin serves to let the reader know that a continuation will follow. Notes can be written across barlines.

Scribal errors happen often, as do intentional omissions of commonly understood interpretative details, and they are of different nature when occuring in the superius and when occuring in the lower voices. It is common for the entirety of the superius to be written without any accidentals, or for some of its notes to have an incorrect rhythmic value assigned (by inappropriate usage of both stems and/or flags). Somewhat less frequently, accidentals were left out in the lower voices as well. Sections of the top voice are also prone to being written a line too high or too low, producing unmusical results. Similarly to other polyphonic sources in common mensural notation, there are many cases where the total length of a measure in the superius does not match itself as given by the letters.

Another detail in which the old tablature differs from the new one is the arrangement of music on a manuscript's pages: although a specific scribal error in the tablature of Jan of Lublin confirms the existence of sources in which the music was written across two opposing pages, all surviving manuscripts were written from the top down in single pages.

== Specific manuscripts ==
''The following paragraphs attempt to summarise the differences in the style of notation among surviving manuscripts. More details and links will be added over time.''

=== Early sources and fragments ===

* [[A-Wnhd Cod. 3617]], a single setting of Kyrie V ("Magne Deus") inserted into a several-hundred-page theological manuscript. The meter is "octo notarum", and the syllables of the text (including the trope) are written next to the letter notation.

* [[PL-WRu I Q 438|The Żagań fragment]], a loose folio with three Gloria versets.

* [[PL-WRu I Q 42|The Wrocław manuscript]], with one tenor setting of a popular song and the beginning of a fundamentum appended to a compilation of theological texts.

* [[PL-WRu I F 687]], containing original compositions, instructive pieces, and tenor settings of certain Lieder that also received keyboard arrangements in later manuscripts of the [[Conrad Paumann|Paumann]] circle. This is the only manuscript in this list to supplement its letter notation with rhythmic and octave marks.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 5963]], where a Magnificat setting was inserted between various unrelated texts (on f. 248, marked as 240 in the original). Neumes can also be found elsewhere in the source.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 7755]], a treatise about organ composition, including several short pedagogical pieces, ending with a song setting. Most of the manuscript is taken up by medical texts.

* [[D-Kstb 4° Ms.theol. 18]], where a single page of untitled tablature precedes a psalter.

* [[D-B Ms.theol.lat.qu. 290|The tablature of Ludolf Wilkin]]. ''Currently being digitised, according to the library's online catalogue.''

* [[D-OLI Cim I 39|The Oldenburg tablature]], attributed to Ludolf Bödeker, containing several free pieces, a short fundamentum, and a setting of the Credo. The rest of the manuscript contains neumes for plainchant settings of various parts of the Mass Ordinary and a few sequences.

* [[D-Hs ND VI 3225|The tablature of Wolfgang von Neuhaus]]. Two sets of tablature can be found within, along with several pages of unrelated text, and both mostly consist of instructive pieces.

* [[Ileborgh Tablature|Ileborgh tablature]]. The letter notation in this source is unique: to save space, two-voice accompaniment is written horizontally, so that a pair of letters always takes up the space below a single "measure" in the superius (although most pieces in this manuscript are unmeasured). It is commonly accepted that this signifies the usage of double pedal, the left letter being intended for the left foot and likewise on the right side. ''Further comment on this manuscript is precluded by lack of access to its facsimile or published research of acceptable quality''.

In the music of these sources, as a rule, the tenor only has one note in a measure, and rhythm marks are therefore absent. Moreover, the specific subdivision of tenor notes is often provided at a piece's beginning (such as "trium", "quattuor", or "sex notarum"), a practice also observed among the earlier entries in the Buxheim manuscript. In accordance, measure lines are drawn regularly; only in the free, unmeasured praeambula are they absent.

=== German sources before 1500 ===

==== [[Lochamer-Liederbuch]] ====
The second half of the manuscript (that is, the part which contains pieces in organ tablature) can be further divided into two sections according to the manner in which the notation was written. The point at which a new octave begins was chosen to be between ''B'' and ''H'', for practical reasons. Except for staves written later into the bottom margin in order to keep a piece within the boundaries of a single page, every staff has seven lines. For the clef, the letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'' are used, with abstract symbols for ''F'' and ''D'' (a flower).

* The first section is written in a clear and legible hand. It gives an overall impression of a standardised, consistent system of notation, with only minimal deviations from the norm. Barlines are present and most measures have a regular length of three semibreves (this suggests that ''tempus perfectum'' is assumed); only a few measures are longer than that, typically two or three times the normal amount. In the superius, chromatic inflections use a crossed downward stem. A looping downward stem, identical both in shape and usage to that present in the Buxheim manuscript, is used in the last two pieces ("''Benedicite Almechtiger got''" and "''Domit ein gut Jare''"). Outside of that, it appears that the only notation for an ornament is a double-stemmed notehead with flags on both stems. It typically occurs in passages of uniformly-moving minims, only twice (towards the end of the "''Fundamentum breve cum ascensu et descensu''") does it appear in contexts where the Buxheim loop may be considered appropriate (the double-stemmed symbol does appear in the Buxheim manuscript as well, albeit extremely rarely). However, Apel claims that it is identical to a semiminim, specifically one on the weak beat, always adding a dot to the preceding minim when transcribing.

: Out of the lower voices, the tenor is written in large black letters, with a double letter being used for its last note (invariably a ''longa''). Note that the symbol for a final ''D'' somewhat resembles that which later notation uses for a common ''Es'', and, similarly, a double ''G'' may look similar to a ''Gis''. At the beginning of a piece or section thereof, a capital, sometimes double, letter is used. Very rarely, multiple letters occur in other places as well; the meaning of such usage is obscure. In some such cases, it may refer to repetition of a note, or perhaps to signify that an unusually long note is to be played. No notation is used for notes of the double-dashed octave, as the lower voices never move higher than g'. The contratenor may be written in either red or black ink, its letters appearing both above and below those of the tenor. Note values are written in red ink above the letters, but only in cases where there are more than three notes in one measure.

* The latter part is distinct by the absence of decorative red ink (except for two pages) and prevalence of white mensural notation for the superius; it begins with black notation, but eventually moves to white midway through a piece (the "''Paumgartner''"), suggesting that the scribe first wrote empty noteheads and intended to fill them in later. A greatly expanded selection of keys is now available for the lower voices: the notes ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', and even ''Dis'' (in an incorrect context, no less) appear in this section for the first time. While still clearly legible, the handwriting is not as orderly as before. In the second-to-last "''Praeambulum super F''", two voices are written in the first staff, forming a plain chordal texture with the third voice below. The tablature on the last page returns to the notational practice observed throughout the first section, albeit less decorated.

==== [[Buxheim Organ Book|The Buxheim organ book]] ====
Throughout the manuscript, seven lines are used for staves, exceptions being the six staves of five lines following the last piece of the collection, as well as the extensive "''Tabula''" on the last folio, which uses twelve lines and serves to explain the notation. The clef predominantly uses the standard "ut" symbol for the ''C'', with small vertical dashes for the ''G'' and ''D'' above; of these, the ''G'' ocassionally uses a letter, and may appear by itself. An F-clef only occurs in the aforementioned Tabula. Rests are now represented with proper symbols indicating their exact lengths. Usage of proportions in the superius can be easily identified, as it is represented a markedly different style of notation for the superius; large note values are written in void notation, a practice reminiscent of ''color'', while smaller ones receive the aforementioned triangular flag. In addition, a simple description of the change at hand (most often "''sexquialtera''") was added in some cases. Where a brevis needs to be chromatically altered, the downward stem almost always receives the diagonal dash, to prevent confusion with a longa. A fermata is sometimes used to denote the ends of musical sub-sections, similarly to its use in vocal compositions of the time.

* Out of the nine fascicles that constitute the manuscript, almost all music in the first eight was written by a single scribe, with five pieces added at the end in another hand. The handwriting observed throughout this corpus is orderly and legible, with all notes of a measure evenly spaced across its width. Barlines are present; as in the Lochamer source, a measure may sometimes take on a whole-number multiple of the regular length. White mensural notation appears in two pieces here. A third scribe added a single untitled piece (No. 239) at the beginning of the ninth fascicle, showing no significant differences from the established style. A new octave begins between ''H'' and ''C'', with ocassional slips where the intabulator added an overstroke over an ''H''.

* The fourth successive scribe of the Buxheim organ book was the first to make extensive use of the aforementioned superius shorthand, omitting stems in a group of notes of identical note values, except for the first (a few earlier occurences may be found, but they seem to be accidental). Aside from the crossed downward stem, the standard sharp symbol of mensural notation is used in several places. The point of division between octaves is inconsistent, but it appears the scribe intended for a higher octave to start at ''B''-''H''. For the most part, the scribe omitted barlines - they are only present where the boundary would be difficult to find from the notes alone, and double barlines are used to separate sections of a single fundamentum.

* Two pieces, No. 238b and No. 239, were each entered by a single scribe. The former returns to the original system of beginning a new octave with ''C''. Despite having notably different handwriting from the previous four scribes, neither of the two makes use of any original notational devices, aside from a clef made of the three letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'', exactly as they would appear in tablature, with single overstrokes to indicate their high pitch. The first piece has measure lines, the second does not. From No. 239 onward, stems and flags are no longer omitted in the superius.

* Scribe 7, having written pieces No. 240 through No. 244, used a letter for the ''D'' in the clef and only provided barlines once.

* The next, who contributed eight pieces, is notable for an unusual symbol somewhat similar in usage to the modern ''segno'': a circle from which a cross protrudes is used both to divert the performer when playing through a repetition, and to mark the beginning of the "''secunda volta''" in question. The only semblance of measure lines appears where there is a need to separate two pieces on the same staff, and the horizontal spacing between grouped notes varies from minimal to nonexistent.

* A ninth scribe wrote down five pieces, beginning with No. 252 ("''Tant apart''"). They added overstrokes to the ''H'' below Middle C about as often as they omitted them, which is in sharp contrast to the generally consistent observation of the ''H''-''C'' divide shown by the other authors.

* The tenth and last scribe, of considerably less legible handwriting than their predecessors, entered the two last pieces of the corpus. Their first intabulation has no barlines, the second uses them consistently, and, once again, seems to echo the style in which the first compositions of the manuscript were written down.

In accordance with the Tabula, notes an octave above Middle C or higher, when they appear, are notated identically to their lower counterparts - with only one overstroke. Similarly, the notes of the great octave are written just as those directly below Middle C are, using lowercase letters. Uppercase letters are used at the beginning of almost every piece or section thereof, as an initial.

=== German sources after 1500 ===

==== [[Tabulaturen Etlicher Lobgesang|Tabulaturen etlicher Lobgesang und Lidlein]] ====
As the only surviving example of printed old tablature - and possibly the earliest instance of printed organ music - the notation of [[Arnolt Schlick|Schlick's]] ''Tabulaturen'' differs notably from the other sources. The staff has six lines. Some of the notes that are placed on or below the top line are flipped in such a way that their stem points down. Chromatic alteration is indicated by a small loop connected to the notehead, opposite the stem. There are no symbols for ornaments of any kind. The mensuration ocassionally changes in the middle of a piece, marked by an appropriate symbol; sections in perfect time use looped, almost triangular flags on their semiminims and fusae. Like in the Buxheim organ book, lowercase letters are used for notes of the great octave; however, Schlick eliminates ambiguity by adding a horizontal line below the letter. A new octave begins with ''C''. For notes more than an octave above Middle C, only a single overstroke is used, but the letter is doubled.

==== [[CH-Bu F I 8a|Fundamentum of Hans Buchner]] ====
The notation doesn't depart from the conventions described above. High notes use double overstrokes instead of doubled letters. The other Buchner manuscript in the possession of Zentralbibliothek Zürich is not available for perusal, but is likely to use the same conventions, as both were written by the same scribe.

==== [[CH-Bu F IX 22|Kotter/Weck tablature]] ====
Notes above C5 are represented with double letters and a single overstroke, as in Schlick's published works.

==== [[CH-Bu F IX 58|Hans Kotter tablature]] ====

==== [[CH-SGs Cod. Sang. 530|Fridolin Sicher tablature]] ====
To notate binary note values in sections that use (a proportion effectively equivalent to) ternary divisions, the noteheads in question are supplied with two stems, each having a looped flag of its own.

==== [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|Leonhard Kleber tablature]] ====

==== [[CH-Bu F IX 57]] ====
The handwriting of this source's author is, in comparison with other manuscripts written often quite diligently, remarkably even and regular. The source often uses uncharacteristically generous beaming in the lower voices, but in other places also applies to them the omission of stems commonly used for the superius. A staff of five lines is used throughout, and no observation about the notation of high notes in letters can be made, as they do not occur in either of the two compositions.

=== Other sources ===
''Facsimiles of these manuscripts were not available at the time of writing.''

==== [[CH-Zz Z. XI. 301|Clemens Hör tablature]] ====

==== [[Jan of Lublin Tablature|Jan of Lublin tablature]] ====

==== [[Cracow Tablature|Cracow tablature]] ====

== References ==
''Facsimiles of the aforementioned manuscripts can be accessed from their respective pages''.

Kite-Powell, J. (2022). ''German Keyboard Tablature''. https://www.academia.edu/53290890/German_Keyboard_Tablature

Aringer, K (2006). ''Ein Unbekanntes Orgeltabulatur-Fragment des 15. Jahrhunderts in der Erzabtei St. Peter (Salzburg)''. Die Musikforschung, vol. 59.

Meyer, Ch. (2000). ''A Propos d’Un Feuillet de Tablature d’Orgue du Milieu du XVe S.''. https://hal.science/hal-00438192

Marx, W (1998). ''Die Orgeltabulatur des Wolfgang de Nova Domo''. Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, vol. 55.

Warburton, T. A. (1969). ''Fridolin Sicher's Tablature: A Guide to Keyboard Performance of Vocal Music''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan.

Apel, W. (1967). ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700''. Kassel, Bärenreiter-Verlag.

Southern, E. (1963). ''The Buxheim Organ Book''. Brooklyn, Institute of Mediaeval Music.

White, J. R. (1963). ''The Tablature of Johannes of Lublin''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 17.

Young, W. (1962). ''Keyboard Music to 1600 I''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 16.

Lord, R. S. (1960). ''The Buxheim Organ Book: A Study in the History of Organ Music in Southern Germany During the Fifteenth Century''. Doctoral dissertation, Yale University.

Apel, W. (1938). ''Early German keyboard music''. The Musical Quarterly, vol. 23.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin.

Otmar Nachtgall

2024-10-28T11:31:46Z

Lex: references added; the table having three columns for titles is suboptimal, but imo necessary

'''Otmar Nachtgall''' (1480-1537), also known as '''Othmar''' and '''Luscinius''', was a priest, organist, and Humanist of the early Renaissance. His arrangement of the popular song "''Ein fröhlich Wesen''" survives, ornamented, in the [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|tablature]] of [[Leonhard Kleber]], along with two other compositions, "In patientia vestra" and a "Fortuna" setting.

{{Stub}}

== Biography ==
Luscinius was born in Strasbourg, then a free imperial city, and studied various arts in Heidelberg, Leuven, and Vienna. After finishing his studies, being ordained a priest, and travelling to the former Greek empire, he returned to Strasbourg in 1514 and soon achieved several noteworthy positions in local churches. Having earned a doctorate in law at Padua, he moved to Augsburg in 1523, and again to Freiburg im Breisgau in 1529. He died at the local Carthusian monastery.

== Works related to music ==
Aside from the aforementioned compositions, Luscinius had two musical treatises published: the first, ''Institutiones musicae'' from 1515, contains lectures he previously gave at the university of Vienna, while the latter, ''Musurgia seu praxis musicae'' (written in 1518 and published in 1536), includes a Latin version of [[Sebastian Virdung|Virdung's]] ''Musica getutscht''. In the first book, the author gives extensive praise to his contemporary, organist [[Paul Hofhaimer]].

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Keyboard music by Luscinius (entirely within [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|Leonhard Kleber's tablature]])
|-
! Folio !! Title (modernised) !! Title in index !! Title in situ !! Incipit !! Notes !! Ref.
|-
| 28v-29r || Ein fröhlich Wesen || Fr. we. in re || .A. f. w. / .M. O. N. ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \omit Stem d4*2 d4 d f16[ g a g] a[ g f e] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d16[ c d e] f[ d g8] f[ bes16 a] a[ g f e] d[ e f e] f[ e d c] \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Descant part after Barbireau's original three-part setting of the song ''Een vroylic wesen''. || <ref>Fox, Ch. W. (1937). ''Ein Fröhlich Wesen: The career of a German song in the sixteenth century''. University of California Press.</ref><ref>[http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0002C41800000000 digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de], accessed on 28 October 2024.</ref>
|-
| 113r-114r || In patientia vestra || In paciencia } Trium } In Sol. || In pacientia / vestra. (''above title'') ∴M. Othmarus Nachtgal 1516 (''above incipit'') Luscinii 1516 ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) e\breve*1/4\rest g4 f g a bes c bes8[ a8.\mordent] g16[ f e] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4 f g a bes8 c4 bes16 a g8[ g'] e[ f] g[ f8.] e16[ d c] \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Plainchant set pedaliter in lengths of a triple semibrevis, in contrast to the upper parts, which are in cut time. || <ref>Ibid.</ref>
|-
| 133v-135r || Fortuna desperata || Fortuna Trium } Tenor in Bassu. } In fa || Fortuna / .m. o. n. / .trium. (''to the side'') .In Fa. / Tenor pedaliter. ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \omit Stem f4*2 f4 g \once \omit Stem a4*2 \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) f8. g16 a f b8 a d16 c c bes a g f8 e16 d c8 f \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Uses the tenor of the original Italian song as a cantus firmus. || <ref>Ibid.</ref><ref>"Fortuna desperata: Thirty-Six Settings of an Italian Song" (ed. Honey Meconi, A-R Editions, Middleton 2001) comments on the existence of keyboard intabulations, but includes none in its work-list.</ref>
|}

== References ==
Niemöller, K. W. (2001). ''Luscinius [Nachtgall], Othmar''. in: Grove Music Online.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin (then Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin).

[[Category:Organists]][[Category:Composers]]

Otmar Nachtgall

2024-10-28T10:54:28Z

Lex: /* Works related to music */ added table of works (had to use unpleasant incipit formatting to get good barlines); will add references in whole-page-edit-mode

'''Otmar Nachtgall''' (1480-1537), also known as '''Othmar''' and '''Luscinius''', was a priest, organist, and Humanist of the early Renaissance. His arrangement of the popular song "''Ein fröhlich Wesen''" survives, ornamented, in the [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|tablature]] of [[Leonhard Kleber]], along with two other compositions, "In patientia vestra" and a "Fortuna" setting.

{{Stub}}

== Biography ==
Luscinius was born in Strasbourg, then a free imperial city, and studied various arts in Heidelberg, Leuven, and Vienna. After finishing his studies, being ordained a priest, and travelling to the former Greek empire, he returned to Strasbourg in 1514 and soon achieved several noteworthy positions in local churches. Having earned a doctorate in law at Padua, he moved to Augsburg in 1523, and again to Freiburg im Breisgau in 1529. He died at the local Carthusian monastery.

== Works related to music ==
Aside from the aforementioned compositions, Luscinius had two musical treatises published: the first, ''Institutiones musicae'' from 1515, contains lectures he previously gave at the university of Vienna, while the latter, ''Musurgia seu praxis musicae'' (written in 1518 and published in 1536), includes a Latin version of [[Sebastian Virdung|Virdung's]] ''Musica getutscht''. In the first book, the author gives extensive praise to his contemporary, organist [[Paul Hofhaimer]].

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Keyboard music by Luscinius (entirely within [[Leonhard Kleber Tablature|Leonhard Kleber's tablature]])
|-
! Folio !! Title in index !! Title in situ !! Incipit !! Notes !! Ref.
|-
| 28v-29r || Fr. we. in re || .A. f. w. / .M. O. N. ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \omit Stem d4*2 d4 d f16[ g a g] a[ g f e] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) d16[ c d e] f[ d g8] f[ bes16 a] a[ g f e] d[ e f e] f[ e d c] \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Descant part after Barbireau's original three-part setting. || (ref)
|-
| 113r-114r || In paciencia } Trium } In Sol. || In pacientia / vestra. (''above title'') ∴M. Othmarus Nachtgal 1516 (''above incipit'') Luscinii 1516 ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) e\breve*1/4\rest g4 f g a bes c bes8[ a8.\mordent] g16[ f e] \bar "" }
\\ \relative c' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) g4 f g a bes8 c4 bes16 a g8[ g'] e[ f] g[ f8.] e16[ d c] \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Plainchant set pedaliter in lengths of a triple semibrevis, in contrast to the upper parts, which are in cut time. || (ref)
|-
| 133v-135r || Fortuna Trium } Tenor in Bassu. } In fa || Fortuna / .m. o. n. / .trium. (''to the side'') .In Fa. / Tenor pedaliter. ||
<score> << \clef alto \omit Score.TimeSignature
\relative f' { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) \once \omit Stem f4*2 f4 g \once \omit Stem a4*2 \bar "" }
\\ \relative f { \set Timing.measureLength = #(ly:make-moment 2/4) f8. g16 a f b8 a d16 c c bes a g f8 e16 d c8 f \bar "" }
>> </score>
| Uses the tenor of the Italian song ''Fortuna desperata'' as a cantus firmus. || (ref)
|}

== References ==
Niemöller, K. W. (2001). ''Luscinius [Nachtgall], Othmar''. in: Grove Music Online.

Fox, Ch. W. (1937). ''Ein Fröhlich Wesen: The career of a German song in the sixteenth century''. University of California Press.

[[Category:Organists]][[Category:Composers]]

Sebastian Virdung

2024-07-30T11:32:25Z

Lex: wrong book by luscinius

[[File:Virdung1.png|thumb|Sebastian Virdung (right) depicted talking to composer Andreas Silvanus (left); ''Musica getutscht'' is written in the form of a dialogue between these two.]]
'''Sebastian Virdung''' (~1465 - between 1512 and 1517) was a German composer. He is the author of ''Musica getutscht und aussgezogen'', one of the earliest musical treatises in a vernacular language, most of which consists of descriptions and illustrations of musical instruments.

== Biography ==
In the 1480s, Virdung was noted as studying law at Heidelberg University while also performing as a singer at the chapel of Count Philip. In 1500, he was made chaplain at Stalburg Castle, in 1505, he was employed in Stuttgart, and by 1507, he had found his way to Konstanz Cathedral, from where he was dismissed the following year. Throughout the later years of his life, he worked on a German-language general-purpose musical treatise, but was only able to secure enough funding to publish a part of the unfinished work in 1511. After his death, an expanded Latin adaptation was published by [[Otmar Nachtgall|Othmar Luscinius]] under the title ''Musurgia seu praxis musicae''.

== Works ==
[[File:Virdung2.png|thumb|Illustrations of some types of organs from ''Musica getutscht''.]]

Virdung's surviving oeuvre consists of five four-part songs (four published in 1513 by Peter Schöffer) and two alto parts to existing songs by [[Paul Hofhaimer]] and Erasmus Lapicida (published in 1539 by Johannes Petreius). The fifth song, ''O haylige'', appears in ''Musica getutscht'' to demonstrate the process of intabulation using tablature systems for lute and [[Old German Tablature Notation|keyboard]]. Rather than idiomatic instrumental arrangements, Virdung presents literal transcriptions of the song, ostensibly for pedagogical purposes. The resulting awkwardness, as well as the general lack of quality in the song itself, was criticised by [[Arnolt Schlick]] (highly skilled both as an organist and as a lutenist) in the preface to his publication, ''[[Tabulaturen Etlicher Lobgesang]]''. The system of tablature used by Virdung differs from all other surviving examples in that it places the boundary of octaves at E-F; the reason for this is unclear, but it may have been done to evenly divide the F-f `` organ keyboard, itself based on the range of the gamut, into three octaves rather than four incomplete ones. However, when writing out scales to demonstrate aspects of the tablature notation, Virdung also divides octaves at F-G and G-A.

== References ==
Bullard, B. (2001). ''Virdung [Grop], Sebastian''. in: Grove Music Online.

Lenneberg, Hans H. (1957). ''The Critic Criticized: Sebastian Virdung and his Controversy with Arnold Schlick''. Journal of the American Musicological Society, vol. 10.

Sebastian Virdung

2024-07-30T11:29:20Z

Lex: created page

[[File:Virdung1.png|thumb|Sebastian Virdung (right) depicted talking to composer Andreas Silvanus (left); ''Musica getutscht'' is written in the form of a dialogue between these two.]]
'''Sebastian Virdung''' (~1465 - between 1512 and 1517) was a German composer. He is the author of ''Musica getutscht und aussgezogen'', one of the earliest musical treatises in a vernacular language, most of which consists of descriptions and illustrations of musical instruments.

== Biography ==
In the 1480s, Virdung was noted as studying law at Heidelberg University while also performing as a singer at the chapel of Count Philip. In 1500, he was made chaplain at Stalburg Castle, in 1505, he was employed in Stuttgart, and by 1507, he had found his way to Konstanz Cathedral, from where he was dismissed the following year. Throughout the later years of his life, he worked on a German-language general-purpose musical treatise, but was only able to secure enough funding to publish a part of the unfinished work in 1511. After his death, an expanded Latin adaptation was published by [[Otmar Nachtgall|Othmar Luscinius]] under the title ''Institutiones musicae''.

== Works ==
[[File:Virdung2.png|thumb|Illustrations of some types of organs from ''Musica getutscht''.]]

Virdung's surviving oeuvre consists of five four-part songs (four published in 1513 by Peter Schöffer) and two alto parts to existing songs by [[Paul Hofhaimer]] and Erasmus Lapicida (published in 1539 by Johannes Petreius). The fifth song, ''O haylige'', appears in ''Musica getutscht'' to demonstrate the process of intabulation using tablature systems for lute and [[Old German Tablature Notation|keyboard]]. Rather than idiomatic instrumental arrangements, Virdung presents literal transcriptions of the song, ostensibly for pedagogical purposes. The resulting awkwardness, as well as the general lack of quality in the song itself, was criticised by [[Arnolt Schlick]] (highly skilled both as an organist and as a lutenist) in the preface to his publication, ''[[Tabulaturen Etlicher Lobgesang]]''. The system of tablature used by Virdung differs from all other surviving examples in that it places the boundary of octaves at E-F; the reason for this is unclear, but it may have been done to evenly divide the F-f `` organ keyboard, itself based on the range of the gamut, into three octaves rather than four incomplete ones. However, when writing out scales to demonstrate aspects of the tablature notation, Virdung also divides octaves at F-G and G-A.

== References ==
Bullard, B. (2001). ''Virdung [Grop], Sebastian''. in: Grove Music Online.

Lenneberg, Hans H. (1957). ''The Critic Criticized: Sebastian Virdung and his Controversy with Arnold Schlick''. Journal of the American Musicological Society, vol. 10.

File:Virdung2.png

2024-07-30T11:18:11Z

Lex: Virdung's illustrations for some keyboard instruments

== Summary ==
Virdung's illustrations for some keyboard instruments

File:Virdung1.png

2024-07-30T11:17:44Z

Lex: depiction of Andreas Silvanus and Sebastian Virdung

== Summary ==
depiction of Andreas Silvanus and Sebastian Virdung

Old German Tablature Notation

2024-07-26T13:14:46Z

Lex: /* Overview */ new image; clarification I forgot to add before; general rules for pedal usage

[[File:Sicher tab page.jpg|thumb|right|A page from the [[Fridolin Sicher Tablature]] showing an example of Old German Tablature Notation]]
The term "'''Old German Tablature'''" refers to a style of notation popular among German-speaking organists in the 15th and 16th century. Unlike the [[New German Tablature Notation|"new" notation]], it was only rarely used to write down compositions not to be played on a keyboard instrument. Surviving examples show that it could readily support pieces between two and six voices.

== Overview ==
[[File:B_ornament.png|thumb|An example of the ornament sign being used on a letter (from Kleber's tablature).]]

The defining feature of old German tablature is the usage of black mensural notation for the voice that is highest in pitch (the ''superius'', as it is often referred to). The organist is usually expected to play this voice in their right hand, using their other hand and both feet to play the lower voices, which are invariably given in letters. The specific style of notation varies significantly between manuscripts, but a few common elements can be observed:

* In the superius, all stems point upwards, and a downward stem is used to denote chromatic inflections (if it appears plain or crossed with a short, diagonal stroke) or ornamentation (with a loop or curve at its end). Some scribes allow for downward stems that are both crossed and looped, some prefer to only denote the ornament in such cases. A triangular flag may denote proportions or a change in mensuration, typically to signify temporary ternary division of note values when binary division is used throughout the rest of the piece (the Buxheim manuscript, which uses generally larger note values than later sources, utilises the standard technique of ''color'' in cases where such a change occurs among note values too large to be written with flags). In the last third of the 15th century, a curious form of shorthand emerged - in a passage of many notes moving in uniform values, only the first is given with the appropriate amount of flags, while the rest are notated as noteheads only. A double-sided repetition symbol, the shape of which varies between sources but always remains recognisable, can be placed above the staff, wherever it is most appropriate - the specific manner in which the repetition is to be carried out depends on the musical context.

* In the lower voices, the symbols used generally agree with what is now known as Helmholtz pitch notation: the letters ''C'', ''D'', ''E'', ''F'', ''G'', ''A'', ''H'' belong to the white keys, while for the black keys a specific set of ''Cis'', ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', ''B'' is used. These are used even in contexts where the enharmonic spelling should be preferable (presumably for the sake of convenience), with minimal exceptions. At first, the symbols of the black keys may prove difficult to recognise: the raised tones are only written with the base letter and a long S next to it, the I being omitted, and ''Es'', despite being written without any shorthand, tends to become distorted by the scribes' handwriting - in later sources (and most manuscripts written in the newer style), the symbol is formed differently and represents a ''Dis'' note instead.

: Regarding octave displacement, a lowercase letter belongs to the octave directly below Middle C, and an uppercase letter (only in 16th century sources) to the octave below that; for octaves above Middle C, horizontal lines should be progressively added above the lowercase letter. Note that, as the higher ranges were usually occupied by the superius, it is rare for the letters to intrude into the double-dashed octave - the specific implementation tends to vary between sources, with some lacking the provisions for such notation entirely. The rhythm is denoted with dots and vertical lines above the letters, as simplifications of the normal noteheads and stems used by mensural staff notation. Given that the shapes of the notes must agree between the superius and the letters below, a note with a dot above its letter has the note value of a semibrevis (in richly ornamented works of the [[Paul Hofhaimer|Paulomimes]], semisemifusae are a common sight). Earlier sources tend to write "pausa" (or its shortened form, "pau") instead of a proper rest, and "vacat" if one or more voices are to stay silent for a whole measure. "Pausa" was also used to indicate that a previously struck note is to be sustained over the entirety of the next measure.

: Pedal parts (usually identifiable through a general absence of the shortest note values) tend to be given a prominent spot among letter-notated voices, that is, as the one that is placed highest or lowest.

* Where measure lines were not written, the scribe denoted the limits of a measure with minute horizontal gaps between groups of letters. A "=" symbol (oriented vertically if used at the bottom of a page) at a measure which was cut off prematurely by the right margin serves to let the reader know that a continuation will follow. Notes can be written across barlines.

Scribal errors happen often, as do intentional omissions of commonly understood interpretative details, and they are of different nature when occuring in the superius and when occuring in the lower voices. It is common for the entirety of the superius to be written without any accidentals, or for some of its notes to have an incorrect rhythmic value assigned (by inappropriate usage of both stems and/or flags). Somewhat less frequently, accidentals were left out in the lower voices as well. Sections of the top voice are also prone to being written a line too high or too low, producing unmusical results. Similarly to other polyphonic sources in common mensural notation, there are many cases where the total length of a measure in the superius does not match itself as given by the letters.

Another detail in which the old tablature differs from the new one is the arrangement of music on a manuscript's pages: although a specific scribal error in the tablature of Jan of Lublin confirms the existence of sources in which the music was written across two opposing pages, all surviving manuscripts were written from the top down in single pages.

== Specific manuscripts ==
''The following paragraphs attempt to summarise the differences in the style of notation among surviving manuscripts. More details and links will be added soon.''

==== Early sources and fragments ====
* [[A-Wnhd Cod. 3617]], a single setting of Kyrie V ("Magne Deus") inserted into a several-hundred-page theological manuscript. The meter is "octo notarum", and the syllables of the text (including the trope) are written next to the letter notation.

* [[PL-WRu I Q 438|The Żagań fragment]], a loose folio with three Gloria versets.

* [[PL-WRu I Q 42|The Wrocław manuscript]], with one tenor setting of a popular song and the beginning of a fundamentum appended to a compilation of theological texts.

* [[PL-WRu I F 687]], containing original compositions, instructive pieces, and tenor settings of certain Lieder that also received keyboard arrangements in later manuscripts of the [[Conrad Paumann|Paumann]] circle. This is the only manuscript in this list to supplement its letter notation with rhythmic and octave marks.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 5963]], where a Magnificat setting was inserted between various unrelated texts (on f. 248, marked as 240 in the original). Neumes can also be found elsewhere in the source.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 7755]], a treatise about organ composition, including several short pedagogical pieces, ending with a song setting. Most of the manuscript is taken up by medical texts.

* [[D-Kstb 4° Ms.theol. 18]], where a single page of untitled tablature precedes a psalter.

* [[D-B Ms.theol.lat.qu. 290|The tablature of Ludolf Wilkin]] ''Currently being digitised, according to the library's online catalogue.''

* [[D-OLI Cim I 39|The Oldenburg tablature]], attributed to Ludolf Bödeker, containing several free pieces, a short fundamentum, and a setting of the Credo. The rest of the manuscript contains neumes for plainchant settings of various parts of the Mass Ordinary and a few sequences.

* [[D-Hs ND VI 3225|The tablature of Wolfgang von Neuhaus]] Two sets of tablature can be found within, along with several pages of unrelated text, and both mostly consist of instructive pieces.

In the music of these sources, as a rule, the tenor only has one note in a measure, and rhythm marks are therefore absent. Moreover, the specific subdivision of tenor notes is often provided at a piece's beginning (such as "trium", "quattuor", or "sex notarum"), a practice also observed among the earlier entries in the Buxheim manuscript. In accordance, measure lines are drawn regularly; only in the free, unmeasured praeambula are they absent.

==== [[Ileborgh Tablature|Ileborgh tablature]] ====
The letter notation in this source is unique: to save space, two-voice accompaniment is written horizontally, so that a pair of letters always takes up the space below a single "measure" in the superius. It is commonly accepted that this signifies the usage of double pedal, the left letter being intended for the left foot and likewise on the right side. ''Further comment on this manuscript is precluded by lack of access to its facsimile or published research of acceptable quality''.

==== [[Lochamer-Liederbuch]] ====
The second half of the manuscript (that is, the part which contains pieces in organ tablature) can be further divided into two sections according to the manner in which the notation was written. The point at which a new octave begins was chosen to be between ''B'' and ''H'', for practical reasons. Except for staves written later into the bottom margin in order to keep a piece within the boundaries of a single page, every staff has seven lines. For the clef, the letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'' are used, with abstract symbols for ''F'' and ''D'' (a flower).

* The first section is written in a clear and legible hand. It gives an overall impression of a standardised, consistent system of notation, with only minimal deviations from the norm. Barlines are present and most measures have a regular length of three semibreves (this suggests that ''tempus perfectum'' is assumed); only a few measures are longer than that, typically two or three times the normal amount. In the superius, chromatic inflections use a crossed downward stem. A looping downward stem, identical both in shape and usage to that present in the Buxheim manuscript, is used in the last two pieces ("''Benedicite Almechtiger got''" and "''Domit ein gut Jare''"). Outside of that, it appears that the only notation for an ornament is a double-stemmed notehead with flags on both stems. It typically occurs in passages of uniformly-moving minims, only twice (towards the end of the "''Fundamentum breve cum ascensu et descensu''") does it appear in contexts where the Buxheim loop may be considered appropriate (the double-stemmed symbol does appear in the Buxheim manuscript as well, albeit extremely rarely). However, Apel claims that it is identical to a semiminim, specifically one on the weak beat, always adding a dot to the preceding minim when transcribing.

: Out of the lower voices, the tenor is written in large black letters, with a double letter being used for its last note (invariably a ''longa''). Note that the symbol for a final ''D'' somewhat resembles that which later notation uses for a common ''Es'', and, similarly, a double ''G'' may look similar to a ''Gis''. At the beginning of a piece or section thereof, a capital, sometimes double, letter is used. Very rarely, multiple letters occur in other places as well; the meaning of such usage is obscure. In some such cases, it may refer to repetition of a note, or perhaps to signify that an unusually long note is to be played. No notation is used for notes of the double-dashed octave, as the lower voices never move higher than g'. The contratenor may be written in either red or black ink, its letters appearing both above and below those of the tenor. Note values are written in red ink above the letters, but only in cases where there are more than three notes in one measure.

* The latter part is distinct by the absence of decorative red ink (except for two pages) and prevalence of white mensural notation for the superius; it begins with black notation, but eventually moves to white midway through a piece (the "''Paumgartner''"), suggesting that the scribe first wrote empty noteheads and intended to fill them in later. A greatly expanded selection of keys is now available for the lower voices: the notes ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', and even ''Dis'' (in an incorrect context, no less) appear in this section for the first time. While still clearly legible, the handwriting is not as orderly as before. In the second-to-last "''Praeambulum super F''", there are two voices notated with mensural notation in the upper staff. The tablature on the last page returns to the notational practice observed throughout the first section.

==== [[Buxheim Organ Book|The Buxheim organ book]] ====
Throughout the manuscript, seven lines are used for staves, exceptions being the six staves of five lines following the last piece of the collection, as well as the extensive "''Tabula''" on the last folio, which uses twelve lines and serves to explain the notation. The clef predominantly uses the standard "ut" symbol for the ''C'', with small vertical dashes for the ''G'' and ''D'' above; of these, the ''G'' ocassionally uses a letter, and may appear by itself. An F-clef only occurs in the aforementioned Tabula. Rests are now represented with proper symbols indicating their exact lengths. Usage of proportions in the superius can be easily identified, as it is represented with noteheads markedly different from those used normally; a simple description of the change at hand (most often "''sexquialtera''") was added in some cases. Where a brevis needs to be chromatically altered, the downward stem almost always receives the diagonal dash, to prevent confusion with a longa. A fermata is sometimes used to mark the end of a musical phrase where two or more appear in one piece or section thereof.

* Out of the nine fascicles that constitute the manuscript, almost all music in the first eight was written by a single scribe, with five pieces added at the end in another hand. The handwriting observed throughout this corpus is orderly and legible, with all notes of a measure evenly spaced across its width. Barlines are present; as in the Lochamer source, a measure may sometimes take on a whole-number multiple of the regular length. White mensural notation appears in two pieces here. A third scribe added a single untitled piece (No. 239) at the beginning of the ninth fascicle, showing no significant differences from the established style. Every semiminim or fusa of the superius has flags, and a new octave begins between ''H'' and ''C'', with ocassional slips where the intabulator added an overstroke over an ''H''.

* The fourth successive scribe of the Buxheim organ book was the first to make extensive use of the aforementioned superius shorthand, omitting stems in a group of notes of identical note values, except for the first (a few earlier occurences may be found, but they seem to be accidental). Aside from the crossed downward stem, the standard sharp symbol of mensural notation is used in several places. The point of division between octaves is inconsistent, but it appears the scribe intended for a higher octave to start at ''B''-''H''. For the most part, the scribe omitted barlines - they are only present where the boundary would be difficult to find from the notes alone, and double barlines are used to separate sections of a single fundamentum.

* Two pieces, No. 238b and No. 239, were each entered by a single scribe. The former returns to the original system of beginning a new octave with ''C''. Despite having notably different handwriting from the previous four scribes, neither of the two makes use of any original notational devices, aside from a clef made of the three letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'', exactly as they would appear in tablature, with single overstrokes to indicate their high pitch. The first piece has measure lines, the second does not. From No. 239 onward, stems and flags are no longer omitted in the superius.

* Scribe 7, having written pieces No. 240 through No. 244, used a letter for the ''D'' in the clef and only provided barlines once.

* The next, who contributed eight pieces, is notable for an unusual symbol somewhat similar in usage to the modern ''segno'': a circle from which a cross protrudes is used both to divert the performer when playing through a repetition, and to mark the beginning of the "''secunda volta''" in question. The only semblance of measure lines appears where there is a need to separate two pieces on the same staff, and the horizontal spacing between grouped notes varies from minimal to nonexistent.

* A ninth scribe wrote down five pieces, beginning with No. 252 ("''Tant apart''"). They added overstrokes to the ''H'' below Middle C about as often as they omitted them, which is in sharp contrast to the generally consistent observation of the ''H''-''C'' divide shown by the other authors.

* The tenth and last scribe, of considerably less legible handwriting than their predecessors, entered the two last pieces of the corpus. Their first intabulation has no barlines, the second uses them consistently, and, once again, seems to echo the style in which the first compositions of the manuscript were written down.

In accordance with the Tabula, notes an octave above Middle C or higher, when they appear, are notated identically to their lower counterparts - with only one overstroke. Similarly, the notes of the great octave are written just as those directly below Middle C are, using lowercase letters. Uppercase letters are used at the beginning of almost every piece or section thereof, as an initial.

==== [[Tabulaturen Etlicher Lobgesang|Tabulaturen etlicher Lobgesang und Lidlein]] ====
As the only surviving example of printed old tablature - and possibly the earliest instance of printed organ music - the notation of [[Arnolt Schlick|Schlick's]] ''Tabulaturen'' differs notably from the other sources. The staff has six lines. Some of the notes that are placed on or below the top line are flipped in such a way that their stem points down. Chromatic alteration is indicated by a small loop connected to the notehead, opposite the stem. There are no symbols for ornaments of any kind. The mensuration ocassionally changes in the middle of a piece, marked by an appropriate symbol; sections in perfect time use looped, almost triangular flags on their semiminims and fusae. Like in the Buxheim organ book, lowercase letters are used for notes of the great octave; however, Schlick eliminates ambiguity by adding a horizontal line below the letter. A new octave begins with ''C''. For notes more than an octave above Middle C, only a single overstroke is used, but the letter is doubled.

==== [[CH-Bu F I 8a|Fundamentum of Hans Buchner]] ====
The notation doesn't depart from the conventions described above. High notes use double overstrokes instead of doubled letters. The other Buchner manuscript in the possession of Zentralbibliothek Zürich is not available for perusal, but is likely to use the same conventions, as both were written by the same scribe.

==== [[CH-Bu F IX 22|Kotter/Weck tablature]] ====
Notes above C5 are represented with double letters and a single overstroke, as in Schlick's published works.

==== [[CH-Bu F IX 58|Hans Kotter tablature]] ====

==== [[CH-SGs Cod. Sang. 530|Fridolin Sicher tablature]] ====
To notate imperfect note values in sections that use (a proportion effectively equivalent to) ternary divisions, the noteheads in question are supplied with two stems, each having a looped flag of its own.

==== [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|Leonhard Kleber tablature]] ====

==== [[Jan of Lublin Tablature|Jan of Lublin tablature]] ====

==== [[Cracow Tablature|Cracow tablature]] ====

== References ==
''Facsimiles of the aforementioned manuscripts can be accessed from their respective pages''.

Kite-Powell, J. (2022). ''German Keyboard Tablature''. https://www.academia.edu/53290890/German_Keyboard_Tablature

Aringer, K (2006). ''Ein Unbekanntes Orgeltabulatur-Fragment des 15. Jahrhunderts in der Erzabtei St. Peter (Salzburg)''. Die Musikforschung, vol. 59.

Meyer, Ch. (2000). ''A Propos d’Un Feuillet de Tablature d’Orgue du Milieu du XVe S.''. https://hal.science/hal-00438192

Marx, W (1998). ''Die Orgeltabulatur des Wolfgang de Nova Domo''. Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, vol. 55.

Warburton, T. A. (1969). ''Fridolin Sicher's Tablature: A Guide to Keyboard Performance of Vocal Music''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan.

Apel, W. (1967). ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700''. Kassel, Bärenreiter-Verlag.

Southern, E. (1963). ''The Buxheim Organ Book''. Brooklyn, Institute of Mediaeval Music.

White, J. R. (1963). ''The Tablature of Johannes of Lublin''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 17.

Young, W. (1962). ''Keyboard Music to 1600 I''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 16.

Lord, R. S. (1960). ''The Buxheim Organ Book: A Study in the History of Organ Music in Southern Germany During the Fifteenth Century''. Doctoral dissertation, Yale University.

Apel, W. (1938). ''Early German keyboard music''. The Musical Quarterly, vol. 23.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin.

File:B ornament.png

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Lex: example of ornament sign being used on a letter in old german tab

== Summary ==
example of ornament sign being used on a letter in old german tab

Conrad Brumann

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Lex: /* Biography & Works */ tiny clarification

'''Conrad Brumann''' (~1480-1526) was a German organist.

== Biography & Works ==
[[Otmar Nachtgall|Luscinius]] numbers him among the pupils of [[Paul Hofhaimer]]. From 1513 on, he was employed at the cathedral of Speyer, and he is referred to by this title (as "Org von Spyr. m. conrat") in [[Leonhard Kleber Tablature|Kleber's tablature]].

In said source, his compositions are identified by the initials ''V. S.'' (presumably for "''von Speyer''"), and they include a "Pleni", an untitled "Carmen", a "Praeambalum in Sol", and a coloration of Hofhaimer's "Zucht eer und lob".

== References ==
Moser, H. J. (1966). ''Paul Hofhaimer''. Georg Olms, Hildesheim.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin.

[[Category:Renaissance]][[Category:Organists]][[Category:Composers]]

Conrad Brumann

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Leonhard Kleber Tablature

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The tablature of [[Leonhard Kleber]], written in [[Old German Tablature Notation|Old German notation]], is an expansive collection of both intabulations and original organ music from the early 16th century.

{{Stub}}

== Overview ==
At several points in the manuscript, a year is given, sometimes to denote the date of a piece's composition, and at others the date it was added to the compilation. From these, it appears that Kleber's work took place mostly in the first half of the 1520s. The tablature is unique among others of the time for being divided into two halves such that the first contains only manualiter compositions and the second only pedaliter ones.

== References ==
{{OnlFac|sig=D-B Mus.ms. 40026|url=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0002C41800000000|urlc=digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de|date=25 July 2024}}

Apel, W. (1967). ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700''. Kassel, Bärenreiter Verlag.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin (then Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin).

[[Category:Manuscripts]][[Category:Renaissance manuscripts]][[Category:Renaissance]][[Category:German manuscripts]]

D-B Mus.ms. 40026

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#REDIRECT [[Leonhard Kleber Tablature]]

Otmar Nachtgall

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Old German Tablature Notation

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Lex: corrections and touch-ups; started normalising links to use sigla

[[File:Sicher tab page.jpg|thumb|right|A page from the [[Fridolin Sicher Tablature]] showing an example of Old German Tablature Notation]]
The term "'''Old German Tablature'''" refers to a style of notation popular among German-speaking organists in the 15th and 16th century. Unlike the [[New German Tablature Notation|"new" notation]], it was only rarely used to write down compositions not to be played on a keyboard instrument. Surviving examples show that it could readily support pieces between two and six voices.

== Overview ==
The defining feature of old German tablature is the usage of black mensural notation for the voice that is highest in pitch (the ''superius'', as it is often referred to). The organist is usually expected to play this voice in their right hand, using their other hand and both feet to play the lower voices, which are invariably given in letters. The specific style of notation varies significantly between manuscripts, but a few common elements can be observed:

* In the superius, all stems point upwards, and a downward stem is used to denote chromatic inflections (if it appears plain or crossed with a short, diagonal stroke) or ornamentation (with a loop or curve at its end). Some scribes allow for downward stems that are both crossed and looped, some prefer to only denote the ornament in such cases. A triangular flag may denote proportions. In the last third of the 15th century, a curious form of shorthand emerged - in a passage of many notes moving in uniform values, only the first is given with the appropriate amount of flags, while the rest are notated as noteheads only. A double-sided repetition symbol, the shape of which varies between sources but always remains recognisable, can be placed above the staff, wherever it is most appropriate - the specific manner in which the repetition is carried out depends on the musical context.

* In the lower voices, the symbols used generally agree with what is now known as Helmholtz pitch notation: the letters ''C'', ''D'', ''E'', ''F'', ''G'', ''A'', ''H'' belong to the white keys, while for the black keys a specific set of ''Cis'', ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', ''B'' is used. These are used even in contexts where the enharmonic spelling should be preferable (presumably for the sake of convenience), with minimal exceptions. At first, the symbols of the black keys may prove difficult to recognise: the raised tones are only written with the base letter and a long S next to it, the I being omitted, and ''Es'', despite being written without any shorthand, tends to become distorted by the scribes' handwriting - in later sources (and most manuscripts written in the newer style), the symbol is formed differently and represents a ''Dis'' note instead.

: Regarding octave displacement, a lowercase letter belongs to the octave directly below Middle C, and an uppercase letter (only in 16th century sources) to the octave below that; for octaves above Middle C, horizontal lines should be progressively added above the lowercase letter. Note that, as the higher ranges were usually occupied by the superius, it is rare for the letters to intrude into the double-dashed octave - the specific implementation tends to vary between sources, with some lacking the provisions for such notation entirely. The rhythm is denoted with dots and vertical lines above the letters, as simplifications of the normal noteheads and stems used by mensural staff notation. Given that the shapes of the notes must agree between the superius and the letters below, a note with a dot above its letter has the note value of a semibrevis (in richly ornamented works of the [[Paul Hofhaimer|Paulomimes]], semisemifusae are a common sight). Earlier sources tend to write "pausa" (or its shortened form, "pau") instead of a proper rest, and "vacat" if one or more voices are to stay silent for a whole measure. "Pausa" was also used to indicate that a previously struck note is to be sustained over the entirety of the next measure.

* Where measure lines were not written, the scribe denoted the limits of a measure with minute horizontal gaps between groups of letters. A "=" symbol (oriented vertically if used at the bottom of a page) at a measure which was cut off prematurely by the right margin serves to let the reader know that a continuation will follow. Notes can be written across barlines.

Scribal errors happen often, as do intentional omissions of commonly understood interpretative details, and they are of different nature when occuring in the superius and when occuring in the lower voices. It is common for the entirety of the superius to be written without any accidentals, or for some of its notes to have an incorrect rhythmic value assigned (by inappropriate usage of both stems and/or flags). Somewhat less frequently, accidentals were left out in the lower voices as well. Sections of the top voice are also prone to being written a line too high or too low, producing unmusical results. Similarly to other polyphonic sources in common mensural notation, there are many cases where the total length of a measure in the superius does not match itself as given by the letters.

Another detail in which the old tablature differs from the new one is the arrangement of music on a manuscript's pages: although a specific scribal error in the tablature of Jan of Lublin confirms the existence of sources in which the music was written across two opposing pages, all surviving manuscripts were written from the top down in single pages.

== Specific manuscripts ==
''The following paragraphs attempt to summarise the differences in the style of notation among surviving manuscripts. More details and links will be added soon.''

==== Early sources and fragments ====
* [[A-Wnhd Cod. 3617]], a single setting of Kyrie V ("Magne Deus") inserted into a several-hundred-page theological manuscript. The meter is "octo notarum", and the syllables of the text (including the trope) are written next to the letter notation.

* [[PL-WRu I Q 438|The Żagań fragment]], a loose folio with three Gloria versets.

* [[PL-WRu I Q 42|The Wrocław manuscript]], with one tenor setting of a popular song and the beginning of a fundamentum appended to a compilation of theological texts.

* [[PL-WRu I F 687]], containing original compositions, instructive pieces, and tenor settings of certain Lieder that also received keyboard arrangements in later manuscripts of the [[Conrad Paumann|Paumann]] circle. This is the only manuscript in this list to supplement its letter notation with rhythmic and octave marks.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 5963]], where a Magnificat setting was inserted between various unrelated texts (on f. 248, marked as 240 in the original). Neumes can also be found elsewhere in the source.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 7755]], a treatise about organ composition, including several short pedagogical pieces, ending with a song setting. Most of the manuscript is taken up by medical texts.

* [[D-Kstb 4° Ms.theol. 18]], where a single page of untitled tablature precedes a psalter.

* [[D-B Ms.theol.lat.qu. 290|The tablature of Ludolf Wilkin]] ''Currently being digitised, according to the library's online catalogue.''

* [[D-OLI Cim I 39|The Oldenburg tablature]], attributed to Ludolf Bödeker, containing several free pieces, a short fundamentum, and a setting of the Credo. The rest of the manuscript contains neumes for plainchant settings of various parts of the Mass Ordinary and a few sequences.

* [[D-Hs ND VI 3225|The tablature of Wolfgang von Neuhaus]] Two sets of tablature can be found within, along with several pages of unrelated text, and both mostly consist of instructive pieces.

In the music of these sources, as a rule, the tenor only has one note in a measure, and rhythm marks are therefore absent. Moreover, the specific subdivision of tenor notes is often provided at a piece's beginning (such as "trium", "quattuor", or "sex notarum"), a practice also observed among the earlier entries in the Buxheim manuscript. In accordance, measure lines are drawn regularly; only in the free, unmeasured praeambula are they absent.

==== [[Ileborgh Tablature|Ileborgh tablature]] ====
The letter notation in this source is unique: to save space, two-voice accompaniment is written horizontally, so that a pair of letters always takes up the space below a single "measure" in the superius. It is commonly accepted that this signifies the usage of double pedal, the left letter being intended for the left foot and likewise on the right side. ''Further comment on this manuscript is precluded by lack of access to its facsimile or published research of acceptable quality''.

==== [[Lochamer-Liederbuch]] ====
The second half of the manuscript (that is, the part which contains pieces in organ tablature) can be further divided into two sections according to the manner in which the notation was written. The point at which a new octave begins was chosen to be between ''B'' and ''H'', for practical reasons. Except for staves written later into the bottom margin in order to keep a piece within the boundaries of a single page, every staff has seven lines. For the clef, the letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'' are used, with abstract symbols for ''F'' and ''D'' (a flower).

* The first section is written in a clear and legible hand. It gives an overall impression of a standardised, consistent system of notation, with only minimal deviations from the norm. Barlines are present and most measures have a regular length of three semibreves (this suggests that ''tempus perfectum'' is assumed); only a few measures are longer than that, typically two or three times the normal amount. In the superius, chromatic inflections use a crossed downward stem. A looping downward stem, identical both in shape and usage to that present in the Buxheim manuscript, is used in the last two pieces ("''Benedicite Almechtiger got''" and "''Domit ein gut Jare''"). Outside of that, it appears that the only notation for an ornament is a double-stemmed notehead with flags on both stems. It typically occurs in passages of uniformly-moving minims, only twice (towards the end of the "''Fundamentum breve cum ascensu et descensu''") does it appear in contexts where the Buxheim loop may be considered appropriate (the double-stemmed symbol does appear in the Buxheim manuscript as well, albeit extremely rarely). However, Apel claims that it is identical to a semiminim, specifically one on the weak beat, always adding a dot to the preceding minim when transcribing.

: Out of the lower voices, the tenor is written in large black letters, with a double letter being used for its last note (invariably a ''longa''). Note that the symbol for a final ''D'' somewhat resembles that which later notation uses for a common ''Es'', and, similarly, a double ''G'' may look similar to a ''Gis''. At the beginning of a piece or section thereof, a capital, sometimes double, letter is used. Very rarely, multiple letters occur in other places as well; the meaning of such usage is obscure. In some such cases, it may refer to repetition of a note, or perhaps to signify that an unusually long note is to be played. No notation is used for notes of the double-dashed octave, as the lower voices never move higher than g'. The contratenor may be written in either red or black ink, its letters appearing both above and below those of the tenor. Note values are written in red ink above the letters, but only in cases where there are more than three notes in one measure.

* The latter part is distinct by the absence of decorative red ink (except for two pages) and prevalence of white mensural notation for the superius; it begins with black notation, but eventually moves to white midway through a piece (the "''Paumgartner''"), suggesting that the scribe first wrote empty noteheads and intended to fill them in later. A greatly expanded selection of keys is now available for the lower voices: the notes ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', and even ''Dis'' (in an incorrect context, no less) appear in this section for the first time. While still clearly legible, the handwriting is not as orderly as before. In the second-to-last "''Praeambulum super F''", there are two voices notated with mensural notation in the upper staff. The tablature on the last page returns to the notational practice observed throughout the first section.

==== [[Buxheim Organ Book|The Buxheim organ book]] ====
Throughout the manuscript, seven lines are used for staves, exceptions being the six staves of five lines following the last piece of the collection, as well as the extensive "''Tabula''" on the last folio, which uses twelve lines and serves to explain the notation. The clef predominantly uses the standard "ut" symbol for the ''C'', with small vertical dashes for the ''G'' and ''D'' above; of these, the ''G'' ocassionally uses a letter, and may appear by itself. An F-clef only occurs in the aforementioned Tabula. Rests are now represented with proper symbols indicating their exact lengths. Usage of proportions in the superius can be easily identified, as it is represented with noteheads markedly different from those used normally; a simple description of the change at hand (most often "''sexquialtera''") was added in some cases. Where a brevis needs to be chromatically altered, the downward stem almost always receives the diagonal dash, to prevent confusion with a longa. A fermata is sometimes used to mark the end of a musical phrase where two or more appear in one piece or section thereof.

* Out of the nine fascicles that constitute the manuscript, almost all music in the first eight was written by a single scribe, with five pieces added at the end in another hand. The handwriting observed throughout this corpus is orderly and legible, with all notes of a measure evenly spaced across its width. Barlines are present; as in the Lochamer source, a measure may sometimes take on a whole-number multiple of the regular length. White mensural notation appears in two pieces here. A third scribe added a single untitled piece (No. 239) at the beginning of the ninth fascicle, showing no significant differences from the established style. Every semiminim or fusa of the superius has flags, and a new octave begins between ''H'' and ''C'', with ocassional slips where the intabulator added an overstroke over an ''H''.

* The fourth successive scribe of the Buxheim organ book was the first to make extensive use of the aforementioned superius shorthand, omitting stems in a group of notes of identical note values, except for the first (a few earlier occurences may be found, but they seem to be accidental). Aside from the crossed downward stem, the standard sharp symbol of mensural notation is used in several places. The point of division between octaves is inconsistent, but it appears the scribe intended for a higher octave to start at ''B''-''H''. For the most part, the scribe omitted barlines - they are only present where the boundary would be difficult to find from the notes alone, and double barlines are used to separate sections of a single fundamentum.

* Two pieces, No. 238b and No. 239, were each entered by a single scribe. The former returns to the original system of beginning a new octave with ''C''. Despite having notably different handwriting from the previous four scribes, neither of the two makes use of any original notational devices, aside from a clef made of the three letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'', exactly as they would appear in tablature, with single overstrokes to indicate their high pitch. The first piece has measure lines, the second does not. From No. 239 onward, stems and flags are no longer omitted in the superius.

* Scribe 7, having written pieces No. 240 through No. 244, used a letter for the ''D'' in the clef and only provided barlines once.

* The next, who contributed eight pieces, is notable for an unusual symbol somewhat similar in usage to the modern ''segno'': a circle from which a cross protrudes is used both to divert the performer when playing through a repetition, and to mark the beginning of the "''secunda volta''" in question. The only semblance of measure lines appears where there is a need to separate two pieces on the same staff, and the horizontal spacing between grouped notes varies from minimal to nonexistent.

* A ninth scribe wrote down five pieces, beginning with No. 252 ("''Tant apart''"). They added overstrokes to the ''H'' below Middle C about as often as they omitted them, which is in sharp contrast to the generally consistent observation of the ''H''-''C'' divide shown by the other authors.

* The tenth and last scribe, of considerably less legible handwriting than their predecessors, entered the two last pieces of the corpus. Their first intabulation has no barlines, the second uses them consistently, and, once again, seems to echo the style in which the first compositions of the manuscript were written down.

In accordance with the Tabula, notes an octave above Middle C or higher, when they appear, are notated identically to their lower counterparts - with only one overstroke. Similarly, the notes of the great octave are written just as those directly below Middle C are, using lowercase letters. Uppercase letters are used at the beginning of almost every piece or section thereof, as an initial.

==== [[Tabulaturen Etlicher Lobgesang|Tabulaturen etlicher Lobgesang und Lidlein]] ====
As the only surviving example of printed old tablature - and possibly the earliest instance of printed organ music - the notation of [[Arnolt Schlick|Schlick's]] ''Tabulaturen'' differs notably from the other sources. The staff has six lines. Some of the notes that are placed on or below the top line are flipped in such a way that their stem points down. Chromatic alteration is indicated by a small loop connected to the notehead, opposite the stem. There are no symbols for ornaments of any kind. The mensuration ocassionally changes in the middle of a piece, marked by an appropriate symbol; sections in perfect time use looped, almost triangular flags on their semiminims and fusae. Like in the Buxheim organ book, lowercase letters are used for notes of the great octave; however, Schlick eliminates ambiguity by adding a horizontal line below the letter. A new octave begins with ''C''. For notes more than an octave above Middle C, only a single overstroke is used, but the letter is doubled.

==== [[CH-Bu F I 8a|Fundamentum of Hans Buchner]] ====
The notation doesn't depart from the conventions described above. High notes use double overstrokes instead of doubled letters. The other Buchner manuscript in the possession of Zentralbibliothek Zürich is not available for perusal, but is likely to use the same conventions, as both were written by the same scribe.

==== [[CH-Bu F IX 22|Kotter/Weck tablature]] ====
Notes above C5 are represented with double letters and a single overstroke, as in Schlick's published works.

==== [[CH-Bu F IX 58|Hans Kotter tablature]] ====

==== [[CH-SGs Cod. Sang. 530|Fridolin Sicher tablature]] ====
To notate imperfect note values in sections that use (a proportion effectively equivalent to) ternary divisions, the noteheads in question are supplied with two stems, each having a looped flag of its own.

==== [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|Leonhard Kleber tablature]] ====

==== [[Jan of Lublin Tablature|Jan of Lublin tablature]] ====

==== [[Cracow Tablature|Cracow tablature]] ====

== References ==
''Facsimiles of the aforementioned manuscripts can be accessed from their respective pages''.

Kite-Powell, J. (2022). ''German Keyboard Tablature''. https://www.academia.edu/53290890/German_Keyboard_Tablature

Aringer, K (2006). ''Ein Unbekanntes Orgeltabulatur-Fragment des 15. Jahrhunderts in der Erzabtei St. Peter (Salzburg)''. Die Musikforschung, vol. 59.

Meyer, Ch. (2000). ''A Propos d’Un Feuillet de Tablature d’Orgue du Milieu du XVe S.''. https://hal.science/hal-00438192

Marx, W (1998). ''Die Orgeltabulatur des Wolfgang de Nova Domo''. Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, vol. 55.

Warburton, T. A. (1969). ''Fridolin Sicher's Tablature: A Guide to Keyboard Performance of Vocal Music''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan.

Apel, W. (1967). ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700''. Kassel, Bärenreiter-Verlag.

Southern, E. (1963). ''The Buxheim Organ Book''. Brooklyn, Institute of Mediaeval Music.

White, J. R. (1963). ''The Tablature of Johannes of Lublin''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 17.

Young, W. (1962). ''Keyboard Music to 1600 I''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 16.

Lord, R. S. (1960). ''The Buxheim Organ Book: A Study in the History of Organ Music in Southern Germany During the Fifteenth Century''. Doctoral dissertation, Yale University.

Apel, W. (1938). ''Early German keyboard music''. The Musical Quarterly, vol. 23.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin.

Leonhard Kleber

2024-07-19T22:03:12Z

Lex: created page

'''Leonhard Kleber''' (~1495-1556) was a German organist. He is best known for his expansive and intricately decorated [[D-B Mus.ms. 40026|tablature]], which contains organ arrangements of polyphonic music both sacred and secular.

{{Stub}}

== Biography ==
Kleber was born in Göppingen, studied at Heidelberg University, and afterwards served as organist in Horb am Neckar, Esslingen am Neckar, and Pforzheim, where he died in 1556. His stay at Heidelberg in the years preceding 1512 suggests that he may have studied under [[Arnolt Schlick]].

== References ==
Apel, W. (1967). ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700''. Kassel, Bärenreiter Verlag.

Loewenfeld, H. (1897). ''Leonhard Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch als Beitrag zur Geschichte der Orgelmusik im beginnenden XVI. Jahrhundert''. Doctoral dissertation, Humboldt University, Berlin (then Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin).

[[Category:Organists]][[Category:Renaissance]][[Category:German Organists]]

Fridolin Sicher

2024-07-19T22:02:46Z

Lex: touch-ups

'''Fridolin Sicher''' (1490-1546) was a Swiss organist and composer. He is notable for compiling [[CH-SGs Cod. Sang. 530|a tablature]] containing intabulations of preexisting vocal music, as well as original works for the organ, mostly by other organists of the Swiss-German Renaissance.

{{Stub}}

== Biography ==
Born in Bischofszell, Sicher moved to Konstanz in 1503 to study the organ with Martin Vogelmayer until the following year. Later, in 1512, and again for no more than a year, he studied with [[Johannes Buchner]] in that same town. Having joined the Sankt-Gallen abbey in 1516 and left thirteen years later after a raid by local Calvinists, his duties as a scribe and one of the organists included organ accompaniment of Vespers and Compline. A devout Catholic, he fled north to Ensisheim in 1531 to escape the advancing Reformation. At his most productive, during the late 1520s, Sicher simultaneously held posts at St. Gallen, Bischofszell, and Regensberg. Eventually, he moved back to Bischofszell in 1537 and spent the last years of his life there.

== Works ==
Within Sicher's manuscript, only two works are attributed to him, both being organ settings of the Christmas carol ''Resonet in laudibus''. A third composition, titled ''Mich hat das glück'', was in the collection of the Humanist Bonifacius Amerbach of Basel, who was likely well-acquainted with Sicher and his output.

== References ==
Warburton, T. A. (1969). ''Fridolin Sicher's tablature: A guide to keyboard performance of vocal music'' Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan.

Apel, W. (1967). ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700''. Kassel, Bärenreiter Verlag.

[[Category:Composers]][[Category:Organists]][[Category:Renaissance]]

Old German Tablature Notation

2023-12-30T15:22:23Z

Lex:

[[File:Sicher tab page.jpg|thumb|right|A page from the [[Fridolin Sicher Tablature]] showing an example of Old German Tablature Notation]]
The term "'''Old German Tablature'''" refers to a style of notation popular among German-speaking organists in the 15th and 16th century. Unlike the [[New German Tablature Notation|"new" notation]], it was only rarely used to write down compositions not to be played on a keyboard instrument. Surviving examples show that it could readily support pieces between two and ten voices.

== Overview ==
The defining feature of old German tablature is the usage of black mensural notation for the voice that is highest in pitch (the ''superius'', as it is often referred to). The organist is usually expected to play this voice in their right hand, using their other hand and both feet to play the lower voices, which are invariably given in letters. The specific style of notation varies significantly between manuscripts, but a few common elements can be observed:

* In the superius, all stems point upwards, and a downward stem is used to denote chromatic inflections (if it appears plain or crossed with a short, diagonal stroke) or ornamentation (with a loop or curve at its end). Some scribes allow for downward stems that are both crossed and looped, some prefer to only denote the ornament in such cases. A triangular flag may denote triplet rhythm or a change in mensuration. In the last third of the 15th century, a curious form of shorthand emerged - in a passage of many notes moving in uniform values, only the first is given with the appropriate amount of flags, while the rest are notated as noteheads only. A double-sided repetition symbol, the shape of which varies between sources but always remains recognisable, can be placed above the staff, wherever it is most appropriate - the specific manner in which the repetition is carried out depends on the musical context.

* In the lower voices, the symbols used generally agree with what is now known as Helmholtz pitch notation: the letters ''C'', ''D'', ''E'', ''F'', ''G'', ''A'', ''H'' belong to the white keys, while for the black keys a specific set of ''Cis'', ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', ''B'' is used. These are used even in contexts where the enharmonic spelling should be preferable (presumably for the sake of convenience), with minimal exceptions. At first, the symbols of the black keys may prove difficult to recognise: the raised tones are only written with the base letter and a long S next to it, the I being omitted, and ''Es'', despite being written without any shorthand, tends to become distorted by the scribes' handwriting - in later sources (and most manuscripts written in the newer style), the symbol is formed differently and represents a ''Dis'' note instead.

: Regarding octave displacement, a lowercase letter belongs to the octave directly below Middle C, and an uppercase letter (only in 16th century sources) to the octave below that; for octaves above Middle C, horizontal lines should be progressively added above the lowercase letter. Note that, as the higher ranges were usually occupied by the superius, it is rare for the letters to intrude into the double-dashed octave - the specific implementation tends to vary between sources, with some lacking the provisions for such notation entirely. The rhythm is denoted with dots and vertical lines above the letters, as simplifications of the normal noteheads and stems used by mensural staff notation. Given that the shapes of the notes must agree between the superius and the letters below, a note with a dot above its letter has the note value of a semibrevis (in richly ornamented works of the [[Paul Hofhaimer|Paulomimes]], semisemifusae are a common sight). Earlier sources tend to write "pausa" (or its shortened form, "pau") instead of a proper rest, and "vacat" if one or more voices are to stay silent for a whole measure. "Pausa" was also used to indicate that a previously struck note was to be sustained over the entirety of the next measure.

* Where measure lines were not written, the scribe denoted the limits of a measure with minute horizontal gaps between groups of letters. A "=" symbol, sometimes vertical, is often used when a measure is cut off prematurely at a page's right margin, to let the reader know that its continuation will follow. Notes can be written across barlines.

Scribal errors happen often, as do intentional omissions of commonly understood interpretative details, and they are of different nature when occuring in the superius and when occuring in the lower voices. It is common for the entirety of the superius to be written without any accidentals or for some of its notes to have an incorrect rhythmic value assigned (whether by an inappropriate usage of stems, or flags). Somewhat less frequently, accidentals were left out in the lower voices as well. Sections of the top voice are also prone to being written a line too high or too low, producing unmusical results. Just like with normal mensural notation, there are many cases where the total length of a measure in the superius does not match itself as given by the letters.

Another detail in which the old tablature differs from the new one is the arrangement of music on a manuscript's pages: although a specific scribal error in the tablature of Jan of Lublin confirms the existence of sources in which the music was written across two opposing pages, all the surviving manuscripts were written from the top down in single pages.

== Specific manuscripts ==
''The following paragraphs attempt to summarise the differences in the style of notation among surviving manuscripts. More details and links will be added soon.''

==== Early sources and fragments ====
Among these, the following are included:

* [[A-Wnhd Cod. 3617]], a single setting of Kyrie V ("Magne Deus") inserted into a several-hundred-page theological manuscript. The meter is "octo notarum", and the syllables of the text (including the trope) are written next to the letter notation.

* [[Sagan Manuscript|The Żagań fragment]] (PL-WRu I Q 438), a loose folio with three Gloria versets.

* [[Breslau Manuscript|The Wrocław manuscript]] (PL-WRu I Q 42), with one tenor setting of a popular song and the beginning of a ''fundamentum'' appended to a compilation of theological texts.

* [[PL-WRu I F 687]], containing original compositions, instructive pieces, and tenor settings of certain ''Lieder'' that also received this treatment in later manuscripts of the [[Conrad Paumann|Paumann]] circle. This is the only manuscript in the list to supplement its letter notation with rhythmic and octave marks.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 5963]], where a Magnificat setting was inserted between various unrelated texts (on f. 248, marked as 240 in the original). Neumes can also be found elsewhere in the source.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 7755]], a treatise about organ composition, including several short pedagogical pieces, ending with a song setting. Most of the manuscript is taken up by medical texts.

* [[D-Kstb 4° Ms.theol. 18]], where a single page of untitled tablature precedes a psalter.

* [[Ludolf Wilkin Tablature|The tablature of Ludolf Wilkin]] (D-B Ms.theol.lat.qu. 290). ''Currently being digitised, according to the library's online catalogue.''

* [[Oldenburg Tablature|The Oldenburg tablature]] (D-OLI Cim I 39), attributed to Ludolf Bödeker, containing several free pieces, a short fundamentum, and a setting of the Credo. The rest of the manuscript contains neumes for plainchant settings of various parts of the Mass Ordinary and a few sequences.

* [[Wolfgang von Neuhaus Tablature|The tablature of Wolfgang von Neuhaus]] (D-Hs ND VI 3225). Two sets of tablature can be found within, along with several pages of unrelated text, and both mostly consist of instructive pieces.

In the music of these sources, as a rule, the tenor only has one note in a measure, and rhythm marks are therefore absent. Moreover, the specific subdivision of tenor notes is often provided at a piece's beginning (such as "trium", "quattuor", or "sex notarum"), a practice also observed among the earlier entries in the Buxheim manuscript. In accordance, measure lines are drawn regularly; only in the free, unmeasured ''praeambula'' are they absent.

==== [[Ileborgh Tablature|Ileborgh tablature]] ====
The letter notation in this source is unique: to save space, two-voice accompaniment is written horizontally, so that a pair of letters always takes up the space below a single "measure" in the superius. It is commonly accepted that this signifies the usage of double pedal, the left letter being intended for the left foot and likewise on the right side. ''Further comment on this manuscript is precluded by lack of access to its facsimile or published research of acceptable quality''.

==== [[Lochamer-Liederbuch]] ====
The second half of the manuscript (that is, the part which contains pieces in organ tablature) can be further divided into two sections according to the manner in which the notation was written. The point at which a new octave begins was chosen to be between ''B'' and ''H'', for practical reasons. Except for staves written later into the bottom margin in order to keep a piece within the boundaries of a single page, every staff has seven lines. For the clef, the letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'' are used, with abstract symbols for ''F'' and ''D'' (a flower).

* The first section is written in a clear and legible hand. It gives an overall impression of a standardised, consistent system of notation, with only minimal deviations from the norm. Barlines are present and most measures have a regular length of three semibreves (this suggests that ''tempus perfectum'' is assumed); only a few measures are longer than that, typically two or three times the normal amount. In the superius, chromatic inflections use a crossed downward stem. A looping downward stem, identical both in shape and usage to that present in the Buxheim manuscript, is used in the last two pieces ("''Benedicite Almechtiger got''" and "''Domit ein gut Jare''"). Outside of that, it appears that the only notation for an ornament is a double-stemmed notehead with flags on both stems. It typically occurs in passages of uniformly-moving minims, only twice (towards the end of the "''Fundamentum breve cum ascensu et descensu''") does it appear in contexts where the Buxheim loop may be considered appropriate (the double-stemmed symbol does appear in the Buxheim manuscript as well, albeit extremely rarely). However, Apel claims that it is identical to a semiminim, specifically one on the weak beat, always adding a dot to the preceding minim when transcribing.

: Out of the lower voices, the tenor is written in large black letters, with a double letter being used for its last note (invariably a ''longa''). Note that the symbol for a final ''D'' somewhat resembles that which later notation uses for a common ''Es'', and, similarly, a double ''G'' may look similar to a ''Gis''. At the beginning of a piece or section thereof, a capital, sometimes double, letter is used. Very rarely, multiple letters occur in other places as well; the meaning of such usage is obscure. In some such cases, it may refer to repetition of a note, or perhaps to signify that an unusually long note is to be played. No notation is used for notes of the double-dashed octave, as the lower voices never move higher than g'. The contratenor may be written in either red or black ink, its letters appearing both above and below those of the tenor. Note values are written in red ink above the letters, but only in cases where there are more than three notes in one measure.

* The latter part is distinct by the absence of decorative red ink (except for two pages) and prevalence of white mensural notation for the superius; it begins with black notation, but eventually moves to white midway through a piece (the "''Paumgartner''"), suggesting that the scribe first wrote empty noteheads and intended to fill them in later. A greatly expanded selection of keys is now available for the lower voices: the notes ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', and even ''Dis'' (in an incorrect context, no less) appear in this section for the first time. While still clearly legible, the handwriting is not as orderly as before. In the second-to-last "''Praeambulum super F''", there are two voices notated with mensural notation in the upper staff. The tablature on the last page returns to the notational practice observed throughout the first section.

==== [[Buxheim Organ Book|The Buxheim organ book]] ====
Throughout the manuscript, seven lines are used for staves, exceptions being the six staves of five lines following the last piece of the collection, as well as the extensive "''Tabula''" on the last folio, which uses twelve lines and serves to explain the notation. The clef predominantly uses the standard "ut" symbol for the ''C'', with small vertical dashes for the ''G'' and ''D'' above; of these, the ''G'' ocassionally uses a letter, and may appear by itself. An F-clef only occurs in the aforementioned Tabula. Rests are now represented with proper symbols indicating their exact lengths. Usage of ''proportio'' in the superius can be easily identified, as it is represented with noteheads markedly different from those used normally; a simple description of the change at hand (most often "''sexquialtera''") was added in some cases. Where a ''brevis'' needs to be chromatically altered, the downward stem almost always receives the diagonal dash, to prevent confusion with a ''longa''. A ''fermata'' is sometimes used to mark the end of a musical phrase where two or more appear in one piece or section thereof.

* Out of the nine fascicles that constitute the manuscript, almost all music in the first eight was written by a single scribe, with five pieces added at the end in another hand. The handwriting observed throughout this corpus is orderly and legible, with all notes of a measure evenly spaced across its width. Barlines are present; as in the Lochamer source, a measure may sometimes take on a whole-number multiple of the regular length. White mensural notation appears in two pieces here. A third scribe added a single untitled piece (No. 239) at the beginning of the ninth fascicle, showing no significant differences from the established style. Every semiminim or fusa of the superius has flags, and a new octave begins between ''H'' and ''C'', with ocassional slips where the intabulator added an overstroke over an ''H''.

* The fourth successive scribe of the Buxheim organ book was the first to make extensive use of the aforementioned superius shorthand, omitting stems in a group of notes of identical note values, except for the first (a few earlier occurences may be found, but they seem to be accidental). Aside from the crossed downward stem, the standard sharp symbol of mensural notation is used in several places. The point of division between octaves is inconsistent, but it appears the scribe intended for a higher octave to start at ''B''-''H''. For the most part, the scribe omitted barlines - they are only present where the boundary would be difficult to find from the notes alone, and double barlines are used to separate sections of a single fundamentum.

* Two pieces, No. 238b and No. 239, were each entered by a single scribe. The former returns to the original system of beginning a new octave with ''C''. Despite having notably different handwriting from the previous four scribes, neither of the two makes use of any original notational devices, aside from a clef made of the three letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'', exactly as they would appear in tablature, with single overstrokes to indicate their high pitch. The first piece has measure lines, the second does not. From No. 239 onward, stems and flags are no longer omitted in the superius.

* Scribe 7, having written pieces No. 240 through No. 244, used a letter for the ''D'' in the clef and only provided barlines once.

* The next, who contributed eight pieces, is notable for an unusual symbol somewhat similar in usage to the modern ''segno'': a circle from which a cross protrudes is used both to divert the performer when playing through a repetition, and to mark the beginning of the "''secunda volta''" in question. The only semblance of measure lines appears where there is a need to separate two pieces on the same staff, and the horizontal spacing between grouped notes varies from minimal to nonexistent.

* A ninth scribe wrote down five pieces, beginning with No. 252 ("''Tant apart''"). They added overstrokes to the ''H'' below Middle C about as often as they omitted them, which is in sharp contrast to the generally consistent observation of the ''H''-''C'' divide shown by the other authors.

* The tenth and last scribe, of considerably less legible handwriting than their predecessors, entered the two last pieces of the corpus. Their first intabulation has no barlines, the second uses them consistently, and, once again, seems to echo the style in which the first compositions of the manuscript were written down.

In accordance with the Tabula, notes an octave above Middle C or higher, when they appear, are notated identically to their lower counterparts - with only one overstroke. Similarly, the notes of the great octave are written just as those directly below Middle C are, using lowercase letters. Uppercase letters are used at the beginning of almost every piece or section thereof, as an initial.

==== [[Tabulaturen Etlicher Lobgesang|Tabulaturen etlicher Lobgesang und Lidlein]] ====
As the only surviving example of printed old tablature - and possibly the earliest instance of printed organ music - the notation of [[Arnolt Schlick|Schlick's]] ''Tabulaturen'' differs notably from the other sources. The staff has six lines. Some of the notes that are placed on or below the top line are flipped in such a way that their stem points down. Chromatic alteration is indicated by a small loop connected to the notehead, opposite the stem. There are no symbols for ornaments of any kind. The mensuration ocassionally changes in the middle of a piece, marked by an appropriate symbol; sections in perfect time use looped, almost triangular flags on their semiminims and fusae. Like in the Buxheim organ book, lowercase letters are used for notes of the great octave; however, Schlick eliminates ambiguity by adding a horizontal line below the letter. A new octave begins with ''C''. For notes more than an octave above Middle C, only a single overstroke is used, but the letter is doubled.

==== [[Fundamentum of Hans Buchner]] ====
The notation doesn't depart from the conventions described above. High notes use double overstrokes instead of doubled letters.

==== [[Hans Kotter Tablature|Hans Kotter tablature]] ====
Notes above C5 are represented with double letters and a single overstroke, as in Schlick's published works.

==== [[Fridolin Sicher Tablature|Fridolin Sicher tablature]] ====

==== [[Leonhard Kleber Tablature|Leonhard Kleber tablature]] ====

==== [[Jan of Lublin Tablature|Jan of Lublin tablature]] ====

==== [[Cracow Tablature|Cracow tablature]] ====

== References ==
''Facsimiles of the aforementioned manuscripts can be accessed from their respective pages''.

Kite-Powell, J. (2022). ''German Keyboard Tablature''. https://www.academia.edu/53290890/German_Keyboard_Tablature

Aringer, K (2006). ''Ein Unbekanntes Orgeltabulatur-Fragment des 15. Jahrhunderts in der Erzabtei St. Peter (Salzburg)''. Die Musikforschung, vol. 59.

Meyer, Ch. (2000). ''A Propos d’Un Feuillet de Tablature d’Orgue du Milieu du XVe S.''. https://hal.science/hal-00438192

Marx, W (1998). ''Die Orgeltabulatur des Wolfgang de Nova Domo''. Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, vol. 55.

Warburton, T. A. (1969). ''Fridolin Sicher's Tablature: A Guide to Keyboard Performance of Vocal Music''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan.

Southern, E. (1963). ''The Buxheim Organ Book''. Brooklyn, Institute of Mediaeval Music.

White, J. R. (1963). ''The Tablature of Johannes of Lublin''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 17.

Young, W. (1962). ''Keyboard Music to 1600 I''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 16.

Lord, R. S. (1960). ''The Buxheim Organ Book: A Study in the History of Organ Music in Southern Germany During the Fifteenth Century''. Doctoral dissertation, Yale University.

Apel, W. (1938). ''Early German keyboard music''. The Musical Quarterly, vol. 23.

File:Kassel tab.jpg

2023-10-14T20:30:43Z

Lex: https://orka.bibliothek.uni-kassel.de/viewer/image/1547547512460/7/

== Summary ==
https://orka.bibliothek.uni-kassel.de/viewer/image/1547547512460/7/
== Licensing ==
{{PD}}

Old German Tablature Notation

2023-10-14T20:23:39Z

Lex: previous edit was saved prematurely;

[[File:Sicher tab page.jpg|thumb|right|A page from the [[Fridolin Sicher Tablature]] showing an example of Old German Tablature Notation]]
The term "'''Old German Tablature'''" refers to a style of notation popular among German-speaking organists in the 15th and 16th century. Unlike the [[New German Tablature Notation|"new" notation]], it was only rarely used to write down compositions not to be played on a keyboard instrument. Surviving examples show that it could readily support pieces between two and ten voices.

== Overview ==
The defining feature of old German tablature is the usage of black mensural notation for the voice that is highest in pitch (the ''superius'', as it is often referred to). The organist is usually expected to play this voice in their right hand, using their other hand and both feet to play the lower voices, which are invariably given in letters. The specific style of notation varies significantly between manuscripts, but a few common elements can be observed:

* In the superius, all stems point upwards, and a downward stem is used to denote chromatic inflections (if it appears plain or crossed with a short, diagonal stroke) or ornamentation (with a loop or curve at its end). Some scribes allow for downward stems that are both crossed and looped, some prefer to only denote the ornament in such cases. A triangular flag may denote triplet rhythm or a change in mensuration. In the last third of the 15th century, a curious form of shorthand emerged - in a passage of many notes moving in uniform values, only the first is given with the appropriate amount of flags, while the rest are notated as noteheads only. A double-sided repetition symbol, the shape of which varies between sources but always remains recognisable, can be placed above the staff, wherever it is most appropriate - the specific manner in which the repetition is carried out depends on the musical context.

* In the lower voices, the symbols used generally agree with what is now known as Helmholtz pitch notation: the letters ''C'', ''D'', ''E'', ''F'', ''G'', ''A'', ''H'' belong to the white keys, while for the black keys a specific set of ''Cis'', ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', ''B'' is used. These are used even in contexts where the enharmonic spelling should be preferable (presumably for the sake of convenience), with minimal exceptions. At first, the symbols of the black keys may prove difficult to recognise: the raised tones are only written with the base letter and a long S next to it, the I being omitted, and ''Es'', despite being written without any shorthand, tends to become distorted by the scribe's handwriting. In terms of octave displacement, a lowercase letter belongs to the octave directly below Middle C, and an uppercase letter (only in 16th century sources) to the octave below that; for octaves above Middle C, horizontal lines should be progressively added above the lowercase letter. Note that, as the higher ranges were usually occupied by the superius, it is rare for the letters to intrude into the double-dashed octave - the specific implementation tends to vary between sources, with some lacking the provisions for such notation entirely. The rhythm is denoted with dots and vertical lines above the letters. Given that the shapes of the notes must agree between the superius and the letters below, a note with a dot above its letter has the note value of a semibrevis (in richly ornamented works of the [[Paul Hofhaimer|Paulomimes]], semisemifusae are a common sight). Earlier sources tend to write "pausa" (or its shortened form, "pau") instead of a proper rest, and "vacat" if one or more voices are to stay silent for a whole measure.

* Where measure lines were not written, the scribe denoted the limits of a measure with minute horizontal gaps between groups of letters. A "=" symbol, sometimes vertical, is often used when a measure is cut off prematurely at a page's right margin, to let the reader know that its continuation will follow. Notes can be, and ocassionally are, written across barlines.

Scribal errors happen often, as do intentional omissions of commonly understood interpretative details, and they are of different nature when occuring in the superius and when occuring in the lower voices. It is common for the entirety of the superius to be written without any accidentals or for some of its notes to have an incorrect rhythmic value assigned (whether by an inappropriate usage of stems, or flags). Somewhat less frequently, accidentals were left out in the lower voices as well. Sections of the top voice are also prone to being written a line too high or too low, producing unmusical results. Just like with normal mensural notation, there are many cases where the total length of a measure in the superius does not match itself as given by the letters.

Another detail in which the old tablature differs from the new one is the arrangement of music on a manuscript's pages: although a specific scribal error in the tablature of Jan of Lublin confirms the existence of sources in which the music was written across two opposing pages, all the surviving manuscripts were written from the top down in single pages.

== Specific manuscripts ==
''The following paragraphs attempt to summarise the differences in the style of notation among surviving manuscripts. More details and links will be added soon.''

==== Early sources and fragments ====
Among these, the following are included:

* [[A-Wnhd Cod. 3617]], a single setting of Kyrie V ("Magne Deus") inserted into a several-hundred-page theological manuscript. The meter is "octo notarum", and the syllables of the text (including the trope) are written next to the letter notation.

* [[Sagan Manuscript|The Żagań fragment]] (PL-WRu I Q 438), a loose folio with three Gloria versets.

* [[Breslau Manuscript|The Wrocław manuscript]] (PL-WRu I Q 42), with one tenor setting of a popular song and the beginning of a ''fundamentum'' appended to a compilation of theological texts.

* [[PL-WRu I F 687]], containing original compositions, instructive pieces, and tenor settings of certain ''Lieder'' that also received this treatment in later manuscripts of the [[Conrad Paumann|Paumann]] circle. This is the only manuscript in the list to supplement its letter notation with rhythmic and octave marks.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 5963]], where a Magnificat setting was inserted between various unrelated texts (on f. 248, marked as 240 in the original). Neumes can also be found elsewhere in the source.

* [[D-Mbs Clm 7755]], a treatise about organ composition, including several short pedagogical pieces, ending with a song setting. Most of the manuscript is taken up by medical texts.

* [[D-Kstb 4° Ms.theol. 18]], where a single page of untitled tablature precedes a psalter.

* [[Ludolf Wilkin Tablature|The tablature of Ludolf Wilkin]] (D-B Ms.theol.lat.qu. 290). ''Currently being digitised, according to the library's online catalogue.''

* [[Oldenburg Tablature|The Oldenburg tablature]] (D-OLI Cim I 39), attributed to Ludolf Bödeker, containing several free pieces, a short fundamentum, and a setting of the Credo. The rest of the manuscript contains neumes for plainchant settings of various parts of the Mass Ordinary and a few sequences.

* [[Wolfgang von Neuhaus Tablature|The tablature of Wolfgang von Neuhaus]] (D-Hs ND VI 3225). Two sets of tablature can be found within, along with several pages of unrelated text, and both mostly consist of instructive pieces.

In the music of these sources, as a rule, the tenor only has one note in a measure, and rhythm marks are therefore absent. Moreover, the specific subdivision of tenor notes is often provided at a piece's beginning (such as "trium", "quattuor", or "sex notarum"), a practice also observed among the earlier entries in the Buxheim manuscript. In accordance, measure lines are drawn regularly; only in the free, unmeasured ''praeambula'' are they absent.

==== [[Ileborgh Tablature|Ileborgh tablature]] ====
The letter notation in this source is unique: to save space, two-voice accompaniment is written horizontally, so that a pair of letters always takes up the space below a single "measure" in the superius. It is commonly accepted that this signifies the usage of double pedal, the left letter being intended for the left foot and likewise on the right side. ''Further comment on this manuscript is precluded by lack of access to its facsimile or published research of acceptable quality''.

==== [[Lochamer-Liederbuch]] ====
The second half of the manuscript (that is, the part which contains pieces in organ tablature) can be further divided into two sections according to the manner in which the notation was written. The point at which a new octave begins was chosen to be between ''B'' and ''H'', for practical reasons. Except for staves written later into the bottom margin in order to keep a piece within the boundaries of a single page, every staff has seven lines. For the clef, the letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'' are used, with abstract symbols for ''F'' and ''D'' (a flower).

* The first section is written in a clear and legible hand. It gives an overall impression of a standardised, consistent system of notation, with only minimal deviations from the norm. Barlines are present and most measures have a regular length of three semibreves (this suggests that ''tempus perfectum'' is assumed); only a few measures are longer than that, typically two or three times the normal amount. In the superius, chromatic inflections use a crossed downward stem. A looping downward stem, identical both in shape and usage to that present in the Buxheim manuscript, is used in the last two pieces ("''Benedicite Almechtiger got''" and "''Domit ein gut Jare''"). Outside of that, it appears that the only notation for an ornament is a double-stemmed notehead with flags on both stems. It typically occurs in passages of uniformly-moving minims, only twice (towards the end of the "''Fundamentum breve cum ascensu et descensu''") does it appear in contexts where the Buxheim loop may be considered appropriate. However, Apel claims that it is identical to a semiminim, specifically one on the weak beat, always adding a dot to the preceding minim when transcribing.

: Out of the lower voices, the tenor is written in large black letters, with a double letter being used for its last note (invariably a ''longa''). Note that the symbol for a final ''D'' somewhat resembles that which later notation uses for a common ''Es'', and, similarly, a double ''G'' may sometimes look similar to a ''Gis''. At the beginning of a piece or section thereof, a capital, sometimes double, letter is used. Very rarely, multiple letters occur in other places as well; the meaning of such usage is obscure. In some such cases, it may refer to repetition of a note, or perhaps to signify that an unusually long note is to be played. No notation is used for notes of the double-dashed octave, as the lower voices never move higher than g'. The contratenor may be written in either red or black ink, its letters appearing both above and below those of the tenor. Note values are written in red ink above the letters, but only in cases where there are more than three notes in one measure.

* The latter part is distinct by the absence of decorative red ink (except for two pages) and prevalence of white mensural notation for the superius; it begins with black notation, but eventually moves to white midway through a piece (the "''Paumgartner''"), suggesting that the scribe first wrote empty noteheads and intended to fill them in later. A greatly expanded selection of keys is now available for the lower voices: the notes ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', and even ''Dis'' (in an incorrect context, no less) appear in this section for the first time. While still clearly legible, the handwriting is not as orderly as before. In the second-to-last "''Praeambulum super F''", there are two voices notated with mensural notation in the upper staff. The tablature on the last page returns to the notational practice observed throughout the first section.

==== [[Buxheim Organ Book|The Buxheim organ book]] ====
Throughout the manuscript, seven lines are used for staves, exceptions being the six staves of five lines following the last piece of the collection, as well as the extensive "''Tabula''" on the last folio, which uses twelve lines and serves to explain the notation. The clef predominantly uses the standard "ut" symbol for the ''C'', with small vertical dashes for the ''G'' and ''D'' above; of these, the ''G'' ocassionally uses a letter, and may appear by itself. An F-clef only occurs in the aforementioned Tabula. Rests are now represented with proper symbols indicating their exact lengths. Usage of ''proportio'' in the superius can be easily identified, as it is represented with noteheads markedly different from those used normally; a simple description of the change at hand (most often "''sexquialtera''") was added in some cases. Where a ''brevis'' needs to be chromatically altered, the downward stem almost always receives the diagonal dash, to prevent confusion with a ''longa''. A ''fermata'' is sometimes used to mark the end of a musical phrase where two or more appear in one piece or section thereof.

* Out of the nine fascicles that constitute the manuscript, almost all music in the first eight was written by a single scribe, with five pieces added at the end in another hand. The handwriting observed throughout this corpus is orderly and legible, with all notes of a measure evenly spaced across its width. Barlines are present; as in the Lochamer source, a measure may sometimes take on a whole-number multiple of the regular length. White mensural notation appears in two pieces here. A third scribe added a single untitled piece (No. 239) at the beginning of the ninth fascicle, showing no significant differences from the established style. Every semiminim or fusa of the superius has flags, and a new octave begins between ''H'' and ''C'', with ocassional slips where the intabulator added an overstroke over an ''H''.

* The fourth successive scribe of the Buxheim organ book was the first to make extensive use of the aforementioned superius shorthand, omitting stems in a group of notes of identical note values, except for the first (an earlier occurence, possibly accidental, may be found in piece No. 41, ''Benedicite''; the same piece also contains a single anomalous Lochamer-style double-stemmed note). Aside from the crossed downward stem, the standard sharp symbol of mensural notation is used in several places. The point of division between octaves is inconsistent, but it appears the scribe intended for a higher octave to start at ''B''-''H''. For the most part, the scribe omitted barlines - they are only present where the boundary would be difficult to find from the notes alone, and double barlines are used to separate sections of a single fundamentum.

* Two pieces, No. 238b and No. 239, were each entered by a single scribe. The former returns to the original system of beginning a new octave with ''C''. Despite having notably different handwriting from the previous four scribes, neither of the two makes use of any original notational devices, aside from a clef made of the three letters ''C'', ''G'', and ''D'', exactly as they would appear in tablature, with single overstrokes to indicate their high pitch. The first piece has measure lines, the second does not. From No. 239 onward, stems and flags are no longer omitted in the superius.

* Scribe 7, having written pieces No. 240 through No. 244, used a letter for the ''D'' in the clef and only provided barlines once.

* The next, who contributed eight pieces, is notable for an unusual symbol somewhat similar in usage to the modern ''segno'': a circle from which a cross protrudes is used both to divert the performer when playing through a repetition, and to mark the beginning of the "''secunda volta''" in question. The only semblance of measure lines appears where there is a need to separate two pieces on the same staff, and the horizontal spacing between grouped notes varies from minimal to nonexistent.

* A ninth scribe wrote down five pieces, beginning with No. 252 ("''Tant apart''"). They added overstrokes to the ''H'' below Middle C about as often as they omitted them, which is in sharp contrast to the generally consistent observation of the ''H''-''C'' divide shown by the other authors.

* The tenth and last scribe, of considerably less legible handwriting than their predecessors, entered the two last pieces of the corpus. Their first intabulation has no barlines, the second uses them consistently, and, once again, seems to echo the style in which the first compositions of the manuscript were written down.

In accordance with the Tabula, notes an octave above Middle C or higher, when they appear, are notated identically to their lower counterparts - with only one overstroke. Similarly, the notes of the great octave are written just as those directly below Middle C are, using lowercase letters. Uppercase letters are used at the beginning of almost every piece or section thereof, as an initial.

==== [[Tabulaturen Etlicher Lobgesang|Tabulaturen etlicher Lobgesang und Lidlein]] ====
As the only surviving example of printed old tablature - and possibly the earliest instance of printed organ music - the notation of [[Arnolt Schlick|Schlick's]] ''Tabulaturen'' differs notably from the other sources. The staff has six lines. Some of the notes that are placed on or below the top line are flipped in such a way that their stem points down. Chromatic alteration is indicated by a small loop connected to the notehead, opposite the stem. There are no symbols for ornaments of any kind. The mensuration ocassionally changes in the middle of a piece, marked by an appropriate symbol; sections in perfect time use looped, almost triangular flags on their semiminims and fusae. Like in the Buxheim organ book, lowercase letters are used for notes of the great octave; however, Schlick eliminates ambiguity by adding a horizontal line below the letter. A new octave begins with ''C''.

==== [[Fundamentum of Hans Buchner]] ====

==== [[Hans Kotter Tablature|Hans Kotter tablature]] ====

==== [[Fridolin Sicher Tablature|Fridolin Sicher tablature]] ====

==== [[Leonhard Kleber Tablature|Leonhard Kleber tablature]] ====

==== [[Jan of Lublin Tablature|Jan of Lublin tablature]] ====

==== [[Cracow Tablature|Cracow tablature]] ====

== References ==
''Facsimiles of the aforementioned manuscripts can be accessed from their respective pages''.

Kite-Powell, J. (2022). ''German Keyboard Tablature''. https://www.academia.edu/53290890/German_Keyboard_Tablature

Aringer, K (2006). ''Ein Unbekanntes Orgeltabulatur-Fragment des 15. Jahrhunderts in der Erzabtei St. Peter (Salzburg)''. Die Musikforschung, vol. 59.

Meyer, Ch. (2000). ''A Propos d’Un Feuillet de Tablature d’Orgue du Milieu du XVe S.''. https://hal.science/hal-00438192

Marx, W (1998). ''Die Orgeltabulatur des Wolfgang de Nova Domo''. Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, vol. 55.

Warburton, T. A. (1969). ''Fridolin Sicher's Tablature: A Guide to Keyboard Performance of Vocal Music''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan.

Southern, E. (1963). ''The Buxheim Organ Book''. Brooklyn, Institute of Mediaeval Music.

White, J. R. (1963). ''The Tablature of Johannes of Lublin''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 17.

Young, W. (1962). ''Keyboard Music to 1600 I''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 16.

Apel, W. (1938). ''Early German keyboard music''. The Musical Quarterly, vol. 23.

Old German Tablature Notation

2023-10-14T18:36:12Z

Lex: added collective entry for non-substantial manuscritps, corrected a few mistakes, removed irrelevant information and excessive formatting

CZ-Pn 1 D a 3/52

2023-09-27T22:15:28Z

Lex: wrong word

'''CZ-Pn 1 D a 3/52''' is the shelf-mark for a single folio dating from the second half of the 14th century.

== Overview ==
The leaf was originally used for financial records, one of which is dated to 1356. An undetermined amount of time later, a different scribe added two liturgical tenor settings for organ, each in two voices: a ''Salve, sancta parens'' and ''Kyrie, magne Deus''. The descant is notated in [[Old German Tablature Notation|Old German tablature notation]], using the common symbols for ''semibreves'', ''minimae'', and ''semiminimae'', along with a diagonally crossed downward stem for the sharps ''Fis'', ''Cis'', and ''Gis''. When present, the (embellished) tenor moves in long note values, which the upper part divides (with some inconsistencies) into eight ''semiminimae''. It was either written directly into the same staff as the descant, transposed a third, fifth, or seventh higher than necessary, or with letter notation below it, always at the upper fifth, which suggests that the organ at which the source was written had a transposing pedal of some variety. Other than the organ compositions, a few large notes in rhombic chorale notation and ''formulae'' to be used in the descant were written onto the folio.

Two references to a Czech town, albeit indecipherable, are made in the text. The regionally specific rhombic neumes further support the hypothesis that the manuscript was written in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown.

Eventually, the folio was used for book-binding, and was seemingly taken out of this unknown volume at an even later date. It was discovered in 2016 at the Library of the National Museum in Prague. A restoration took place the following year; however, most of the notation is only visible under UV light, due to the mechanical damage the manuscript had suffered prior to its discovery.

== References ==
''A facsimile and reconstructed transcription of the manuscript are available in the article linked below.''

Horyna, M. (2018). ''Středověká varhanní tabulatura na rukopisném zlomku z Knihovny Národního Muzea''. Musicalia 1-2. https://publikace.nm.cz/file/7d46c49e6738b4f885fa5470cfa9e5c6/20605/Musicalia%202018%206-42.pdf (contains English translation)

[[Category:Manuscripts]]

CZ-Pn 1 D a 3/52

2023-09-27T18:38:01Z

Lex: forgot to add category

'''CZ-Pn 1 D a 3/52''' is the shelf-mark for a single folio dating from the second half of the 14th century.

== Overview ==
The leaf was originally used for financial records, one of which is dated to 1356. An undetermined amount of time later, a different scribe added two liturgical tenor settings for organ, each in two voices: a ''Salve, sancta parens'' and ''Kyrie, magne Deus''. The descant is notated in [[Old German Tablature Notation|Old German tablature notation]], using the common symbols for ''semibreves'', ''minimae'', and ''semiminimae'', along with a diagonally crossed downward stem for the sharps ''Fis'', ''Cis'', and ''Gis''. When present, the (embellished) tenor moves in long note values, which the upper part divides (with some inconsistencies) into eight ''semiminimae''. It was either written directly into the same staff as the descant, transposed a third, fifth, or seventh higher than necessary, or with letter notation below it, always at the upper fifth, which suggests that the organ at which the source was written had a transposing pedal of some variety. Other than the organ compositions, a few large notes in rhombic chorale notation and ''formulae'' to be used in the descant were written onto the folio.

Two references to a Czech town, albeit indecipherable, are made in the text. The regionally specific rhombic neumes further support the hypothesis that the manuscript was written in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown.

Eventually, the folio was used for book-binding, and was seemingly taken out of this unknown volume at an even later date. It was discovered in 2016 at the Library of the National Museum in Prague. A restoration took place the following year; however, most of the notation is only visible under UV light, due to the mechanical damage the manuscript had attained prior to its discovery.

== References ==
''A facsimile and reconstructed transcription of the manuscript are available in the article linked below.''

Horyna, M. (2018). ''Středověká varhanní tabulatura na rukopisném zlomku z Knihovny Národního Muzea''. Musicalia 1-2. https://publikace.nm.cz/file/7d46c49e6738b4f885fa5470cfa9e5c6/20605/Musicalia%202018%206-42.pdf (contains English translation)

[[Category:Manuscripts]]

CZ-Pn 1 D a 3/52

2023-09-27T18:32:51Z

Lex: created page

'''CZ-Pn 1 D a 3/52''' is the shelf-mark for a single folio dating from the second half of the 14th century.

== Overview ==
The leaf was originally used for financial records, one of which is dated to 1356. An undetermined amount of time later, a different scribe added two liturgical tenor settings for organ, each in two voices: a ''Salve, sancta parens'' and ''Kyrie, magne Deus''. The descant is notated in [[Old German Tablature Notation|Old German tablature notation]], using the common symbols for ''semibreves'', ''minimae'', and ''semiminimae'', along with a diagonally crossed downward stem for the sharps ''Fis'', ''Cis'', and ''Gis''. When present, the (embellished) tenor moves in long note values, which the upper part divides (with some inconsistencies) into eight ''semiminimae''. It was either written directly into the same staff as the descant, transposed a third, fifth, or seventh higher than necessary, or with letter notation below it, always at the upper fifth, which suggests that the organ at which the source was written had a transposing pedal of some variety. Other than the organ compositions, a few large notes in rhombic chorale notation and ''formulae'' to be used in the descant were written onto the folio.

Two references to a Czech town, albeit indecipherable, are made in the text. The regionally specific rhombic neumes further support the hypothesis that the manuscript was written in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown.

Eventually, the folio was used for book-binding, and was seemingly taken out of this unknown volume at an even later date. It was discovered in 2016 at the Library of the National Museum in Prague. A restoration took place the following year; however, most of the notation is only visible under UV light, due to the mechanical damage the manuscript had attained prior to its discovery.

== References ==
''A facsimile and reconstructed transcription of the manuscript are available in the article linked below.''

Horyna, M. (2018). ''Středověká varhanní tabulatura na rukopisném zlomku z Knihovny Národního Muzea''. Musicalia 1-2. https://publikace.nm.cz/file/7d46c49e6738b4f885fa5470cfa9e5c6/20605/Musicalia%202018%206-42.pdf (contains English translation)

D-B Mus. ms. 40613

2023-09-27T16:07:41Z

Lex: created redirect

#REDIRECT [[Lochamer-Liederbuch]]

Lochamer-Liederbuch

2023-09-27T16:06:03Z

Lex: created stub

''"Fundamentum organisandi" redirects here. For other manuscripts that contain didactic compositions under this name, see [[Buxheim Organ Book]] and [[Fundamentum of Hans Buchner]].''

The '''Lochamer-Liederbuch double source''' (also referred to by its shelf-mark, '''D-B Mus. ms. 40613''') contains, along with several polyphonic German ''Lieder'', a sizable collection of early keyboard repertoire dating from the 1450s. It is associated with the blind organist-composer [[Conrad Paumann]].

{{Stub}}

== References ==

Online facsimile: [https://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/werkansicht/?PPN=PPN645230707&PHYSID=PHYS_0001 digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de], accessed 27 September 2023. Mirrored at [https://imslp.org/wiki/Lochamer-Liederbuch_(Paumann%2C_Conrad) IMSLP].

Southern, E. (1962). ''The Buxheim Organ Book''. Brooklyn, Institute of Mediaeval Music.

Young, W. (1962). ''Keyboard Music to 1600 I''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 16.

Fundamentum Organisandi

2023-09-27T15:44:10Z

Lex: created page as a redirect to the more appropriate name

#REDIRECT [[Lochamer-Liederbuch]]

Old German Tablature Notation

2023-09-27T15:42:43Z

Lex: further clarifications and fixes

Old German Tablature Notation

2023-09-27T12:15:23Z

Lex: /* The Buxheim organ book */ finished section content-wise

Old German Tablature Notation

2023-09-26T14:06:04Z

Lex: small fixes and clarifications; added unfinished buxheim section

Old German Tablature Notation

2023-09-25T16:52:51Z

Lex: completed two sections, corrected links to be in line with capitalisation, made headings smaller; discussion of triangular flags in Schlick still missing

User talk:Lex

2023-09-25T14:03:23Z

Lex:

== Welcome! ==

Thanks for creating an account here, I'm really glad that you are here

--[[User:Fiskfan1999|Fiskfan1999]] ([[User talk:Fiskfan1999|talk]]) 01:54, 24 September 2023 (EDT)

: thank you for the warm welcome! glad to be here

: --[[User:Lex|Lex]] ([[User talk:Lex|talk]]) 10:03, 25 September 2023 (EDT)

Old German Tablature Notation

2023-09-24T17:10:56Z

Lex: created page; lots of info and links missing, I'll get to them soon

The term "'''Old German Tablature'''" refers to a style of notation popular among German-speaking organists in the 15th and 16th century. Unlike the [[New German Tablature Notation|"new" notation]], it was only rarely used to write down compositions not to be played on a keyboard instrument. Surviving examples show that it could readily support pieces between two and ten voices.

== Overview ==
The defining feature of old German tablature is the usage of black mensural notation for the voice that is highest in pitch (the ''superius'', as it is often referred to). The organist is usually expected to play this voice in their right hand, using their other hand and both feet to play the lower voices, which are invariably given in letters. The specific style of notation varies significantly between manuscripts, but a few common elements can be observed:

* In the superius, all stems point upwards, and a downward stem is used to denote chromatic inflections (if it appears plain or crossed with a short, diagonal stroke) or ornamentation (with a loop at its end). Some scribes allow for downward stems that are both crossed and looped, some prefer to only denote the ornament in such cases. Depending on the source, a triangular flag on a note may denote triplet rhythm. In the last third of the 15th century, a curious form of shorthand emerged - in a passage of many notes moving in uniform values, only the first is given with the appropriate amount of flags, while the rest are notated as noteheads only.
* In the lower voices, the symbols used generally agree with what is now known as Helmholtz pitch notation: the letters ''C'', ''D'', ''E'', ''F'', ''G'', ''A'', ''H'' belong to the white keys, while for the black keys a specific set of ''Cis'', ''Es'', ''Fis'', ''Gis'', ''B'' is used. These are used even in contexts where the enharmonic spelling should be preferable (presumably for the sake of convenience), with minimal exceptions. At first, the symbols of the black keys may prove difficult to recognise: the raised tones are only written with the base letter and a long S next to it, the I being omitted, and ''Es'', despite being written without any shorthand, tends to become distorted by the scribe's handwriting. In terms of octave displacement, a lowercase letter belongs to the octave directly below Middle C, and an uppercase letter (only in 16th century sources) to the octave below that; for octaves above Middle C, horizontal lines should be progressively added above the lowercase letter. Note that, as the higher ranges were usually occupied by the superius, it is rare for the letters to intrude into the double-dashed octave - the specific implementation tends to vary between sources, with some lacking the provisions for such notation entirely. The rhythm is denoted with dots and vertical lines above the letters. Given that the shapes of the notes must agree between the superius and the letters below, a note with a dot above its letter has the note value of a semibrevis (in richly ornamented works of the [[Paul Hofhaimer|Paulomimes]], ''semisemifusae'' are a common sight).
* Where measure lines were not written, the scribe denoted the limits of a measure with minute horizontal gaps between groups of letters. A "=" symbol, sometimes vertical, is often used when a measure is cut off prematurely at a page's right margin, to let the reader know that its continuation will follow. Notes can be, and ocassionally are, written across barlines. It is generally safe to assume that both the ''tempus'' and ''prolatio'' are imperfect.

Scribal errors happen often, as are intentional omissions of commonly understood interpretative details, and they are of different nature when occuring in the superius, as opposed to occuring in the lower voices. It is common for the entirety of the superius to be written without any accidentals or for some of its notes to have an incorrect rhythmic value assigned (whether by an inappropriate usage of stems, or flags). Somewhat less frequently, accidentals were left out in the lower voices as well. Sections of the top voice are also prone to being written a line too high or too low, producing unmusical results. Just like with normal mensural notation, there are many cases where the total length of a measure in the superius does not match itself as given by the letters.

== Specific manuscripts ==
''Details and links will be added soon.''

=== [[Ileborgh Tablature]] ===
The letter notation in this source is unique: to save space, the two-voiced accompaniment is written horizontally, so that a pair of letters always takes up the space below a single "measure" in the superius. It is commonly accepted that this signifies the usage of double pedal, the left letter being intended for the left foot and likewise on the right side. ''Further comment on this manuscript is precluded by lack of access to its facsimile or published research of acceptable quality''.

=== [[Lochamer-Liederbuch]] ===

=== [[The Buxheim organ book]] ===

=== [[Tabulaturen etlicher Lobgesang]] ===

== References ==
Kite-Powell, J. (2022) German Keyboard Tablature. https://www.academia.edu/53290890/German_Keyboard_Tablature

User:Lex

2023-09-23T23:15:40Z

Lex: created page - it me

Slovak organist and math student, born 2003. Avid fan of Renaissance organ music and Old German tablature notation.

Aiming to write pages on notable German manuscripts and organists prior to ~1600, along with a comprehensive guide to the older system of tablature.

Plays on a 1914 organ of one manual and seven stops.
{{Disposition|begin}}
{{Disposition|header|2|Manuál|Pedál}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Principál|8'|Subbass|16'}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Kryt|8'||}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Salicionál|8'||}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Octáva|4'||}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Fléta|4'||}}
{{Disposition|body|2|Mixtura|2 ⅔'||}}
{{Disposition|end}}

Fridolin Sicher Tablature

2023-09-23T22:51:22Z

Lex: expanded page; a "Contents" section is in order but will probably have to wait for now

[[File:Sicher tab page.jpg|thumb|right|A page from the Fridolin Sicher tablature]]
The '''Fridolin Sicher Tablature''' (assigned signature '''CH-SGs Cod. Sang. 530''') is a tablature compiled by [[Fridolin Sicher]].

It contains approximately 176 pieces by 94 composers, among them two settings of ''Resonet in laudibus'' attributed to Sicher himself. The manuscript is written in [[Old German Tablature Notation]]

{{Stub}}

== Description ==
Sicher dated several pieces in the manuscript, suggesting that the bulk of the tablature was compiled between 1504 and 1531. The intabulations themselves were entered in no particular order, and in many places the handwriting or ink colour changes drastically, hinting at a retroactive addition of a new piece between older ones. One inscription (on f. 101r) alludes to the importance of using available parchment as economically as possible.

What sets Sicher's collection apart from those of his peers is the relative lack of idiomatic keyboard ornamentation added to intabulations of vocal pieces. In the tablatures of both [[Johannes Kotter|Kotter]] and [[Leonhard Kleber|Kleber]], usage of ornaments, especially the turn, is a characteristic trait, while Sicher commonly transcribed pieces almost unchanged from their original vocal form. Presumably, he would improvise the ornaments while playing, as was custom at the time. It is, however, similar to the aforementioned two by conveying a significant amount of pieces by organists-teachers [[Johannes Buchner|Buchner]] and [[Paul Hofhaimer|Hofhaimer]].

== Links ==
{{OnlFac|sig=CH-SGs Cod. Sang. 530|url=https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/csg/0530|urlc=www.e-codices.unifr.ch|date=23 September, 2023}}

== References ==
[https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/csg/0530 www.e-codices.unifr.ch], accessed 23 September, 2023.

Warburton, T. A. (1969). ''Fridolin Sicher's tablature: A guide to keyboard performance of vocal music''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan.

Apel, W. (1967). ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700''. Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag.

Young, W. (1962). ''Keyboard music to 1600 I''. Musica Disciplina, vol. 16. Mergelberg: American Institute of Musicology Verlag.

[[Category:Manuscripts|Sicher Tablature]][[Category:Renaissance manuscripts|Sicher Tablature]][[Category:Renaissance|Sicher Tablature]][[Category:Swiss manuscripts|Sicher Tablature]]

Fridolin Sicher

2023-09-23T22:41:31Z

Lex: added third known composition; moved 2 sources over to the tab article - they refer to it more so than to the organist as a person

'''Fridolin Sicher''' (1490-1546) was a Swiss organist and composer. He is notable for compiling [[CH-SGs Cod. Sang. 530|a tablature]] containing intabulations of preexisting vocal music, as well as original works for the organ, mostly by other organists of the Swiss-German Renaissance.

{{Stub}}

== Biography ==
Born in Bischofszell, Sicher moved to Konstanz in 1503 to study the organ with Martin Vogelmayer until the following year. Later, in 1512, and again for no more than a year, he studied with [[Johannes Buchner]] in that same town. Having joined the Sankt Gallen abbey in 1516 and left thirteen years later after a raid by local Calvinists, his duties as a scribe and one of the organists included organ accompaniment of the Vespers and Compline. As a devout Catholic, he fled north to Ensisheim in 1531 to escape the advancing Reformation. At his most productive, during the late 1520s, Sicher simultaneously held posts at St. Gallen, Bischofszell, and Regensberg. Eventually, he moved back to Bischofszell in 1537 and spent the last years of his life there.

== Works ==
Within Sicher's manuscript, only two works are attributed to him, both being organ settings of the Christmas carol ''Resonet in laudibus''. A third composition, titled ''Mich hat das glück'', was in the collection of the Humanist Bonifacius Amerbach of Basel, who was likely well-acquainted with Sicher and his output.

== References ==
Warburton, T. A. (1969). ''Fridolin Sicher's tablature: A guide to keyboard performance of vocal music'' Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan.

[[Category:Composers]][[Category:Organists]][[Category:Renaissance]]