1300-luku: musiikillisen ajan vuosisata

Abstract

In this article I discuss temporality and theories of rhythm in the fourteenth-century Western music. I examine the various theories of rhythm and the rhythmic practices within a broader context of the contemporaneous philosophical and intellectual thinking.

The fourteenth century witnessed an unprecedented interest in rhythmic innovation. This interest culminated in the ars subtilior style at the end of the century. In the new art, ars nova, change and motion became an important and novel compositional resource. The fourteenth-century music theory treatises, both by continental European and English authors, provide an elaborate picture of the process of re-evaluation and reformulation of the rhythmic theories to reflect the altered musical realities. These developments were accompanied by an invention of new notational figures.

I illustrate how the above developments took place within and were governed by the contemporaneous intellectual thinking. In the fourteenth-century sciences, particularly in theology and natural philosophy, change, motion and continuity were a vital new area of exploration. These advancements were propelled by a renewed interest and dissemination of the Aristotelian tradition. I propose that the philosophical background is an integral part of understanding and appreciation of the problematizations and formulations that occurred in the fourteenth-century rhythmic theories.