Zum Tonartenverständnis der deutschen Musiktheorie in der ersten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts

Abstract

The ancient system of church modes, though present in early 17th-c. German music theory, began to waver noticeably under the influence of a process that ultimately gave rise to the new system of major and minor modes. Contemporary theorists were particularly interested in the sequence, character, and transposition of modes, the use of multiple choruses, and the increasing number of parts. One product of this age, Johannes Lippius's combination of the doctrine of modes and the doctrine of chords, though innovative, proves on closer inspection to be not so revolutionary as it appears. A unique position in Germany was adopted by Wolfgang Schonsleder, who followed contemporary Italian models more closely than his German colleagues.