Johannes Nucius
Encyclopedia
Johannes Nucius (c. 1556 – March 25, 1620) was a German
composer and music theorist
of the late Renaissance
and early Baroque
eras. Although isolated from most of the major centers of musical activity, he was a polished composer in the style of Lassus
and penned an extremely influential treatise on the rhetorical application of compositional devices.
, in Lower Silesia
. He studied at the Gymnasium in Görlitz with Johannes Winckler, who was so influential in his development that he referred to him reverentially in his later writings. In 1586 he became a monk in the monastery
in Rauden, in Upper Silesia
; there he received a humanistic education to supplement the considerable musical training he had received under Winckler. He rose in the hierarchy at the monastery, becoming a deacon, and later an abbot at Himmelwitz; however in 1598 he turned over most of his duties to his assistants in order to compose and write his musical treatise.
He died at Himmelwitz (now Jemielnica
, Poland
), near the town of Strehlitz, in Upper Silesia (now Strzelce Opolskie
, Poland
).
s, containing a total of 102 pieces, as well as several masses; his works were published in Prague
and Liegnitz. The writing is homophonic
but with an abundance of expressive devices, the exact application of which he later described in detail in his major treatise, Musices poeticae.
It was his Musices poeticae which gained him his fame, and his resulting reputation lasted at least until the 18th century; this treatise was influential on three of the most famous German Baroque treatises of all, the Syntagma musicum (1618) of Michael Praetorius
, the Critica musica (1722-1723) of Johann Mattheson
, and Johann Gottfried Walther
's Musicalisches Lexicon of 1732.
Musices poeticae is a guide to composition. It focuses primarily on counterpoint
, and includes nine chapters, which cover topics as diverse as the definition of music, the definition of sound, intervals which are concord
s and discord
s, the proper succession of consonance
and dissonance
, musical mode
s, cadences
, composed versus improvised
counterpoint, and proper techniques of composition for differing numbers of voices. The most famous chapter is the 7th, with its unique list of specific musical devices which can be used to express different feelings. It is the first in a German Baroque tradition of comparison of musical devices with rhetorical devices, an idea which was to be later expanded by Joachim Burmeister
and Mattheson.
Some of the devices named are: commissura (passing note dissonances), fuga (melodic imitation of varying kinds), repetitio (the repetition of a section for dramatic effect), climax (passages in parallel thirds
or tenths
), complexio (the reprise of an opening passage at the end to make a cohesive statement), homoioteleuton (the dramatic use of silence — by inserting a sudden rest for rhetorical effect) (in this Nucius is one of the first music theorists to recognize the powerful musical use of silence, an idea which was to attain fame in modern times in the work of John Cage
), and syncopatio (syncopation
, for rhythmic enhancement). All of these devices are presented with suggestions for their employment, with examples of texts they can set effectively.
Nucius, though he represented an aspect of early Baroque practice, looked mainly to the past — and sometimes the distant past — for his examples of rhetorical devices in music. He considered John Dunstaple to be the earliest composer of expressive music (though earlier music may not have been available to him), and other composers he wrote about included Gilles Binchois
, Antoine Busnois
, Johannes Ockeghem
, Heinrich Isaac
, Ludwig Senfl
, Josquin des Prez
, and of course Lassus.
While some of his book is based on previous writings by Heinrich Glarean
and Franchinus Gaffurius
, the section on the rhetorical devices in music is original, and signifies the rapidly changing practice during the transitional period between Renaissance and Baroque styles.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
composer and music theorist
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
of the late Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
and early Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
eras. Although isolated from most of the major centers of musical activity, he was a polished composer in the style of Lassus
Orlande de Lassus
Orlande de Lassus was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance...
and penned an extremely influential treatise on the rhetorical application of compositional devices.
Life
Nucius was born in GörlitzGörlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
, in Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...
. He studied at the Gymnasium in Görlitz with Johannes Winckler, who was so influential in his development that he referred to him reverentially in his later writings. In 1586 he became a monk in the monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in Rauden, in Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
; there he received a humanistic education to supplement the considerable musical training he had received under Winckler. He rose in the hierarchy at the monastery, becoming a deacon, and later an abbot at Himmelwitz; however in 1598 he turned over most of his duties to his assistants in order to compose and write his musical treatise.
He died at Himmelwitz (now Jemielnica
Gmina Jemielnica
Gmina Jemielnica, German Gemeinde Himmelwitz is a rural gmina in Strzelce County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Its seat is the village of Jemielnica , which lies approximately north-east of Strzelce Opolskie and south-east of the regional capital Opole.The gmina covers an area of...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
), near the town of Strehlitz, in Upper Silesia (now Strzelce Opolskie
Strzelce Opolskie
Strzelce Opolskie is a town in south-western Poland with 19,628 inhabitants , situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Strzelce County. Strzelce Opolskie is one of the biggest centers of German minority in Poland....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
).
Works and influence
Nucius's music shows the influence of Lassus above all. He published two collections of motetMotet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s, containing a total of 102 pieces, as well as several masses; his works were published in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and Liegnitz. The writing is homophonic
Homophony
In music, homophony is a texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords. This is distinct from polyphony, in which parts move with rhythmic independence, and monophony, in which all parts move in parallel rhythm and pitch. A homophonic...
but with an abundance of expressive devices, the exact application of which he later described in detail in his major treatise, Musices poeticae.
It was his Musices poeticae which gained him his fame, and his resulting reputation lasted at least until the 18th century; this treatise was influential on three of the most famous German Baroque treatises of all, the Syntagma musicum (1618) of Michael Praetorius
Michael Praetorius
Michael Praetorius was a German composer, organist, and music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms based on Protestant hymns, many of which reflect an effort to make better the relationship between...
, the Critica musica (1722-1723) of Johann Mattheson
Johann Mattheson
Johann Mattheson was a German composer, writer, lexicographer, diplomat and music theorist.Mattheson was born and died in Hamburg. He was a close friend of George Frideric Handel, although he nearly killed him in a sudden quarrel, during a performance of Mattheson's opera Cleopatra in 1704...
, and Johann Gottfried Walther
Johann Gottfried Walther
Johann Gottfried Walther was a German music theorist, organist, composer, and lexicographer of the Baroque era.Walther was born at Erfurt...
's Musicalisches Lexicon of 1732.
Musices poeticae is a guide to composition. It focuses primarily on counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
, and includes nine chapters, which cover topics as diverse as the definition of music, the definition of sound, intervals which are concord
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
s and discord
Discord
Discord may refer to:* Dissonance Discord may also refer to:* Discord , an album and single released by the punk rock band Bomb Factory* Dischord Records, a punk and alternative record label...
s, the proper succession of consonance
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
and dissonance
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
, musical mode
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
s, cadences
Cadence (music)
In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...
, composed versus improvised
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
counterpoint, and proper techniques of composition for differing numbers of voices. The most famous chapter is the 7th, with its unique list of specific musical devices which can be used to express different feelings. It is the first in a German Baroque tradition of comparison of musical devices with rhetorical devices, an idea which was to be later expanded by Joachim Burmeister
Joachim Burmeister
Joachim Burmeister was a north German poet, composer and music theorist.He was the oldest of five children born to a beadworker and townsman of Lüneburg. His brother Anton became the cantor of St...
and Mattheson.
Some of the devices named are: commissura (passing note dissonances), fuga (melodic imitation of varying kinds), repetitio (the repetition of a section for dramatic effect), climax (passages in parallel thirds
Interval (music)
In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
or tenths
Interval (music)
In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
), complexio (the reprise of an opening passage at the end to make a cohesive statement), homoioteleuton (the dramatic use of silence — by inserting a sudden rest for rhetorical effect) (in this Nucius is one of the first music theorists to recognize the powerful musical use of silence, an idea which was to attain fame in modern times in the work of John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
), and syncopatio (syncopation
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
, for rhythmic enhancement). All of these devices are presented with suggestions for their employment, with examples of texts they can set effectively.
Nucius, though he represented an aspect of early Baroque practice, looked mainly to the past — and sometimes the distant past — for his examples of rhetorical devices in music. He considered John Dunstaple to be the earliest composer of expressive music (though earlier music may not have been available to him), and other composers he wrote about included Gilles Binchois
Gilles Binchois
Gilles de Binche , also known as Gilles de Bins , was a Franco-Flemish composer, one of the earliest members of the Burgundian School, and one of the three most famous composers of the early 15th century...
, Antoine Busnois
Antoine Busnois
Antoine Busnois was a French composer and poet of the early Renaissance Burgundian School. While also noted as a composer of sacred music, such as motets, he was one of the most renowned 15th-century composers of secular chansons...
, Johannes Ockeghem
Johannes Ockeghem
Johannes Ockeghem was the most famous composer of the Franco-Flemish School in the last half of the 15th century, and is often considered the most...
, Heinrich Isaac
Heinrich Isaac
Heinrich Isaac was a Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer of south Netherlandish origin. He wrote masses, motets, songs , and instrumental music. A significant contemporary of Josquin des Prez, Isaac influenced the development of music in Germany...
, Ludwig Senfl
Ludwig Senfl
Ludwig Senfl was a Swiss composer of the Renaissance, active in Germany. He was the most famous pupil of Heinrich Isaac, was music director to the court of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, and was an influential figure in the development of the Franco-Flemish polyphonic style in...
, Josquin des Prez
Josquin Des Prez
Josquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
, and of course Lassus.
While some of his book is based on previous writings by Heinrich Glarean
Heinrich Glarean
Heinrich Glarean was a Swiss music theorist, poet and humanist. He was born in Mollis and died in Freiburg....
and Franchinus Gaffurius
Franchinus Gaffurius
Franchinus Gaffurius was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. He was an almost exact contemporary of Josquin des Prez and Leonardo da Vinci, both of whom were his personal friends...
, the section on the rhetorical devices in music is original, and signifies the rapidly changing practice during the transitional period between Renaissance and Baroque styles.