The coniuncta in Polish Sources: Late Medieval Theory and Practice

Witkowska-Zaremba, Elżbieta (2004) The coniuncta in Polish Sources: Late Medieval Theory and Practice. Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 45 (1-2). pp. 255-268. ISSN 0039-3266

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Abstract

The term coniuncta appears in some Gregorian, and occurs sporadically in theoretical sources in the second half of the 14th century, and on a wider scale during the 15th century. Related texts are to be found in Polish collections. This group contains a number of anonymous texts preserved in manuscripts held in the Biblioteka Jagiellońska in Kraków, and the University Library and Ossoliński Library in Wrocław. These manuscripts are examined. The treatises provide detailed information concerning the notational and performance practice connected to the coniuncta in cantus planus that they sometimes seem to be situated further towards the “practice” side than the “proper” musical records presented in graduals and antiphonals. All the instructions and guidelines relating to the transposition of melody, or the introduction of mutation and the use of appropriate intonation, are particularly worthy of scrutiny. They provide the evidence that the modification of the pitch system was closely related to a careful revision of the chant repertory.

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