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The Transmission of Zarlino's Canonic theory in seventeenth-century organ chorale settings

Abstract While the importance of Gioseffo Zarlino's treatise, Le istitutioni harmonkhe (1558, rev. 1573), and its influence on music theorists of the later sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is well documented, his position in relation to actual compositional practice of this period has not yet been fully investigated. This paper explores how Zarlino's codification of counterpoint formed part of the training of certain later composers and how it is reflected in their compositions. Specifically, a repertoire of seventeenth-century organ chorales by six composers is compared to the very detailed set of voice-leading rules for two-part, cantus firmus-based composition found in the revised 1573 edition of Le istitutioni harmonkhe. Consideration is also given to similar but much less detailed rules provided by later theorists. The results show a high degree of consistency between Zarlino's rules and compositional practice, suggesting that Zarlino's discussion is fundamental to understanding how musicians of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries approached canonic composition.