Hellmut Federhofer: Periodisierung der abendländischen Mehrstimmigkeit

The development of polyphony in western music, divided by the author into four periods according to the structural determinant of the consonance/dissonance dichotomy, spans from Musica enchiriadis to the twentieth-century’s avant-garde. In the first period, extending to ca. 1400, the differentiation between consonance and dissonance is not yet uniformly established. In the second, up to ca. 1600, the consonance/dissonance dichotomy is the governing principle for the evolvement of classical intervallic structure. As the foundation for strict part writing, the dichotomy formed the basis for free style composition during the third period between 1600 and 1900. The triadic consonance’s replacement of the interval further expanded the possibilities for the progression of dissonance without, however, sacrificing the consonance/dissonance paradigm. This step did not take place until the advent of new music in the twentieth century, the fourth period, which ushered in the fateful rift between music and society.

Ø zurück zur homepage

Ø zurück zum Gesamtinhaltsverzeichnis