Domingo Marcos Durán (c. 1465 – 1529), was a Spanish

music theorist Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the " rudiments", that ...

and

choirmaster A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. He was probably born in Garrovillas de Alconétar and died in

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

. His 1492 ''Lux Bella'' ("Beautiful Light") was the first treatise on music theory to be published in Castilian.

Biography

Little is known about Durán's life except what is mentioned in his three extant works. In the introduction to ''Comento Sobre Lux Bella'' and ''Súmula de Canto de Organo'', he said that he was the legitimate son of Juan Marcos and Isabel Fernandes who reside in Alconetar. Why he chose to be called Marcos Durán rather than the customary Marcos Fernandes is a mystery. He also said that he had earned the bachelor's degree from the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, having spent the better part of twenty-five years studying the liberal arts and philosophy. According to Taffal Abad, Durán spent his last years as choirmaster of the chapel in

and died shortly before September 5, 1529 when his successor was named.

Contributions

Durán was the first theorist to publish a musical treatise in Castilian (''Lux Bella,'' 1492), Durán's ''Súmula de Canto de Organo.''(c. 1507) "ranks not only as the earliest Spanish-language treatise entirely devoted to polyphony, but also as the finest treatment published before

Juan Bermudo Juan Bermudo (1510 in Écija, Province of Seville – 1565) was a Spanish Friar Minor who is best known as a composer, music theorist and mathematician. Life Bermudo entered the Franciscan Order in 1525, belonging to the Province of Andalusia. He ...

's epochal ''Declaration de instruments'' (1555)."Stevenson p. 69. The emphasis in his writings is on practice and simplicity of presentation, rather than the mathematical ratios and explanations that figure prominently in many other theoretical writings. In ''Lux Bella'' and ''Comento Sobre Lux Bella'', he presented a discussion of the hexachordal system, including the hexachords of ''

musica ficta ''Musica ficta'' (from Latin, "false", "feigned", or "fictitious" music) was a term used in European music theory from the late 12th century to about 1600 to describe pitches, whether notated or added at the time of performance, that lie outside ...

'', at its fullest extent—all six syllables clearly present on each scale degree. The accidentals that he allowed are F♯, C♯, B♭, E♭, and A♭. Durán added two hexachords, and one letter, to the traditional Guidonian system, and then he overlapped the hexachords to extend the system indefinitely. In the ''Lux bella'' of 1492 Durán placed the added hexachords on c and f among the hexachords of ''musica ficta'', but by the ''Comento'' of 1498 and the ''Lux Bella'' of 1509 he placed them among the traditional hexachords. This is can be seen graphically in three diagrams found in ''Lux Bella:'' two traditional vertical representations, one of

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...

and one of ''musica ficta'', as well as a unique circular one. In the vertical diagrams, the pitch letters are on the left and the hexachords are depicted ascending. In the circular diagram, the pitch letters are in the outermost circle, and the hexachords are depicted spiraling inward counterclockwise beginning in the second inner circle. In ''Lux Bella'' and ''Comento'' he presented rules for singing chants written in ''campo aperto'' on a single line. This was important since many choirbooks in Renaissance Spain at that time were old enough not to have the chant melodies written on four-line staves.Stevenson p. 67. The three treatises of Durán constitute a complete musical education with a very practical approach.

Published works

*''Lux Bella'', a very condensed discussion of

. **First edition, Seville: quatro alemanes compañeros, 1492. (10 pages and tonary) **Second edition, Salamanca, 1509. (11 pages and tonary) **Third edition, Seville: Jacopo Cromberger, 1518. (11 pages and tonary) *''Comento Sobre Lux Bella'', a line-by-line elaboration and commentary on ''Lux Bella'' **First edition, Salamanca, 1498. (74 pages) *''Súmula de Canto de Organo'', a discussion of

mensural notation Mensural notation is the musical notation system used for polyphony, polyphonic European vocal music from the late 13th century until the early 17th century. The term "mensural" refers to the ability of this system to describe precisely measur ...

and

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

. It contains an unattributed composition, "Cum Sancto Spirito," which is assumed to be a composition of Durán. **First edition, Salamanca, c. 1507. (45 pages)

References

Notes Sources * León Tello, Francisco José (2001). "Durán, Domingo Marcos".

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

*Riaño, Juan F. (1887). ''Critical and Bibliographical Notes on Early Spanish Music''. London: Bernard Quaritch. *Stevenson, Robert (1960). ''Spanish Music in the Age of Columbus''. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff *Taffal Abad, Santiago (1931). "La Capilla de Música", ''Boletin de la Real Academia Gallega,'' Vol. XXVI (April, 1931), pp. 52–53. *Vogel, Roger C. (1976). ''The Theoretical Writings of Domingo Marcos Durán: A Translation and Commentary.'' Ann Arbor: University Microfilms *Vogel, Roger C. (1982)
"The Musical Wheel of Domingo Marcos Durán"
''College Music Symposium,'' Vol. XXII, No. 2 (Fall, 1982), pp. 51–66.

Translated by Roger C. Vogel. Further reading *Durán, Domingo Marcos. ''Lux Bella''. Edited by Jose Suberá. Barcelona: Editiones Torculum, 1951. (Facsimile reprint of 1492 edition) *Durán, Domingo Marcos. ''Lux Bella.'' Edited by Constança Capdeville. Vol. III of Rei Musicae Portugaliae Monumenta. Lisbon: Casa de Ramos, Afonso, & Moita, Lda., 1969. (Facsimile reprint of 1509 edition) *Durán, Domingo Marcos. ''Lux Bella.'' Vol I of ''Viejos Libros de Musica''. Madrid: Joyas Bibliográficas, 1976. (Facsimile reprint of 1492 edition.) *Durán, Domingo Marcos. ''Lux Bella.'' Cáceres: la Universidad de Extremadura, Servicios de Publicaciones, 2002 (Facsimile reprint of 1492 edition.) *Durán, Domingo Marcos. ''Comento Sobre Lux Bella''. Vol II of ''Viejos Libros de Musica''. Madrid: Joyas Bibliográficas, 1976. (Facsimile reprint of 1498 edition.) *Durán, Domingo Marcos. ''Comento sobre Lux Bella.'' Cáceres: la Universidad de Extremadura, Servicios de Publicaciones, 2002 (Facsimile reprint of 1498 edition.) *Durán, Domingo Marcos. ''Sumula de Canto de Organo''.Vol III of ''Viejos Libros de Musica''. Madrid: Joyas Bibliográficas, 1976. (Facsimile reprint of 1507 edition.) *León Tello, Francisco José. ''Estudios de Historia de la Teoria Musical''. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas Instituto Español de Musicología, 1962. *López Ferreiro, Antonio. ''Historia de la Santa A. M. Iglesia de Santiago de Compostela''. Santiago: Seminario Conciliar Central, 1898-1909. 11 vols. *Querol, Miguel. “Durán.” ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart''. Vol. II. Friedrich Blume, ed. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1954. *Subirá, José. ''Historia de la Música Española e Hispano-americana''. Barcelona: Salvat Editores, S. A., 1953. {{DEFAULTSORT:Duran, Domingo Marcos Spanish music theorists 1460s births 1529 deaths University of Salamanca alumni