Præcepta musicæ poëticæ (Precepts of Poetic Music) (review)

The Lutheran composer and theorist Gallus Dressler (1533–80/89) received his initial training in his native Nebra (Thuringia) and studied at the Jena Academy before being hired as cantor of the Magdeburg Lateinschule, where he succeeded the noted theorist Martin Agricola. Dressler subsequently earned a masters degree from Wittenberg University and was eventually appointed deacon at Zerbst. His compositions are extant in numerous German sources: Dressler's care in setting texts serves as a link between his priorities as composer and theorist. He is an important early figure in the study of musica poetica, a subject he considered equal in importance to musica theoretica and musica practica. The author of three treatises, Dressler assembled Praecepta musicæ poëticæ in 1563–64, but it was not printed until a German translation by Bernhard Engelke appeared in Geschichtsblätter für Stadt und Land Magdeburg 49, no. 1 (1914–15).

However, Dressler's Praecepta musicae poëticae has received substantial recent scholarly attention. Following a 2001 Latin-French edition by Olivier Trachier and Simonne Chevalier, Robert Forgács has completed this Latin-English translation. While having the English translation is a worthy endeavor in itself, Frogács also investigates some previously unexplored aspects of Dressler's work, endeavoring to establish a better context for the treatise while also studying the source and filling holes in the work of previous scholars.

The first section of Forgács's introductory chapter concentrates on Dressler's life, character, and works, and Forgács presents some new conclusions based on his study of additional sources of information. For example, it would be easy to minimize Dressler's brief period of study in Jena, but Forgács emphasizes that the city was an important center of humanism, heavily influenced by the philosophies of Melanchthon. To Forgács, that Dressler spent time in three of the top centers of Lutheran intellectual development (Jena, Wittenberg, and Magdeburg) provides good evidence of his familiarity with the major tenets of Lutheran humanism.

The second section of the introductory chapter concentrates on the composition, sources, form, and content of Dressler's Praecepta musicae poëticae. Extant in one manuscript, the treatise was originally assembled as a series of lectures for the Magdeburg Lateinschule, Dressler's drafts being subsequently refined. Forgács's analysis includes a discussion of the influence of earlier theorists, including Boethius, Johannes Galliculus, and Heinrich Faber, and how their philosophies were subjected to what Forgács calls Dressler's "borrowings and adaptations" (14). Forgács singles out Dressler for significant praise for his pioneering treatments of fugal writing and rhetoric. According to Forgács, Dressler may have exerted considerable impact on later theorists, including Joachim Burmeister.

Perhaps Forgács's most interesting work is saved for an examination of the source for Praecepta musicae poëticae , currently among the holdings of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, which also includes another Dressler treatise and some sketches and notes. Forgács concludes that the source was considered by Dressler to be a notebook; the manuscript is too messy to serve as a publication exemplar: here, as on many points, Forgács and Trachier are in essential agreement. However, while previous scholars have concluded that two scribes were employed as copyists, Forgács asserts that four people were involved. Dressler himself outlined the format, made corrections, added glosses, and rewrote a number of sections, while the three main scribes were likely students or assistants. In the discussion of the musical examples included in Praecepta musicae poëticae , Forgács follows upon Trachier's study, and concludes that Dressler composed many of the shorter phrases himself. The numerous examples taken from works by other composers, such as Jacob Clement, receive additional attention; Forgács includes a list of specific compositions and composers, along with the year and city of first printing...