Cadence Systematized: Printz’s Doctrine of the Clausula formalis
Oct 31, 2013·
Caleb Mutch
Abstract
One of W. C. Printz’s (1641-1717) most significant and idiosyncratic innovations is his naming and describing of an unprecedently large number of types of cadence, or clausula formalis. Equally noteworthy is the way in which these various categories are logically organized. In this paper I first demonstrate the dependence of the doctrine’s categorial organization on the influential pedagogical theories of Petrus Ramus. I then survey his seventeen categories of clausula formalis, showing that they comprise a rich diversity of cadence types, many of which would be unthinkingly disregarded by modern theoretical judgments. The significance of this wide variety of cadences, and its accompanying range of degrees of closure, becomes apparent when I consider them in combination with the treatise’s incipient theory of form.
Date
Oct 31, 2013
Event
Society for Music Theory annual conference
Location
Charlotte, NC