Amerus (also Aluredus, Annuerus, Aumerus) was a 13th-century
English
English usually refers to:
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Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
music theorist
Music theory is the study of 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 are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
who lived in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
Amerus worked under Cardinal Ottobono Fieschi, who later became
Pope Adrian V
Pope Adrian V (Latin: ''Adrianus V''; c. 1210/1220 – 18 August 1276), born Ottobuono de' Fieschi, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 July 1276 to his death on 18 August 1276. He was an envoy of Pope Cle ...
, and wrote his only known work, ''Practica artis musicae'', while in Fieschi's employ. It is thought that he wrote the text in 1271 at
Viterbo
Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo.
It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...
, where the
papal conclave
A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...
was held.
''Practica artis musicae'' is an instruction treatise for boys, which explains contemporaneous
musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...
systems. The bulk of the work is an explanation of the
tonary
A tonary is a liturgical book in the Western Christian Church which lists by incipit various items of Gregorian chant according to the Gregorian mode (''tonus'') of their melodies within the eight-mode system. Tonaries often include Office antip ...
system as it was used in French, English, and Italian churches. The treatise also discusses the composition of
polyphony
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
, which is believed to be the first surviving treatise from Italy to use rhythmic notation. Amerus discusses the ''longa'', ''brevis'', and ''semibrevis'', assigning them in groups of two (rather than three). The work is preserved in the
Bamberg Codex, among other places.
References
*F. Alberto Gallo. "Amerus". ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''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 theo ...
'' online.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amerus
English music theorists