Die Plejades Musicæ des Henricus Baryphonus

The Plejades Musicæ by Henricus Baryphonus can be seen as a central text for musical theory in the German-speaking world of the early 17th century: in this work actual sounding music is consolidated as an object of musica theorica. Using Baryphonus’s concept of the “triga harmonica” more than two simultaneously sounding elements of a musical phrase can now be recorded in words. The Latin text is presented here in a critical translation. A comprehensive volume of commentary which places the Plejades Musicæ in the contexts of contemporary music theory and intellectual history sheds further light on the treatise and gives it additional value for modern students of the music of its time.