Systematische Einleitung in die musicalische Setzkunst nach den Lehrsätzen des Herrn Rameau - d'Alembert, Jean Le Rond 1717-1783; Marpurg, Friedrich Wilhelm 1718-1795 (Leipzig Breitkopf, 1757)
Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert (1717-1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. In 1752, d'Alembert attempted a fully comprehensive survey of Rameau's works in his Eléments de musique théorique et pratique suivant les principes de M. Rameau. Emphasizing Rameau's main claim that music was a mathematical science that had a single principle from which could be deduced all the elements and rules of musical practice as well as the explicit Cartesian methodology employed, d'Alembert helped to popularise the work of the composer and advertise his own theories.
D'Alembert claimed to have "clarified, developed, and simplified" the principles of Rameau, arguing that the single idea of the 'corps sonore' was not sufficient to derive the entirety of music. Instead he claimed that three principles would be necessary to generate the major musical mode, the minor mode, and the identity of octaves. Because he was not a musician, however, d'Alembert misconstrued the finer points of Rameau's thinking, changing and removing concepts that would not fit neatly into his understanding of music.
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (1718-1795) was a German music critic, music theorist and composer. Marpurg published the bulk of his writings on music between 1750 and 1763. The scope and unprecedented clarity of his writings on music made him the leading German music theorist of the late eighteenth century; he and his rivals Kirnberger and Schulz made up a distinct "Berlin School" of music criticism and theory.
Originally published in french in 1752
Aus dem Französischen übersetzt und mit Anmerkungen vermehret
Keywords: Rameau, Jean-Philippe -- 1683-1764; 18th Century (1701-1800); Music theory; Composing