La música como ciencia en los teóricos españoles del Renacimiento: Juan Bermudo (1555) y Francisco Salinas (1577)

Abstract

It is usual to show an opposition between the theory and practice, musicus and cantor in the music of Middle-Ages whose origin lies in the writings of St Augustine and Boethius. The superiority of Music Theory as a rational science influences the reject of the hearing in musical judgment. In the same way, the performer and the singer are considered inferior to the musician, id est. who has the scientific knowledge of the music. The legacy of this tradition is present in several treatises as well the opposition between the musician (the theorist) and the performer, singer or composer (practician). However, the real aim of Juan Bermudo and Francisco Salinas, is not to reject practice music, as inferior, but to promote the need of a scientific knowledge to well practice music. The wish of both theorits, as we can read in their writings, is to combat the ignorance of performers and singers which difficult the music development and growing. We can see the influence of the aristotelism in the importance of the union of theory and practice raising from experience. Both writers, Bermudo and Salinas, proclaim the need of the hearing in musical judgment.