Diego Ortiz’s Glosa (Improvisation in Spanish Renaissance II)

Diego Ortiz (1510-1570) was one of the most well-known Spanish viol players and a musicologist who worked for the Spanish Viceroy in Naples and for Philip II of Spain. He wrote Trattado de Glosas published in Rome on December 10, 1553 and Musices liber primus published in 1565.[1] Trattado de Glosas, ‘a treatise on the ornamentation of cadences and other types of passages in the music of viols’ was the first printed diminution manual for bowed string instrumentalists.[2] His book presents many different ways to improvise and rules of improvisation the viol player must follow. The compositions in this book include only secular music and are to be played by a keyboard or organ player and by viol or string players.[3]

(4 viols, 1618 from Syntagma musicum)

Ortiz’s term for the division is “glosa.” It also corresponds to “passaggio” in Italy and “division” in England which means decorating one note to go to another note, thus this “ends on the last note of the given step.” “Glosa” is totally different from “graces” in England, “trilli and groppi” in Italy and “agréments” because graces and trilli vary only one note with a one bow stroke. However, “glosa” is played with its own bow stroke; one note per one bow stroke.[4]

In his two books, Ortiz demonstrated many musical examples of improvisation. How to ornament and improvise the passages are not shown, but various styles of ornaments are explicitly written out. The introduction of the first book says more about how to make the musical affect with improvising. This quality is important for ensemble music in which players are supposed to create relaxation and grace. Thus, he insisted that ensemble players had to play with gentle and soft hands, not with uptight hands that he called “Quiebros amortiguados,” or “tratti ammortiti.” The first book also presented three different kinds of ornamentation. Manner of glossing – 1) “the gloss begins and ends on the same glossed note;” 2) counterpoint rules for avoiding forbidden consecutives although he does not strictly keep this rule; and 3) free ornaments.[5] He did not think that the last one, the free improvisation, was good for ensemble players, and he wrote this guidebook for that reason.

The second book, Musices liber primus, mentions two specific instruments, the viol and the harpsichord playing together. He wrote four practices for the viol, and the bass of La Spagna was varied in six different ways that also appeared in the second book. These compositions are not exclusively for viol players but are intended for other string players as well. The bass of La Spagna was a famous tune in Spanish culture, and we can find this melody at a tenor in Spanish Burgundian bassa danzas. The most frequent examples Ortiz provides are for the violone, but Ortiz also wanted harpsichord players to be more virtuosic.[6]

There are also two madrigal exercises, O felici occhi miei by Jacques Arcadelt and the chanson Doulce memoire by Pierre Sandrin composed a few years earlier. Both have four variations for the violone that are more important than the part for the harpsichord, which simply follows what is written in the musical score.[1]

“Italian Tenors” which were nine styles of “ostinato grounds” by Ortiz appeared in the second book. They are not related to Italian but have more in common with Spanish traditions. “Italian Tenors” were from a bass sequential motion and became a four-part harmonic pattern used in the sixteenth to the early seventeenth centuries. We can easily find these patterns in the music for lute, keyboards, and instrumental ensembles.[2][1] Ibid., p. 9[2] Ibid. p. 9.

He gave various practices for improvisation in the first book. First, he gave examples of improvising notes at cadences in various ways, and next he provided examples of improvising the notes when a player performed with other instrumentalists; “counterpointing” with them. Performers were instructed make a good harmony of both hands to produce the effective gloss. A high level of skill in both the bowing hand and left hand is needed to make this happen.[7]

[1] “Diego Ortiz.” In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Ortiz (accessed April 18, 2009).[2] Robert Stevenson. “Ortiz, Diego.” In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/20508 (accessed April 18, 2009).[3] Diego Ortiz, Trattado de Glosas (Rome: Barenreiter-Verlag Karl Votterle GmbH & Co, 1553), p. 7.[4] Ibid, p. 8.[5] Ibid, pp. 8-9.[6] Ibid., p. 9.[7] Ibid., pp. 39-41.