Humorous intro.

I thought I might quote from the very beginning of Johann Joseph
Fux's, GRADUS AD PARNASSUM, "The Study of Counterpoint" since it
pertains, rather humorously, to some of the discussions we have had
of late on the Tuning List. I'd actually forgotten about this
intro...

Fux (1725):

"Some people will perhaps wonder why I have undertaken to write about
music, there being so many works by outstanding men who have treated
the subject most thoroughly and learnedly; and more especially, why
I should be doing so just at this time when music has become almost
arbitrary and composers refuse to be bound by any rules and
principles, detesting the very name of school and law like death
itself. To such I want to make my purpose clear. There have
certainly been many authors famous for their teaching and competence,
who have left an abundance of works on the theory of music; but on
the practice of writing music they have said very little, and this
little is not easily understood. Generally, they have been content
to
give a few examples, and never have they felt the need of inventing a
simple method by which the novice can progress gradually, ascending
step by step to attain mastery in this art. I shall not be deterred
by the most ardent haters of school, nor by the corruptness of the
times.

"Medicine is given to the sick, and not to those who are in good
health. However, my efforts do not tend -- nor do I credit myself
with the strength -- to stem the course of a torrent rushing
precipitously beyond its bounds. I do not believe that I can call
back composers from the unrestrained insanity of their writing to
normal standards..."

________ ______ ___ _
Joseph Pehrson