ATDTDA (33) - p. 939-42 Balkan music

[David Payne]

Perhaps this has already been brought up, but:

"The name diabolus in musica ("the Devil in music") has been applied to the interval from at least the early 18th century." -- Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritone#cite_ref-1)

And from the same article:

"the development of Guido of Arezzo's Hexacordal system which made B flat a diatonic note, namely as the 4th degree of the hexachordal on F. From then until the end of Renaissance the tritone, nicknamed the "diabolus in musicā" was regarded as an unstable interval and rejected as a consonance" -- source is given as Sadie, Stanley (1980). "Tritone " in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1st ed.). MacMillan, pp.154-155, ISBN 0-333-23111-2) 

On Wed, 28 May 2008 (11:48:21 -0400), Paul (paul.mackin at verizon.net) wrote:

> kelber at mindspring.com wrote:
>> TRP's being facetious about the natural B being forbidden. If anyone knows otherwise, speak up.
>>
>
> might as well give my reaction
>
> Pynchon wants to work gradually and gracefully into his little stick
> about Bulgaria's folk music's not employing the Lydian mode (factual I
> trust) in addition to all the other peculiarities of the Balkan region
> including vampires and such.
>
> Cyprian hears the what he expects to be a major scale (basis of much of
> the popular music of the day) and reacts negatively (as many of us
> would) to the fact that the interval between Mi and fa is not the
> expected half tone.
>
> So now P can smoothly bring in the historically accurate presence (more
> or less) of theological arguments originally advanced against adding
> various altered tones etc to accepted musical practice.
>
> something like that
>
> Pynchon doesn't mind setting things up in a slightly clunky manner. He
> makes fun of this practice in the famous pun about those Frenchmen in GR.
>
> It's pure Pynchon in these passages.
>
> P
>
> Robin and Laura's son are both perfectly correct of course.

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