Traité des Gloses

The Treatise of Glosses by Diego Ortiz is one of the two works published during the composer’s lifetime. The second is a collection of motets entitled Musices liber primus. Indeed, the treatise appears at a peculiar moment in the history of music.

Following the treatises of Ganassi (1535 and 1543), the book by Ortiz exposes in details the ornamentation technique, which is so important in the birth of instrumental idioms. Because he wanted to reach a large audience, Ortiz wrote his book in two versions, italian and spanish.

Our edition shows the two versions and provides a french accurate translation, with many explanatory notes. We added some pieces of music for practicing and a separate part for the vihuela.