2.1. Between Example and Exemplar: 18th-Century Music Analysis in Giambattista Martini and Giuseppe Paolucci
This paper aims to examine the epistemological relevance of the argumentation by example in two musical treatises published in Italy in the second half of the 18th century: the Arte pratica di contrappunto (3 vols., Venice 1765, 1766 and 1772) by Giuseppe Paolucci (1726-1776) and the Esemplare o sia saggio fondamentale pratico di contrappunto (2 vols., Bologna 1774 and 1775-1776) by Giambattista M...artini (1706-1784). These publications are deeply connected with Martini’s teaching method and share the same structure. Paolucci’s and Martini’s volumes are collections of compositions from the 16th to 18th century thoroughly analyzed and commented: each piece is examined bar by bar addressing compositional theory issues, with constant reference to music theory literature, and accompanied by remarks about history, style, and performance. The purpose of the analysis is theoretical and pedagogical: to understand, from the observation of individual and concrete cases, the meaning of practices and rules and, through comparison, to acquire the ability to transfer the knowledge to different situations. The exemplification tool is meant as a creative activity. The two treatises also show some significant differences regarding the relationship between music theory, analysis, and history. Through a comparative survey of the two treatises and the investigation of the correspondence between the two authors preserved in the Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica in Bologna, this paper unfolds crucial issues of music analysis in the 18th century that are still relevant for today’s analytical discourse.