Gradus
Encyclopedia
The Latin phrase Gradus ad Parnassum means "Steps to Parnassus". It is sometimes shortened to Gradus. The name Parnassus was used to denote the loftiest part of a mountain range in central Greece, a few miles north of Delphi, of which the two summits, in Classical times, were called Tithorea and Lycoreia. In Greek mythology
, one of the peaks was sacred to Apollo and the nine Muses, the inspiring deities of the arts, and the other to Bacchus
. The phrase has often been used to refer to various books of instruction, or guides, in which gradual progress in literature, language instruction, music, or the arts in general, is sought.
The first application of the phrase is to a kind of Latin or Greek
dictionary
, in which the quantities of the vowels are marked in the words, to help beginners to understand the principles of Latin verse composition, in relation to the values of the metrical feet. The first 'step' or lesson is contained in the title phrase itself, because 'gradus' being a fourth-declension
noun (a step), with a short '-us' in the singular (forming a metrical trochee
), becomes 'gradūs', with a lengthened '-ūs', in the plural (steps) - forming a metrical spondee
. The difference in meaning teaches one to observe the difference in vowel quantity between two forms which look the same but have different grammatical properties, and so to pronounce the title of the dictionary correctly. Then 'Parnassus' is a poetic figure alluding to the Muse (of poetry): and the second function of the Thesaurus is even so, to illustrate such figures. Therefore the whole expression Gradus ad Parnassum is not just a title but an epitome of the work itelf, combining declension
, construction, scansion
and figure
.
The Gradus ad Parnassum made famous under the name of Jesuit Paul Aler (1656-1727), a schoolmaster, published in 1686, presented anew an earlier Thesaurus attributed to Pierre Joulet, sieur de Chastillon (1545-1621). This was not a general dictionary but a thesaurus of synonyms, epithets, verses and phrases in classical poetic usage. The work in Alers' form existed into the 19th century with the definitions as well as the entries written in Latin. Known to many generations of students throughout Europe, and passing through numerous editions, 19th century English-speaking schoolchildren knew the 1818 revision by Dr John Carey (1756-1826) simply as 'Carey's Gradus'. It was specially intended for the study and appreciation of Latin poetry of the classical period, and to aid students in the practice of verse composition.
The large general dictionaries of Greek and Latin adopted this pattern of information. For example, the Liddell-Scott-Jones Greek-English Lexicon (1843) and its current derivatives give quantity information where it is crucial and where it is available; so do Charles Lewis
and Charlton Short's A Latin Dictionary
(1879) and its derivatives. The synonyms, epithets, poetical expressions and extracts became incorporated under the more important headings. There is a Latin gradus by C.D. Yonge (1850); English-Latin by AC Ainger and HG Wintle (1890); Latin-French by F.J.M. Noël (1810); Greek by Thomas Morell (1762, new ed. ed. by E. Maltby, Bishop of Durham (1815); John Brasse (1828).
Works entitled Gradus ad Parnassum include:
Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum is a satirical piano composition by Claude Debussy
, from his suite Children's Corner
, poking fun at Muzio Clementi's collection (or, as Myriam Chimènes states in the notes to the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
version, at Czerny's collection). An arrangement of Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum for banjo, violin and cello by Béla Fleck
and Edgar Meyer
on Fleck's album Perpetual Motion
won a Grammy in 2002 for Best Classical Arrangement.
Ad Parnassum is a significant painting in the divisionist style by Paul Klee
.
"Gradus ad Parnassum" is the name of a music school in Palisades Park, New Jersey "Gradus ad Parnassum Inc." Michael Hinton President.
"Gradus ad Parnassum" is the motto and the inscription on the logo of the Slovenian military flying school.
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, one of the peaks was sacred to Apollo and the nine Muses, the inspiring deities of the arts, and the other to Bacchus
Bacchus
Bacchus is the Roman name for Dionysus, the god of wine and intoxication.Bacchus can also refer to:* Temple of Bacchus, a Roman temple at a large classical antiquity complex in Baalbek, Lebanon...
. The phrase has often been used to refer to various books of instruction, or guides, in which gradual progress in literature, language instruction, music, or the arts in general, is sought.
The first application of the phrase is to a kind of Latin or Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
, in which the quantities of the vowels are marked in the words, to help beginners to understand the principles of Latin verse composition, in relation to the values of the metrical feet. The first 'step' or lesson is contained in the title phrase itself, because 'gradus' being a fourth-declension
Latin declension
Latin is an inflected language, and as such has nouns, pronouns, and adjectives that must be declined in order to serve a grammatical function. A set of declined forms of the same word pattern is called a declension. There are five declensions, which are numbered and grouped by ending and...
noun (a step), with a short '-us' in the singular (forming a metrical trochee
Trochee
A trochee or choree, choreus, is a metrical foot used in formal poetry consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one...
), becomes 'gradūs', with a lengthened '-ūs', in the plural (steps) - forming a metrical spondee
Spondee
In poetry, a spondee is a metrical foot consisting of two long syllables, as determined by syllable weight in classical meters, or two stressed syllables, as determined by stress in modern meters...
. The difference in meaning teaches one to observe the difference in vowel quantity between two forms which look the same but have different grammatical properties, and so to pronounce the title of the dictionary correctly. Then 'Parnassus' is a poetic figure alluding to the Muse (of poetry): and the second function of the Thesaurus is even so, to illustrate such figures. Therefore the whole expression Gradus ad Parnassum is not just a title but an epitome of the work itelf, combining declension
Declension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
, construction, scansion
Scansion
Scansion is the act of determining and graphically representing the metrical character of a line of verse.-Overview:Systems of scansion, and the assumptions that underlie them, are so numerous and contradictory that it is often difficult to tell whether differences in scansion indicate opposed...
and figure
Figure of speech
A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...
.
The Gradus ad Parnassum made famous under the name of Jesuit Paul Aler (1656-1727), a schoolmaster, published in 1686, presented anew an earlier Thesaurus attributed to Pierre Joulet, sieur de Chastillon (1545-1621). This was not a general dictionary but a thesaurus of synonyms, epithets, verses and phrases in classical poetic usage. The work in Alers' form existed into the 19th century with the definitions as well as the entries written in Latin. Known to many generations of students throughout Europe, and passing through numerous editions, 19th century English-speaking schoolchildren knew the 1818 revision by Dr John Carey (1756-1826) simply as 'Carey's Gradus'. It was specially intended for the study and appreciation of Latin poetry of the classical period, and to aid students in the practice of verse composition.
The large general dictionaries of Greek and Latin adopted this pattern of information. For example, the Liddell-Scott-Jones Greek-English Lexicon (1843) and its current derivatives give quantity information where it is crucial and where it is available; so do Charles Lewis
Charles Lewis
Charles Lewis may refer to:* Charles Lewis , former Western Australian politician for the electoral district of Canning* Charles Lewis , English football player...
and Charlton Short's A Latin Dictionary
A Latin Dictionary
A Latin Dictionary is a popular English-language lexicographical work of the Latin language, completed in 1879, published by Oxford University Press, and still widely used by classical scholars and Latinists.-History:...
(1879) and its derivatives. The synonyms, epithets, poetical expressions and extracts became incorporated under the more important headings. There is a Latin gradus by C.D. Yonge (1850); English-Latin by AC Ainger and HG Wintle (1890); Latin-French by F.J.M. Noël (1810); Greek by Thomas Morell (1762, new ed. ed. by E. Maltby, Bishop of Durham (1815); John Brasse (1828).
Works entitled Gradus ad Parnassum include:
- a seminal textbook on counterpointCounterpointIn music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
written by Johann FuxJohann FuxJohann Joseph Fux was an Austrian composer, music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era. He is most famous as the author of Gradus ad Parnassum, a treatise on counterpoint, which has become the single most influential book on the Palestrina style of Renaissance polyphony...
in 1725, but used well into the 20th century for instruction in musical theory and compositionMusical compositionMusical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
; Leopold MozartLeopold MozartJohann Georg Leopold Mozart was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.-Childhood and student years:He was born in Augsburg, son of...
is said to have taught his son WolfgangWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
from its pages. J.S. BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
and BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
both held it in great esteem, and HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
meticulously worked out each of its exercises. - a collection of instructional piano pieces by Muzio ClementiMuzio ClementiMuzio Clementi was a celebrated composer, pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer. Born in Italy, he spent most of his life in England. He is best known for his piano sonatas, and his collection of piano studies, Gradus ad Parnassum...
and also a collection of instruction piano pieces by Carl CzernyCarl CzernyCarl Czerny was an Austrian pianist, composer and teacher. He is best remembered today for his books of études for the piano. Czerny's music was profoundly influenced by his teachers, Muzio Clementi, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Antonio Salieri and Ludwig van Beethoven.-Early life:Carl Czerny was born... - a collection of instructional violin studies by Ernst Heim
- a series of pedigogical works for violin by Jakob DontJakob DontJakob Dont was an Austrian violinist, composer, and teacher.He was born and died in Vienna.His father Valentin Dont was a noted cellist. Jakob was a student of Josef Böhm and of George Hellmesberger . When sixteen, he became a member of the Hofbugtheater-Orchesters and in 1834 entered service...
- a collection of 24 double bass studies by Franz SimandlFranz SimandlFranz Simandl was a double-bassist and pedagogue most remembered for his book New Method for the Double Bass, known as the Simandl book, which is to this day used as a standard study of double bass technique and hand positions.His approach uses the first, second, and fourth fingers of the left...
Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum is a satirical piano composition by Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
, from his suite Children's Corner
Children's Corner
Children's Corner is a six-movement suite for solo piano by Claude Debussy. It was published by Durand in 1908, and was given its world première in Paris by Harold Bauer on December 18 of that year...
, poking fun at Muzio Clementi's collection (or, as Myriam Chimènes states in the notes to the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was a virtuoso Italian classical pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, as well as one of the most important Italian pianists along with Ferruccio Busoni and Maurizio Pollini.-Biography:Born in Brescia, Italy, he began...
version, at Czerny's collection). An arrangement of Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum for banjo, violin and cello by Béla Fleck
Béla Fleck
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.-Early life and career details:Fleck was born in...
and Edgar Meyer
Edgar Meyer
Edgar Meyer is a prominent contemporary bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. Meyer has worked as a session musician in Nashville, part of various chamber groups, a composer, and an arranger...
on Fleck's album Perpetual Motion
Perpetual Motion (album)
Perpetual Motion is an album of classical music released in 2001. The album is unique in that none of the pieces featured on it are played on the instruments for which they were written. Arrangers Béla Fleck and Edgar Meyer won a Grammy in 2002 for their arrangement of Claude Debussy's "Doctor...
won a Grammy in 2002 for Best Classical Arrangement.
Ad Parnassum is a significant painting in the divisionist style by Paul Klee
Paul Klee
Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism...
.
"Gradus ad Parnassum" is the name of a music school in Palisades Park, New Jersey "Gradus ad Parnassum Inc." Michael Hinton President.
"Gradus ad Parnassum" is the motto and the inscription on the logo of the Slovenian military flying school.