Zarlino’s Comporre di fantasia and Canon

Abstract

In the Istitutioni harmoniche, Zarlino describes a compositional process in which a countermelody that is introduced against a principal soggetto can itself become a soggetto for the next phrase, and the process can be repeated in subsequent phrases. This study shows how comporre di fantasia functions in passages from Martini, Févin, Isaac, and Josquin. The technique can also inform our understanding of canon composition, which is illustrated with two examples by Pierre de la Rue. For the study of canons at different time intervals, I also invoke the neglected theories of Robert Morris, Robert Gauldin, and Immanuel Ott. Comporre di fantasia is a structural category that provides insight into compositional process in Renaissance polyphony.