(b Padua, ?1274; fl 1305-26). Italian theorist and composer. He was maestro di canto at Padua Cathedral, 1305-7, and left his home town the following year. He composed motets but was best known for his three treatises: Lucidarium (1309-18), Pomerium (1318-26) and Brevis compilacio (essentially a summary of Pomerium). The first two were written with the help of a Dominican friar, suggesting that Marchetto was not a scholar, but a musician who wanted to codify his practical experience. The Lucidarium is largely concerned with oral teaching. It presents traditional ideas on the definition and origins of music and explains the Gregorian tones. This material is largely based on other authors; more original is the section on intervals and consonances where he rejects the accepted Pythagorean system to propose a division of the tone into five equal parts - a theory that aroused much controversy, initiating a polemic which lasted until the late 15th century. The Pomerium provides a detailed discussion of mensural music and concludes with a definition of discant, the rules for ligatures and an exposition of the rhythmic modes, based on Franco but going beyond him. His system was never widely adopted, but his authority was long respected.

The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.