Masson, Charles
(1680–1700)
CHARLES MASSONMASSON, CHARLESCHARLES MASSON [* fl. 1680-† 1700] Charles Masson's Nouveau traité des règles de la composition de la musique (1697) is one of the most important French treatises on practical music theory from the period before RAMEAU, whose references to it attest to its usefulness, as does its long publication history. Masson accepted only two modes—major and minor, derived from Ionian and Dorian, respectively. Their essential notes (namely, the final, mediant, and dominant) were…