ABSTRACT
The repertoire treated in the Scientia artis musice is Gregorian chant, about which its author expresses a number of decidedly individual perspectives. In the opening lines of the treatise Helie Salomon presents himself as not only a defender of tradition but as one who sees a need to reform that tradition, debased by careless musicians and scribes. The principles of chant performance that are dear to him would have been shared by many of his contemporaries. He opposed rhythmic differentiation of the neumes, an abuse that he blamed on singers of secular music or even the influence of jongleurs. Helie intends that his recommendations are to be followed whenever new copies of chant books are produced. Other comments seem to be couched as advice to composers of original chants and sequences. Nevertheless, Helie Salomon's engagement with the Gregorian chant repertoire is ambivalent.
