A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Bicinium
BICINIUM (Lat. bis and canere), described by Walther as 'a two-part song,' is an obsolete name formerly used in Germany for any short two-part composition. In the preface to Rhau's 'Secundus Tomus Biciniorum' (1545), he uses as an equivalent the Greek δίφωνα: 'Nec video quomodo Tyrones canendo melius exerceri possint, quam si hæc δίφωνα illis proponantur, Sunt præterea ad omnia instrumenta valde accomoda.' The title-page of Lindner's 'Bicinia Sacra' (1591) is in both Latin and German, the latter translating 'Bicinia' by 'Zweystimmige Gesänglein,' though the above extract from Rhau's preface proves sufficiently that the term was not confined to vocal music only. 'Tricinium,' which is more rarely found, is an obsolete term for a short three-part composition. The following are the chief collections of Bicinia and Tricinia mentioned by Eitner and other editors:—
Tricinia ... Latina, Germanica, Brabantica, et Gallica ... G. Rhaw. Wittemberg: 1542.
Bicinia, Gallica, Latina, Germanica ... Tomus Primus. G. Rhaw. Wittemberg: 1545.
Secundus Tomus Biciniorum ... G. Rhaw. Wittemberg: 1545.[1]
Diphona Amoena et florida ... J. Montanus et A. Neuber. Nürnberg: 1549.
Selectissimorum Triciniorum [Bassus etc.] Discantus ... J. Montanus et A. Neuber: Nürnberg 1559.
Variorum Linguarum Tricinia ... Tenor[2] [Discantus] Tomi Secundi. J. Montanus et A. Neuber. Nürnberg: 1560 (1559?).[1]
Bicinia ... P. Phalesius et J. Bellerus: Antwerp, 1590. (A later edition appeared in 1609.)
Bicinia Sacra, ex variis autoribus ... edita etc. C. Gerlach: Nürnberg, 1591.[1]