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Perhaps it is the somewhat cryptic term itself
which accounts for the fact that, among all the branches of the “gray
theory”
of music, counterpoint sounds the most theoretical, the most scientific,
the most cryptic. The innocent layman would rather link the term to higher
mathematics or physics than to a thing as live, serene and lovely as music.
Just as melody must be a matter of sheer inspiration, probably counterpoint
is a matter of sheer speculation—the one as close to nature as the other
far from it.
Theory derives the term from “punctum contra punctum”, or “point against point”, adding that “punctum” once had the meaning of a musical note and therefore counterpoint means “note against note”. This explanation is supposed to be very old . . . it is adhered to religiously and deferentially up to the present day and it certainly leaves us none the wiser. . . . while the ancient interpretation seems to accentuate the “point” part, we definitely prefer to shift the emphasis to the “counter” part of the term. This makes counterpoint simply the point of contrast; and the only reason why such a simple explanation is nowhere to be found must be that it would make things too easy, and would deprive the term of its scientific aura.
Ernst Toch
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