Music 1711F/G Lecture Notes - Ite, Missa Est, Tonus Peregrinus, Reciting Tone
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Jan 16
The Elements of Plainchant
Liturgical Function
1. The Divine Office
–Matins (3am)
–Lauds (sunrise)
–Prime (6am)
'little hours:'
–Terce (9am)
MASS
–Sext (noon)
–None (3pm)
–Vespers (sunset)
–Compline (before bed)
2. The Mass – found in a Gradual
–Usually held b/w Terce and Sext
*textbook error: “antiphoners do not contain chants for matins” – they really only
contain matins.
The Mass
–Two types of chants:
1. The Ordinary/Unchangeable – same words every time
–Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Ite Missa Est
2. “Proper” - belongs to the day: Changeable – change, because they are
chants for a specific day eg. Christmas
–Introit
–Gradual
–Alleluia/Tract
–Offertory
–Communion
The Liturgical Year
–Follows the biography of Christ from Advent – Pentecost
–Saint's Days are celebrated throughout the year on the appropriate day.
Relationship: Words/Music
Syllabic
–One pitch per syllable of text eg. Gloria and Credo Chants
Neumatic
–Few pitches (up to 4 or 5) per syllable of text. eg. Intriot, Offertory,
Communion chants
Melismatic
–upwards of 5 pitches/syllable of text eg. Gradual and Alleluia chants.
–These tend to be sung with an alternating soloist and choir
Psalm Tones
–One for each mode (8) plus tonus peregrinus
–Consists of opening pattern, recitation section, closing cadential pattern
Mode
–Eight scales that are different from each other in their intervallic
relationships
–** see example 1-3 in text, pg 39
–The Final: “home” pitch
–The Recitation tone: reciting pitch
–Don't need, to know Greek names for modes eg. Dorian
Mode 1 – authentic and 2 – plagal: D is the final
Mode 3 – authentic and 4 – plagal: E is the final
Mode 5 – authentic and 6 – plagal: F is the final
Mode 7 – authentic and 8 – plagal: G is the final
–Authentic and Plagal modes distinguish themselves by their Recitation tones
and by their ranges:
–eg. Mode 1&2: D is the final, but...
–Mode 1: D-D is the range and A is the recitation tone
–Mode 2: A-A is the range and F is the recitation tone.
–Authentic is always the odd numbers. Plagal = even numbers
Melodic Structure
–Chant is conservative in its ambitus (range) and intervallic leaps (not > than
a 5th)
–Early singers probably didn't “think in modes” like we think in keys; they
thought in hexachords.
–Hexachord: a group of six pitches. Do, re, me, fa, sol, la
–Semi-tone always falls b/w mi and fa.
–Moveable 'do' system
Gamut: the entire range of pitches available to the medieval composer – made up
on 7 interlocking hexachords eg. 1-5 (pg 41). Word comes from “gamma” (Greek
'G') + ut (medieval symbol for 'do')
–The 'Guidonian Hand' is a learning tool for singers trying to memorize the
hexachords.
Three Types of Hexachords
Hard (incl B-natural)
Soft (incl B flat)
Natural (no B at all)
Sight-reading a chant that went beyond 6 notes required hexachord mutation
(modulation from one to the next)
Rule: “Una nota super la semper est canendum fa” one note above 'la' should be
sung as a flat if you're coming back to 'la'
Rhythm
–Text-driven
–Irregular rhythms probably
–No one knows for sure
–There would have been certain pitches stressed over others, which may
have had rhythmic consequences, but these would have been for rhetorical
reasons.