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Plainsong

November 27, 2023

For other uses, see Plainsong (disambiguation).

Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French plain-chant; Latin: cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text.[1] Plainsong was the exclusive form of Christian church music until the ninth century, and the introduction of polyphony.[2]

The monophonic chants of plainsong have a non-metric rhythm.[3] Their rhythms are generally freer than the metered rhythm of later Western music, and they are sung without musical accompaniment.[3]

There are three types of chant melodies that plainsongs fall into: syllabic, neumatic, and melismatic.[3] The free flowing melismatic melody form of plainsong is still heard in Middle Eastern music being performed today.[3]

Although the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches did not split until long after the origin of plainsong, Byzantine chants are generally not classified as plainsong.

History edit

 
A sample of the Kýrie Eléison (Orbis Factor) from the Liber Usualis, in neume notation. Listen to it interpreted.

Plainsong developed during the earliest centuries of Christianity, influenced possibly by the music of the Jewish synagogue and certainly by the Greek modal system. It has its own system of notation.[4]

As the number of chants in the church's repertoire increased, officials needed a better way to standardize the music.[3] A unique form of musical notation was developed to help standardize the music and provide a reference for the performers and audience alike.[1] The musical notations that were used were called neumes, and they are employed on a four-line staff, unlike the five-line staff we are accustomed to today.[3] The neumes are placed above the chant's words to help the performer identify the piece's melody but did not specify the pitches or intervals that needed to be sung.[1] Even though there were written musical manuscripts, the performers still needed to memorize the chants through oral traditions before interpreting the notation.[1] It was not until the eleventh century that musical pitches were being integrated into written music.[1]

Most of the earliest plainsong scripts have been destroyed due to war, purposeful destruction and natural causes such as water, fire, and poor environmental conditions.[1] The Toledo Cathedral in Spain has one of the world's largest collections of indigenous plainsong manuscripts devoted to Western Christianity.[5] Their collection consists of 170 volumes of plainsong chants for the procession, Mass, and Office.[5]

There are three methods of singing psalms or other chants, responsorial, antiphonal, and solo.[1] In responsorial singing, the soloist (or choir) sings a series of verses, each one followed by a response from the choir (or congregation). In antiphonal singing, the verses are sung alternately by soloist and choir, or by choir and congregation.[4] It is probable that even in the early period the two methods caused the differentiation in the style of musical composition which is observed throughout the later history of plain chant, the choral compositions being of a simple kind, the solo compositions more elaborate, using a more extended compass of melodies and longer groups of notes on single syllables. The last type of plainsong performance is the solo performed by the choir or the individual performer.[1] A marked feature in plainchant is the use of the same melody for various texts. This is quite typical for the ordinary psalmody in which the same formula, the "psalm tone", is used for all the verses of a psalm, just as in a hymn or a folk song the same melody is used for the various stanzas.[2]

Gregorian chant is a variety of plainsong named after Pope Gregory I (6th century A.D.), although Gregory himself did not invent the chant. The tradition linking Gregory I to the development of the chant seems to rest on a possibly mistaken identification of a certain "Gregorius", probably Pope Gregory II, with his more famous predecessor. The term Gregorian Chant is often incorrectly used as a synonym of plainsong.[1]

For several centuries, different plainchant styles existed concurrently. Standardization on Gregorian chant was not completed, even in Italy, until the 12th century. Plainchant represents the first revival of musical notation after knowledge of the ancient Greek system was lost.

In the late 9th century, plainsong began to evolve into organum, which led to the development of polyphony. When polyphony reached its climax in the sixteenth century, the use of plainsong chant was less appealing and almost completely abandoned.[2]

There was a significant plainsong revival in the 19th century, when much work was done to restore the correct notation and performance-style of the old plainsong collections, notably by the monks of Solesmes Abbey, in northern France. After the Second Vatican Council and the introduction of the vernacular Mass, use of plainsong in the Catholic Church declined and was mostly confined to the monastic orders[2] and to ecclesiastical societies celebrating the traditional Latin Mass (also called Tridentine Mass). But, since Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, use of the Tridentine rite has increased; this, along with other papal comments on the use of appropriate liturgical music, is promoting a new plainsong revival.[6][7]

The Plainsong and Medieval Music Society was founded in 1888 to promote the performance and study of liturgical chant and medieval polyphony.[2]

Interest in plainsong picked up in 1950s Britain, particularly in the left-wing religious and musical groups associated with Gustav Holst and the writer George B. Chambers. In the late 1980s, plainchant achieved a certain vogue as music for relaxation, and several recordings of plainchant became "classical-chart hits".

Chant types edit

The following is a classification of Gregorian chants into types. Other chant traditions, such as the Ambrosian or Visigothic, may lack some of the types listed, and may have other types not listed.

Syllabic

Neumatic

Neumatic with melismatic sections

Composers edit

Hildegard of Bingen, a nun of the twelfth century, composed a total of 71 Latin liturgical pieces.[8] The following is a list of her devotional pieces to the Virgin Mary.[8]

Responsory-

  • Ave Marie, o auctrix
  • O clarissima mater
  • O tu illustrata
  • O quam preclosa[8]

Antiphon-

  • O splendidissima gemma
  • Hodie (Nunc) aperuit
  • Quia ergo femina
  • Cum processit factura
  • Cum erubuerint
  • O fondens virga
  • Oquam magnum miraculum
  • O tu illustrata[8]

Hymn-

  • Ave generosa[8]

Sequence-

  • O virga ac diadema[8]

Allelula-

  • Alleluia, o virga mediatrix[8]

Modes edit

Plainchant employs the modal system and this is used to work out the relative pitches of each line on the staff. Read more about the use of modes in plainsong here.

Example edit

 
"O frondens virga"
From the Ordo Virtutum
Problems playing this file? See media help.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Levy, Kenneth; Emerson, John A.; Bellingham, Jane; Hiley, David; Zon, Bennett Mitchell (2001). Plainchant. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.40099. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bewerunge, H (1911). "Plainchant". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Forney, Kristine (2015). The enjoyment of music. Joseph Machlis, Andrew Dell'Antonio (Twelfth edition, full version ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-393-93637-7. OCLC 900609692.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ a b Weber, Jerome F. "Early Western Chant", Western Catholic Liturgics 2013-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b Noone, Michael J. (Michael John); Skinner, Graeme (2006). "Toledo Cathedral's Collection of Manuscript Plainsong Choirbooks: A Preliminary Report and Checklist". Notes. 63 (2): 289–328. doi:10.1353/not.2006.0157. ISSN 1534-150X. S2CID 191373486.
  6. ^ Reid, A. (2016). "On the 10th anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, we can safely say the doomsayers are wrong". Catholic Herald.
  7. ^ BENEDICT XVI (2007). "LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS ON THE OCCASION OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE APOSTOLIC LETTER "MOTU PROPRIO DATA" SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM ON THE USE OF THE ROMAN LITURGY PRIOR TO THE REFORM OF 1970". LA SANTA SEDE.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Stark, D (2001). "The Marian music of Hildegard von Bingen". login.ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-17.

External links edit

  • Gregorian Chant - CDs, MP3 files, videos, free scores. Sacra Musica
  • The book of Psalms sung in Sarum Use plainsong by Sarah James.
  • The Plainsong & Medieval Music Society

November 27, 2023
plainsong, other, uses, disambiguation, plainchant, calque, from, french, plain, chant, latin, cantus, planus, body, chants, used, liturgies, western, church, when, referring, term, plainsong, those, sacred, pieces, that, composed, latin, text, exclusive, form. For other uses see Plainsong disambiguation Plainsong or plainchant calque from the French plain chant Latin cantus planus is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church When referring to the term plainsong it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text 1 Plainsong was the exclusive form of Christian church music until the ninth century and the introduction of polyphony 2 The monophonic chants of plainsong have a non metric rhythm 3 Their rhythms are generally freer than the metered rhythm of later Western music and they are sung without musical accompaniment 3 There are three types of chant melodies that plainsongs fall into syllabic neumatic and melismatic 3 The free flowing melismatic melody form of plainsong is still heard in Middle Eastern music being performed today 3 Although the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches did not split until long after the origin of plainsong Byzantine chants are generally not classified as plainsong Contents 1 History 2 Chant types 3 Composers 4 Modes 5 Example 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksHistory edit nbsp A sample of the Kyrie Eleison Orbis Factor from the Liber Usualis in neume notation Listen to it interpreted Plainsong developed during the earliest centuries of Christianity influenced possibly by the music of the Jewish synagogue and certainly by the Greek modal system It has its own system of notation 4 As the number of chants in the church s repertoire increased officials needed a better way to standardize the music 3 A unique form of musical notation was developed to help standardize the music and provide a reference for the performers and audience alike 1 The musical notations that were used were called neumes and they are employed on a four line staff unlike the five line staff we are accustomed to today 3 The neumes are placed above the chant s words to help the performer identify the piece s melody but did not specify the pitches or intervals that needed to be sung 1 Even though there were written musical manuscripts the performers still needed to memorize the chants through oral traditions before interpreting the notation 1 It was not until the eleventh century that musical pitches were being integrated into written music 1 Most of the earliest plainsong scripts have been destroyed due to war purposeful destruction and natural causes such as water fire and poor environmental conditions 1 The Toledo Cathedral in Spain has one of the world s largest collections of indigenous plainsong manuscripts devoted to Western Christianity 5 Their collection consists of 170 volumes of plainsong chants for the procession Mass and Office 5 There are three methods of singing psalms or other chants responsorial antiphonal and solo 1 In responsorial singing the soloist or choir sings a series of verses each one followed by a response from the choir or congregation In antiphonal singing the verses are sung alternately by soloist and choir or by choir and congregation 4 It is probable that even in the early period the two methods caused the differentiation in the style of musical composition which is observed throughout the later history of plain chant the choral compositions being of a simple kind the solo compositions more elaborate using a more extended compass of melodies and longer groups of notes on single syllables The last type of plainsong performance is the solo performed by the choir or the individual performer 1 A marked feature in plainchant is the use of the same melody for various texts This is quite typical for the ordinary psalmody in which the same formula the psalm tone is used for all the verses of a psalm just as in a hymn or a folk song the same melody is used for the various stanzas 2 Gregorian chant is a variety of plainsong named after Pope Gregory I 6th century A D although Gregory himself did not invent the chant The tradition linking Gregory I to the development of the chant seems to rest on a possibly mistaken identification of a certain Gregorius probably Pope Gregory II with his more famous predecessor The term Gregorian Chant is often incorrectly used as a synonym of plainsong 1 For several centuries different plainchant styles existed concurrently Standardization on Gregorian chant was not completed even in Italy until the 12th century Plainchant represents the first revival of musical notation after knowledge of the ancient Greek system was lost In the late 9th century plainsong began to evolve into organum which led to the development of polyphony When polyphony reached its climax in the sixteenth century the use of plainsong chant was less appealing and almost completely abandoned 2 There was a significant plainsong revival in the 19th century when much work was done to restore the correct notation and performance style of the old plainsong collections notably by the monks of Solesmes Abbey in northern France After the Second Vatican Council and the introduction of the vernacular Mass use of plainsong in the Catholic Church declined and was mostly confined to the monastic orders 2 and to ecclesiastical societies celebrating the traditional Latin Mass also called Tridentine Mass But since Pope Benedict XVI s motu proprio Summorum Pontificum use of the Tridentine rite has increased this along with other papal comments on the use of appropriate liturgical music is promoting a new plainsong revival 6 7 The Plainsong and Medieval Music Society was founded in 1888 to promote the performance and study of liturgical chant and medieval polyphony 2 Interest in plainsong picked up in 1950s Britain particularly in the left wing religious and musical groups associated with Gustav Holst and the writer George B Chambers In the late 1980s plainchant achieved a certain vogue as music for relaxation and several recordings of plainchant became classical chart hits Chant types editThe following is a classification of Gregorian chants into types Other chant traditions such as the Ambrosian or Visigothic may lack some of the types listed and may have other types not listed Syllabic Scriptural reading Prayer Sequence Creed Litany Gloria Psalms Hymn Canticle Antiphon Short responsory Salutation Doxology 1 Neumatic Introit Tropes Sanctus Agnus Dei Communion 1 Neumatic with melismatic sections Kyries Graduals Alleluia Offertory Tract Great responsory Preces 1 Composers editHildegard of Bingen a nun of the twelfth century composed a total of 71 Latin liturgical pieces 8 The following is a list of her devotional pieces to the Virgin Mary 8 Responsory Ave Marie o auctrix O clarissima mater O tu illustrata O quam preclosa 8 Antiphon O splendidissima gemma Hodie Nunc aperuit Quia ergo femina Cum processit factura Cum erubuerint O fondens virga Oquam magnum miraculum O tu illustrata 8 Hymn Ave generosa 8 Sequence O virga ac diadema 8 Allelula Alleluia o virga mediatrix 8 Modes editPlainchant employs the modal system and this is used to work out the relative pitches of each line on the staff Read more about the use of modes in plainsong here Example edit nbsp O frondens virga source source From the Ordo Virtutum Problems playing this file See media help See also editAnglican chant Gregorian chantReferences edit a b c d e f g h i j k l Levy Kenneth Emerson John A Bellingham Jane Hiley David Zon Bennett Mitchell 2001 Plainchant Vol 1 Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 gmo 9781561592630 article 40099 ISBN 978 1 56159 263 0 a b c d e Bewerunge H 1911 Plainchant www newadvent org Retrieved 2021 02 16 a b c d e f Forney Kristine 2015 The enjoyment of music Joseph Machlis Andrew Dell Antonio Twelfth edition full version ed New York ISBN 978 0 393 93637 7 OCLC 900609692 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link a b Weber Jerome F Early Western Chant Western Catholic Liturgics Archived 2013 10 24 at the Wayback Machine a b Noone Michael J Michael John Skinner Graeme 2006 Toledo Cathedral s Collection of Manuscript Plainsong Choirbooks A Preliminary Report and Checklist Notes 63 2 289 328 doi 10 1353 not 2006 0157 ISSN 1534 150X S2CID 191373486 Reid A 2016 On the 10th anniversary of Summorum Pontificum we can safely say the doomsayers are wrong Catholic Herald BENEDICT XVI 2007 LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS ON THE OCCASION OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE APOSTOLIC LETTER MOTU PROPRIO DATA SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM ON THE USE OF THE ROMAN LITURGY PRIOR TO THE REFORM OF 1970 LA SANTA SEDE a b c d e f g Stark D 2001 The Marian music of Hildegard von Bingen login ezproxy lib uwm edu Retrieved 2021 02 17 External links editGregorian Chant CDs MP3 files videos free scores Sacra Musica The book of Psalms sung in Sarum Use plainsong by Sarah James The Plainsong amp Medieval Music Society Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Plainsong amp oldid 1177287551, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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