Chapter 3 Roman Liturgy & Chant Flashcards
What was the Office in the Middle Ages?
A series of eight services that are celebrated daily at specific times.
What is the Ordinary (order) of the Mass?
Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei
FIXED TEXT.
“Kites go crazy sailing away”
What are the three styles of performance vocalists use for Gregorian chants?
Responsorial- a soloist alternates with the choir or congregation
Antiphonal- two groups or halves of the choir alternate
Direct- without alteration
What are three styles (categories) of singing in Gregorian Chants?
Syllabic- chants in which one note per every syllable
Neumatic- chants in which there are one to six notes per syllable
Melismas- long melodic passages on a single syllable (if there is one in a chant- the Chant is now melismatic!)
Who was the cantor in the early church choirs?
He was the leader of the choir and sang the opening words of the antiphon to set up pitch.
What is a hymn and what qualities does it have?
Hymns are the most familiar type of sacred song. They are STROPHIC- consisting of several stanzas that are all sung to the same melody. These stanzas can be four to seven lines long.
What were three additions made the the original Gregorian Chants?
Tropes, Sequences and Liturgical Dramas
What are three ways we can figure out how to categorize specific parts of Gregorian Chants?
- Placement in the service
- Beginning of the piece will have the mode and name (actually sung)
- Syllabic, neumatic, or melismatic
In the order of Mass Ordinary, which chants are syllabic and which ones are melismatic? (Rate in order)
Order again: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei
Gloria and Credo: syllabic (longest text)
Sanctus and Agnus Dei: Neumatic (pretty repetitive)
Kyrie: melismatic (very repetitive)
What is a trope?
A trope expanded an existing chant in one of three ways: (1) new words, and music before the chant and often in between phrases (2) melody only extending melismas (3) text only set to existing melismas
What is a sequence?
Sequences are set syllabically to a text that is mostly in couplets. Most of these melodies were newly composed. This was new and placed after the Alleluia.
What is a liturgical drama?
Dialogue and elaborate plays in Latin sung in churches describing scenes from the bible in a more secular style.
Who was the best know composer of sacred monopsony- a composer who wrote both music and text?
Hildegard of Bingen- one of the only known woman composers of her time
What is an antiphon in the Office liturgy?
A chant sung before or after the psalm.
What are responsories in the Office liturgy?
Lessons (Bible readings) with musical responses.
