Terms #4 Flashcards
1
Q
Mode
A
- are scale types characterized by a specific pattern of whole steps and half steps
- melodies in any of the eight medieval modes end on a characteristic pitch (the finalis or final) and move up and down within a particular range (ambitus)
- the eight modes used in the classification of plainchant are based on the pitches D, E, F, and G with each pitch supporting two modes, one called authentic (with an ambitus running an octave above the finalis), the other plagal (with an ambitus running a fifth above or below the finalis
2
Q
The (Divine) Office
A
- also known as simply the Office; the term derives from the Latin “officium”, meaning “duty”) owes much to the traditions of Jewish worship , which featured a fixed daily schedule of prayer and singing of psalms
- The Rule of Saint Benedict–the regulations governing monastic life promulgated by Saint Benedict (ca.480-ca.547)–codified the basic structure and content of the eight services that comprise the Office
- the Office was primarily observed by cloistered monks and nuns
3
Q
The eight services
A
- every service centered on the recitation of psalms and included the singing of at least one strophic hymn (a hymn with each stanza set to the same melody) as well as readings from the scripture, which in turn were followed by a sung response
- Matins: during the night (2 or 3 A.M.)
- Lauds: at dawn
- Prime: at 6 A.M
- Terce: at 9 A.M
- Sext: at noon
- None: at 3 P.M.
- Vespers: at sunset
- Compline: before bedtime
4
Q
The Mass (Proper/Ordinary)
A
- Mass was celebrated in monasteries and convents every day between Prime and Terce and in all churches every day in the early morning
- the Mass consisted of a mixture of spoken, recited, and sung elements, some of which took place in every celebration of the Mass (the Ordinary), some of which were specific to particular Sundays or feast days (the Propers)
- easy way to know the difference is the Ordinary was sung every Mass, hence its content was “ordinary”; the Proper consisted of those items suitable or “proper” only to particular days
5
Q
The Liturgical Year
A
- the church year revolves around two major feasts: christmas, which celebrates the birth of Christ’s birth, and Easter, which celebrates Christ’s resurrection
- each of these feasts is preceded by a season of penitence–Advent before Christmas and Lent before Easter–each is followed by a season of variable length–Epiphany after Christmas, Pentecost after Easter.
- The church year begins with Advent
Simplified order
- Advent
- Christmas
- Epiphany
- Lent
- Easter
- Pentecost
6
Q
The Gradual
A
-contains the complete chants for the Mass, both Ordinary and Propers
7
Q
The Antiphoner
A
-contains chants for the Office, except Matins
8
Q
The Liber usualis
A
-a useful 20th-century anthology of many different kinds of chants from both the Mass and the Office
9
Q
Syllabic chant in the Mass
A
-one pitch per syllable of text TBC
10
Q
Neumatic chant in the mass
A
- Neumatic=musical setting of two or more notes per syllable of text
- other portions of liturgy that do not incorporate so much text receive more elaborate music
- the Introit, Offeratory, and Communion are sometimes called action chants because they accompany actions of the priest and his attendants who are celebrating the Mass
- the Introit is sung during the procession of the church, the Offertory during thr presentation of the bread and wine, and the Communion during the distribution of the bread and wine
11
Q
Melismatic chant in the Mass
A
- melismatic passages a single syllable is sung to many notes
- the most elaborate chants in the mass are the Gradual and the Alleluia, along with the Tract, which replaces the Alleluia during the penitential seasons of the Advent and Lent
- these chants feature relatively brief texts
12
Q
Recitation tone
A
- In plainchant, and particularly in psalm tones, a central pitch used repeatedly in immediate succession to declaim large quantities of text
- In syllabic chant the priest intoning the texts will adjust the number of notes on a basic recitation tone to the number of syllables, deviating in a formulaic way from the central pitch which will allow the listener to hear the text in a series of distinct syntactic units
13
Q
Cadence
A
-point of musical closure indicated by pitch, harmony, rhythm, or any combination of these elements
14
Q
Psalm tones
A
- psalms, with their lengthy texts, are recited syllabically to one of the eight melodic formulas known as psalm tones
- each psalm tone corresponds to one of the eight musical modes
- the ninth psalm tone, Tonus peregrinus, has two recitation tones but is limited largely to the singing of a single text, Psalm 113
- the first half of each psalm tone ends in a mediant (mid-way) cadence; the second half ends in more distinctive cadence
- the two halves of the psalm tone were sung antiphonally between a soloist and the chorus, or between two halves of the chorus
15
Q
Antiphon
A
- type of plainchant sung before (and sometimes after) the recitation of a psalm or other type of chant
- they tend to be brief although syllabic and more melodically varied than the psalm recitations they frame on
