Unit 1: Gregorian Chant Flashcards
Gregorian Chant background and origins
- evolved from Hebrew chant tradition
- served as functional music in the worship services of the Roman Catholic Church
- originally passed down orally; among earliest forms of notated music in Western tradition
- organized and codified during the papal reign of Pope Gregory the Great
- used as basis for many new compositions during Middle Ages and Renaissance
Gregorian Chant characteristic features
- monophonic texture
- modal
- moves by step or narrow leap, within relatively narrow range
- unmeasured rhythm, sung w/o any fixed metrical pattern- melody is sung freely following natural inflections of the text
- based on sacred Latin texts
Pope Gregory I
- leader of Roman Catholic Church from 590 - 604
- organized and codified the chants that had accumulated, leading to establishment of a uniform liturgical service
- oversaw expansion of schools to train singers in performance of sacred repertoire (schola cantorum)
plainchan
- sometimes called “plainsong”
- monophonic texture
- modal melodies
- relatively narrow melodic range
- unmeasured prose rhythm
Gregorian chant
- form of plainchant
- sacred, liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church
- generally with Latin texts
- modal, monophonic melodies w/ unmeasured rhythm
- named after Pope Gregory the Great
syllabic text setting
- one note for a single syllable of text
- text can be clearly understood
neumatic text setting
-several notes (2 to 4) for a single syllable of text
responsorial singing
- a method of performance
- solo voice alternates with chorus
- solo passages referred to as “verse”
- choral passages referred to as “respond”
melismatic text setting
- many notes for a single syllable of text
- the most elaborate and florid form of text setting
Mass
- the most important service in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church
- includes prayers, readings from the Bible, and a reenactment of the Last Supper
- consists of texts that are variable according to the church calendar (Proper) and texts that remain the same (Ordinary)
- became an important genre, particularly during the Renaissance era
What is the Last Supper of the Mass referred to as?
- Eucharist (or)
- Holy Communion
Mass Proper
- changing, variable prayers of the Mass
- linked to church calendar
- sections include; Gradual, Introit, Communion, Alleluia
gradual
- the 4th section of the Mass Proper (variable texts)
- texts of the gradual are based primarily on the Psalms (poetic texts from the Old Testament)
- generally melistmatic and performed in a responsorial style
_ is an important source containing the music and text of many of the chants used in the Roman Catholic services
The Liber Usualis (Book of Common Use)
The Liber Usualis was compiled in the late 19th century by the monks of the _
Benedictine Abbey of Solesmes in France
The Liber Usualis consists of almost _ pages containing settings of the Mass Ordinary, and chants for specific rituals such as baptism, matrimony, ordination, and funeral rites
two thousand
_ was known for her mystic visions and prophecies and is remembered as one of the most extraordinary women of the Middle Ages
Hildegard von Bingen
Hildegard von Bingen composed original poetry and music and created a new genre: _
the morality play
An innovation developed by _ was a system for teaching sight singing using a set of syllables (ut-re-mi-fa-sol-la) to help singers remember patterns of whole steps and half steps
Guido of Arezzo
