Gregorian Chant
A plainsong form of liturgical music, named for Pope Gergory I (c. 540-604). It is sung by a choir or comprised of a choir and soloists, completely in monophonic form and without consistent meter. The chants were written in what are now called Church modes, and approximately 3,000 are known to have been composed. None of the known chants are identified by composer, and were probably written by priests and monks.
Gregorian Chant. (2012). In M. C. Thomsett, Musical terms, symbols, and theory: an illustrated dictionary. McFarland. Credo Reference: https://ezproxy.southern.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/mcfmusic/gregorian_chant/0?institutionId=2258
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Books
Angel Song: Medieval English Music in History
Although medieval English music has been relatively neglected in comparison with repertoire from France and Italy, there are few classical musicians today who have not listened to the thirteenth-century song 'Sumer is icumen in', or read of the achievements and fame of fifteenth-century composer John Dunstaple. Similarly, the identification of a distinctively English musical style (sometimes understood as the contenance angloise) has been made on numerous occasions by writers exploring the extent to which English ideas influenced polyphonic composition abroad. Angel song: Medieval English music in history examines the ways in which the standard narratives of English musical history have been crafted, from the Middle Ages to the present. Colton challenges the way in which the concept of a canon of English music has been built around a handful of pieces, composers and practices, each of which offers opportunities for a reappraisal of English musical and devotional cultures between 1250 and 1460.
Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179
Drawing on contemporary sources, the text unfolds Hildegard's life from the time of her entrance into an anchoress's cell--where a woman would remain in pious isolation--to her death as a famed visionary and writer, abbess and confidante of popes and kings, more than seventy years later. Against this background the author explores Hildegard's vast creative work, encompassing theology, medicine, natural history, poetry, and music.
Hucbald, Guido, and John on Music
Three medieval treatises
Listen to Medieval Music from Catalunya
- El cant de la Sibilla: Sacred Music from medieval Catalunyahis recording uses the Catalan version of the Sibyl's song found in the archives of Barcelona Cathedral. Another Catalan book from the same period, the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat, also informs much of this programme. It would have provided pilgrims with suitably religious music to sing on their approach to the cathedral, rather than secular songs and dances. The additional use of Gregorian chant sets the Cant de la Sibil·la in its original context of the early morning matins, before these were standardised into the Office of Readings. Finally, the addition of a traditional secular Catalan song – which tells the story of the doomed Count Arnau – marks the period in the night when the pious pilgrims, eagerly awaiting the opening of the monastery, would give the floor over to storytellers.
Videos-Medieval Sacred Music
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Church scholars seek to make music more glorious in exaltation of God, adding harmony. Some notes created from the Pythagorian system, however, sound strange when played together.
Roman and French Chant Melodies
- Roman and French Chant MelodiesThe music sense of tranquility parallels the Romanesque architecture. Leonin of Paris, the first composer, bases his music on early Gregorian chants but adds his own sections called “organum.”