Chapter 1

Plainchantand

Secular Monophony

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-1 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Emergence of Plainchant

Gregorian chant

• supposed creator: Pope Gregory I

• existed before his reign of 590-604

• development continued after him

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-2 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Partially diastematic chant notation. The neumes of the earliest notated sources indicate the general contours but not the actual pitches of the chants. Shown here are the opening chants of the Mass Proper for Easter Sunday copied in eastern France around 930.

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-3 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Elements of PlainchantPlainchant • pure melody• no harmony• no accompaniment • no added voices

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-4 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Elements of PlainchantFive elements of plainchant

1. Liturgical function 2. The relationship of words and music

3. Mode4. Melodic structure 5. Rhythm

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-5 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Elements of PlainchantLiturgical function

The Office

• observed primarily by cloistered monks and nuns rather than laity

• local practices varied considerably and changed over time

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-6 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Elements of PlainchantLiturgical function

The Mass

• mixture of spoken, recited, sung elements

• every celebration of Mass (the Ordinary)

• specific to particular Sundays or feast days (the Proper)

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-7 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Elements of PlainchantRelationship of Words and Music

Chant:

• syllabic - each syllable of text has own note

• neumatic - each syllable is sung to between two and six notes

• melismatic - a single syllable is sung to many notes

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-8 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Elements of PlainchantMode

• specific pattern of whole steps and half steps

• melodies end on a characteristic pitch (the finalis or final) and move up and down within a particular range (ambitus)

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-9 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Elements of Plainchant

Melodic Structure

• limited number of intervallic patterns

• many stepwise intervals

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-10 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Guidonian hand. Attributed to Guido of Arezzo, the Guidonian hand was a mnemonic device for students learning solmization syllables and the structure of the gamut, which begins at the tip of the thumb (Gamma ut) and circles around the hand, each joint representing a particular pitch.

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-11 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Elements of PlainchantRhythm

Two interpretations -

• all notes are of essentially equal durational value

• all notes are not of equal durational value

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-12 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Expansion of Plainchant

• troping was most important source of new repertory after 9th century

• trope is a musical or textual addition to existing chant

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-13 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Secular Monophony

Songs in Latin

• passed easily across linguistic boundaries

• great appeal to wandering minstrels who provided entertainment

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-14 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Secular MonophonyFrance

Troubadours and Trouvères

• active in 12th and 13th centuries

• trobairitz is a female troubadour

• repertories included love songs, laments, pastorals,

dialogues, courtly love History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-15 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Secular MonophonyThe Iberian Penisula

Cantigas (“songs”) • texts written in Gallo-

Portuguese • most were syllabically set• strophic form with a refrain

History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-16 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Secular Monophony

Germany

Minnesinger

• developed their own repertory of songs

• Minnelieder were written in bar form

creating the pattern of AAB History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-17 © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458