CHAPTER 3

Music in the Monastery and

Convent

Important Monasteries in the West

• Early monasteries were centers of worship and the study of the scriptures.

• Generally followed the Rule of St. Benedict, compiled c530 C.E.

Rule of St. Benedict

• Code of conduct which regulated daily life in the monastic community.

• Monks/nuns – required to take vows of chastity, poverty, & obedience.

• Benedictines spent most of their day in silence– prayed to save their souls (interested only in personal

salvation).

Monastery of St. Gall

• St. Gall, Switzerland - important center for the creation of manuscripts of chant and learning.– today, St. Gall library preserves one of the richest

collections of medieval chant books.

• Founded by St. Gall (Irish monk) in 612 C.E.

• Owe knowledge of church music & preservation of Roman literature to monasteries (no universities or colleges yet in Western Europe).

Reconstruction of the monastery of St. Gall

Virtually every monastery included a church, a cloister (cellar for wine), a refectory (dining hall), a dormitory, a scriptorium, and a library.

Canonical Hours

• Canonical hours: regularly scheduled gatherings for praying, reading scripture, and singing as prescribed by St. Benedict.

• Most important canonical hours:Matins (early morning)

Vespers (afternoon/early evening)

Canon = rule in Latin

Gregorian Chant

• Gregorian chant (plainsong): a combination of Gallican and Roman chant created in Rome during the ninth and tenth centuries.

• Named in honor of Pope Gregory (c.540-604)

• Charlemagne (742-814 C.E.) had Roman chant brought north from Rome to Gaul where it mixed with Gallican chant to form what we now call Gregorian chant.

• First international musical repertory in Western Music – a combination of Italian, German, & French religious music.

Psalm Tones & Hymns

• Psalm tones – simple recitation formulas that psalms were sung to.

• Hymns – a short chant with a small number of phrases (usually four). [predecessor to later church hymn] – has recognizable & repeated melody sung throughout

versus.

• Psalms and hymns were many times sung antiphonally by alternating groups.

The framework of a psalm tone

Magnificat

• Culmination of the vespers service

• Has attracted many composers, such Monteverdi, Bach, & Mozart to set it to music.

“My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

For he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.”

Nuns of a Benedictine convent in

Bethlehem, Connecticut, singing chant today

Gregorian chant for the Mass

• Mass – central and most important daily religious service.– highpoint is the Eucharist (communion).

• Proper of the Mass (text change to suit church calendar): – Introit (clergy entrance)– Gradual (reflective chant)– Alleluia (thanksgiving chant)– Offertory (chant before communion)– Communion (communion chant)

Ordinary of the Mass

• Kyrie (a petition, in Greek, for mercy)• Gloria (hymn of praise)• Credo (profession of faith)• Sanctus (acclimation to the Lord)• Agnus dei ( petition for mercy & eternal peace)• Ite, missa est (short dismissal)

[Many composers write for Ordinary of masses because it could be sung throughout church calendar.]

Introit for Mass of Christmas Day: Puer natus est nobis (A

boy is born to us)

Gradual for Mass of Christmas Day: Viderunt omnes (All the ends

of the earth have seen)