MUSC2872:

History of Western Music I

Lecture 1:
THE MEDIEVAL ERA: Plainchant
THE MEDIEVAL ERA
THE MEDIEVAL ERA
 THE MEDIEVAL ERA
• From the fall of the Western Roman
Empire in 476 until the Renaissance
of the 1400s.
• Decline in political stability.
Lawlessness. Disease.
• Growth of the church and monastic
communities.
• Loss of ancient knowledge and skills,
but gradual advancements in
technology, education, the arts.
Feudalism
 Feudalism

Peasants serve local lords/landowners.

 Feudalism

However, an increase of centralized power after 1000,

and growth of more towns and a money-based
economy.
Monasterie
s
 Monasterie
s

Benedictine abbey founded 910, Cluny, in Burgundy, eastern

 THE MEDIEVAL ERA

Benedictine abbey founded 910, Cluny, in Burgundy, eastern

 THE MEDIEVAL ERA

Benedictine abbey founded 910, Cluny, in Burgundy, eastern

 THE MEDIEVAL ERA

Benedictine abbey founded 910, Cluny, in Burgundy, eastern

THE MEDIEVAL ERA

Chartres Cathedral, 1194-

THE MEDIEVAL ERA

Cambridge University, founded

 The Emergence of Plainchant
Plainchant: the monophonic sacred music of the
church.
Dates from centuries earlier, originating in
monastic gatherings of the early Christian
ascetics.
A means of meditation, including during the night,
and of worship, through the recitation of psalms.
Transmitted by memory, as part of an oral tradition.
The Emergence of Plainchant

In 753, Pepin III,

King of the Franks,
signed an agreement
with the Pope.
His armies would
protect Rome, and the
Catholic Church
would declare him the
legitimate ruler of the
Frankish kingdom.
 The Emergence of Plainchant

Charlemagne (742-814) was

made Emperor by Pope Leo III
in 800, and political authority
(supported by the church)
became centralized.
Charlemagne (742-814) was made Emperor by
Charlemagne succeeded in
Pope Leo III in 800. Political authority
(supported by the church) became standardizing
even more forms of
centralized. Christian worship across
Europe. He completed the
codification and unification of
the chant repertory.
The Emergence of Plainchant

Charlemagne (742-814) was

made Emperor by Pope Leo III
in 800, and political authority
(supported by the church)
became centralized.
Charlemagne succeeded in
standardizing forms of
Christian worship across
Europe. He completed the
codification and unification of
the chant repertory.
The Emergence of Plainchant

Charlemagne succeeded in
standardizing forms of
Christian worship.
Completed the codification
and unification of the chant
repertory.
Unifying church practices
across his empire would
solidify his authority.
The Emergence of Plainchant

Gregorian chant: according to

Carolingian legend, Pope
Gregory I (reigned 590-604)
created the chant repertory.
The legend had it that he had
composed the chants himself,
inspired by the Holy Spirit in
the form of a dove.
The Development of the Liturgy: THE OFFICE

THE OFFICE was a weekly round of services, eight each day.

Psalms and antiphons/responds (refrains) were sung.
Matins, in which twelve or more full psalms were performed.
Lauds: dawn office of praise.
Four “minor hours”: prime (6 a.m.), terce (9 a.m.), sext (12
noon), and none (3 p.m.). A psalm, a scripture reading,
and a hymn (a metrical song of praise).
Vespers or evensong: several full psalms with antiphons.
Compline: a bedtime service with elaborate antiphons
(“anthems”)
The Development of the Liturgy: THE MASS
 Early Notation
New system of notation around the 9th century, first
sources to survive are from the 10th century.
Neumes indicate pitches or groups of pitches, used as
memory aids.
Non-diastematic: earliest sources indicate the general
contours but not the actual pitches of the chants.
Diastematic: vertical placement to indicate fixed pitch
(with a single line or pair of lines).
Non-diastematic
Non-diastematic
Partially-diastematic
Diastematic
Diastematic
 The Elements of Plainchant
RELATIONSHIP OF WORDS AND MUSIC

Stylistic categories of chant in the Mass and the Office:

• 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

Syllabic – each syllable of text has own note. For long texts,
such as psalms.

Example: Victimae paschali laudes (Easter Sunday,

Sequence)
Neumatic – each syllable is sung to between two and six
notes. Shorter texts. More elaborate music, often to
accompany the actions of the priest.

Example: Resurrexi (Easter Sunday, Introit)

Melismatic – a single syllable is sung to many notes. Brief
texts, florid melodies. The Alleluia is noteworthy in this
regard, especially its final syllable, the jubilus.

Example: Haec dies (Easter Sunday, Gradual)

 The Elements of Plainchant
MELODIC STRUCTURE

• Limited number of intervallic patterns

• Only a few large leaps

• Many stepwise intervals, punctuated by thirds and an

occasional fourth or fifth (the fifths usually ascending).

• Series of distinctive contours

 The Elements of Plainchant
MELODIC STRUCTURE

• Psalms are recited syllabically to one of eight psalm

tones, melodic formulas associated with the eight modes.

• Psalm tones feature recitation tones, a mediant cadence

at the end of the first half, and a final cadence at the end.

• Antiphons: before and after the psalm; melodically more

varied. Text (also from the psalms) chosen to complement
the particular psalm.
 The Elements of Plainchant
MELODIC STRUCTURE

• Psalms are recited syllabically to one of eight psalm

tones, melodic formulas associated with the eight modes.
• Psalm tones feature recitation tones, a mediant cadence
at the end of the first half, and a final cadence at the end.
 The Elements of Plainchant
MELODIC STRUCTURE

• Psalms are recited syllabically to one of eight psalm

tones, melodic formulas associated with the eight modes.
• Psalm tones feature recitation tones, a mediant cadence
at the end of the first half, and a final cadence at the end.
 The Elements of Plainchant
MELODIC STRUCTURE: Psalm Tones

• initium
• tenor (recitation tone)
• flexus
• tenor
• mediant (cadence halfway)
• tenor
• terminatio (cadence at end)
 The Elements of Plainchant
MELODIC STRUCTURE

• Psalms are recited syllabically to one of eight psalm

tones, melodic formulas associated with the eight modes.
• Psalm tones feature recitation tones, a mediant cadence
at the end of the first half, and a final cadence at the end.
The Elements of Plainchant
 The Elements of Plainchant
MODE

• Eight medieval modes, each with a 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)

• Modes are classed as authentic if the ambitus runs an

octave above the finalis, or as plagal if the ambitus runs a
fifth above and fourth below the finalis
 The Elements of Plainchant
MODE
Hucbald (d. 930), De harmonica institutione (“On
the principles of music”), completed around 880.
 The Elements of Plainchant
3. MODE
 The Elements of Plainchant
3. MODE
 The Elements of Plainchant
RHYTHM

The most controversial issue. There are two

interpretations:

• All notes are of essentially equal durational value

• Not all notes are of equal durational value.

Most modern performances follow the “equalist”

approach, but with flexibility. Some historical evidence
supports the second interpretation.
 The Expansion of Plainchant
Sequence: words added to melismatic vocalises (that had
internal phrase repetitions) created syllabic hymns.
 The Expansion of Plainchant
Hymn: texts are not from scripture; syllabic and strophic.
“Popular songs”: rhythmical, strong melody, enthusiastic.
 The Expansion of Plainchant
Trope

• Attaching new musical settings to to amplify and interpret

the old one for the benefit of contemporary worshipers.

• The monastery of Cluny led the expansion of services.

• The primary sites of troping were the antiphons of the

Mass proper.

• Attached most characteristically to the Introit, the trope

became a comment on the Mass as a whole, as if to say,
“We are celebrating Mass today, and this is the reason.”
 The Expansion of Plainchant
Liturgical Drama

• Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), Abbess of the

Benedictine convent of Rupertsberg.

• Her largest work is a play with music called Ordo

virtutum (“The enactment of the virtues”).

• Melodies have wide ambitus, and exhibit the formulas of

modal identity, rather than the new theories.

• Texts avoid both rhyme and regular accentuation.

Fantastic imagery.
 The Expansion of Plainchant
• Passages in the liturgy with dramatic potential were
often troped, and some were staged as liturgical dramas.

• Such dramas, along with creation of texts and music for

new feast days, as well as new hymns, provided growing
opportunities for composers within the medieval church.