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Librury Bureau Cal. no. 1137 |
GREGORIAN MUSIC
GREGORIAN MUSIC
AN OUTimE
OF
MUSICAL PAL/£OGRAPHY
ILLUSTRATED BY F AC-SIMILES OF ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS
THE BENEDICTINES OF STANBROOK
LONDON AND LEAMINGTON ART AND BOOK CO.MPANY
NEW-YORK, BENZIGER BROTHERS
1897
{/III rights reserved)
\^
g-7r> 1-^
U
Mi-
TO
SAINT GREGORY AND SAINT AUGUSTINE
OUR APOSTLES
TO WHOM WE OWE THE FAITH AND THE SONGS
OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH
THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED
ON OCCASION OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTENARY
OF England's conversion
PREFACE.
The following pages are an attempt to bring under the notice of English readers some results of recent researches in musical archa2ology. The subject is one of many-sided interest and offers to the musical specialist abundant matter for fascinating study. But we venture to think that this work will ap- peal to even the general reader, as giving, at least in outline, the main fea- tures of early Christian music, and of its development into what we know as Gregorian Chant.
We are mere gleaners, and have endeavoured to present only a resume of the ■' Paleographie Musicale, '' humble, it is true, yet sufficient, we hope, to convev a fair idea of the scope of that remarkable work. We have made use also of Dom J. Pothier's " Melodies Gregoriennes, " a work which has opened up a vast field for the study of Plain-Chant, by placing it on a scientific basis.
We are glad to express our thanks to Dom A. Mocquereau, the able editor of the " Paleographie Musicale, " for much kind encouragement and assistance, and especially for putting at our disposal his two admirable papers, ' from which we have drawn freely.
We are aware that the principles of Plain-Chant have recently been put forth in a very able publication of the Plain-Song and Mediaeval Music So-
' " La Psalmodie Romaine & I'acceiit tonique latin. " — " L'art gregorien, son but, ses precedes, ses carafleies. "
VIII PREFACE.
cietv- ' The work is based, like ours, on the " Melodies Gregoriennes " and the " Paleographie Musicale, " and it abounds with pradical instructions which may be advantageously consulted by all Plain-Chant choirs. But, apart from the faft that its adaptation of English words to the ancient melodies is a tour de force scarcely likely to satisfy all critics, the " Elements of Plain-Song does not profess to give the general coup d'aeil of the Paleographie which has been our aim.
it is hoped that the perusal of the following pages may awaken an inte- rest in the Church's Chant for its own sake — as an ecclesiastical art — even among those who are not called upon to co-operate in its praflical restoration. The subjed has, so far, received very little attention amongst us, and it is rare to meet with persons who take an intelligent interest in the matter. This lack of appreciation, to call it by a mild name, is no doubt largely due to the very faulty rendering of Piain-Chant, to which most of us are accustomed. But is it fair to condemn, merely on this evidence, an art hallowed by so many venerable associations, the chant of Canterbury, of Westminster, and ofSarum! How fitting on the contrary that England, so conspicuous in the past for her love of the Liturgy, and still so true to the liturgical spirit, should be foremost in doing justice to that music which came to her with the faith, and which has been the delight of generations of her Saints and faithful children.
It was the Apostle of England, St. Gregory the Great, who organised and perfeded the ecclesiastical chants, and the holy Pope, sending St. Augustine to his dear Angles, charged him to teach them the sacred songs of the Roman Church. Later on, St. Theodore, in his celebrated school at Canterbury, paid spedal attention to sacred music, and strove to spread its use ; for, up to that time, as Ven. Bede tells us, it was known only in Kent. At the same date, St. Benet Biscop's zeal had provided the Northern Monasteries with an illus- trious master, in the person of Abbot John, Arch-Cantor of the Roman Church. St. Wilfrid, with his devotedness to Roman customs, was not likely to negleft the chant, and in fad we know that he introduced it wherever he
' " Elements of I'lain-Song. " H. B. Biiggs, London, 1895.
PREFACE. IX
was able, chiefly by the help of two monks of Canterbury, one of whom was Eddi, the Saint's biographer.
The Synod of Clovesho, A.D. 747, showed great zeal for the preservation of the chant as received from Rome,' and prescribed its use in the whole King- dom. To St. Dunstan we owe the well-known Kyrie " Rex splendens, " which he composed after hearing in ecstasy the songs of the Angelic choirs.
In later times we find several writers on Music, chiefly among the Monks, — Tunstede, for instance, and Walter de Odington, the latter a monk of Evesham and author of a remarkable work which presents a very complete account of the musical science of the 13th. century.
Emulating the example of our countrymen in all generations, let us show that we appreciate our treasures; the songs of the primitive and mediaeval Church are ours, they were inspired by the faith which we cherish, they were composed for a liturgical text which we still use, they are part of the glori- ous inheritance handed down to us by the Ages of Faith.
STANBROOK ABBEY.
Feast of St. Gregory the Great. 1S96.
' " Ut uno eodemque modo dominicae in carne saciosanfta; festivitates in omnibus ad eas rite competentibus,... in cantilenas modo celebrentur, juxta exemplar quod scriptum de roinana habemus Ecclesia. Itemque ut per gyrum totius anni natalitia saniSorum uno eodemque die, juxta Martyrologium ejusdem romanas Ecclesias, cum sua sibi convenienti psalmodia seu cantilena ve- nerentur. " (Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents. Haddan and Stubbs. Vol. iii. 367.)
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Pag.
CHAPTER I. The Aim of Church Music i
CHAPTER II. " La Paleographie Musicale. " 7
CHAPTER III. The Origin of Neumatic Writing 13
CHAPTER IV. Diastematic Notation 19
CHAPTER V. Liquescent Neums 28
CHAPTER VI. Romanian Signs and Letters 36
CHAPTER VII. Rhythm 45
CHAPTER VIII. The ■■ Cursus. " 51
CHAPTER IX. Adaptation of Texts 61
CHAPTER X. Execution 70
APPENDIX.
Modes 83
Psalmody 86
PLATES. (See next page).
LIST OF PLATES.
1 . Einsiedeln. MS. 121.
2. C. C. C. Cambridge. No. 473.
3. Montpellier. Bibl. de I'EcoIe de Medecine. No. IS9.
4. Monza. Chapter. F. 3. 104.
5. Verona. Chapter. No. 105. F° 206.
6. Brit. Museum. Hari. 49s i.
7. La Cava. (Choir-Gradual).
Plate I.
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EINSIEDELN. ms. 121. abbot Gregory's gradual, ioth. century.
NEUM-ACCENTS, LIQUESCENT NEUMS, AND ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS.
Plate 2.
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TEXT IN RED. ALPHABETIC NOTATION AND FRENCH NEUM-ACCENTS.
Plate 4.
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MONZA. CHAPTER LIBRARY. F. }, IO4. I2TH. CENTURY GRADUAL.
ACCENTS AND POINTS MIXED.
Plate 5.
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VERONA. CHAPTER LIBRARY. N° IO5. F° 2o6. 1 2TH. CENTURY MISSAL.
POINTS SPACED NO LINES.
Plate 6.
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HARLEIAN MSS. n° 49s i. iith. century gradual (from st. Stephen's, toulouse).
AQUITANIAN NOTATION ON ONE DRY LINE.
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CHAPTER I.
THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC.
\
Music, I imagine, ought to cud in the love of the Beautiful.
(Plato, Rcpuh. iii.)
" The movement of sound, so as to reach the soul for the educa- tion of it in virtue (we know not how), we call music. " Such was Plato's ideal. Mr. Rusl<.in remarks on this passage that " the Greeks only called Music the kind of sound which induced right moral feeling (they knew not how, but they knew it did), and any other kind of sound than that, however beautiful to the ear or scientific in composi- tion, they did not call Music (exercise under the Muses), but Amusia, — the denial or desolation for want of the Muses ".' The ancients indeed considered music, not as a mere pastime, but as the necessary basis of civilization and of all true education, and their youth were brought under its influence that they might acquire from it a certain balance and sweetness of character. Plato requires that the instructors of youth " be able to choose out of imitative melody what is well and ill-represented of the soul in its passion, and well discerning the pifture
' " Fors Clavigera, " No. Ixx.xiii.
2 I. THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC.
of the evil spirit from the picture of the good, they may cast away that which has in it the likeness of evil and bring forward that which has the likeness of good ; and hymn and sing that into the souls of the young, calling them forth to pursue the possession of virtue, by means of likenesses ".'
These doftrines point to the great simplicity of all true art ; in such simplicity, such self-restraint, lies much of that marvellous power, which is able, by simple means, to produce the noblest results. By simplicity we do not mean that which charafterises the expression of an art in its infancy, but simplicity in ideal, simplicity in choice of ma- terials, simplicity in tlie manner of obtaining wonderful effects.
Holy Ghurch, having appropriated all that was good, beautiful and true in the ancient world, became the depository of the arts, and enlisted their services in her cause. As tarausiCp4t became a consti- tuent part of her worship. St. Paul had given the formal advice : " Teach and admonish one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual can- ticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, " and the testimony of the earliest Christian writers shows that the precept was literally carried out.
But what will be tiie Christian ideal of music ? Will it be less noble than that of pagan antiquity? May we not^^athei^-expeS thalrthe ^reat truths of the Christian-creed will inspire a still higher appreciation of4l'ie be-auty of ha4-nw)ny ? Let us hear the Author of the " Ecclesias- tical Hierarchy ", the sublime interpreter of sacred rites ; " The sacred chantsproducej in those whojecite them in holy dispositions, an apti- tude for either receiving or conferring the different Sacraments of the Church. The soul is prepared, by these sacred canticles, for the imme-
' Ruskin's translation, loc. cit.
I. THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC. }
diate celebration of the divine mysteries, and is hi-ought into harmony with God, with her neighbour, and with herself ".i
This conception of the funftion of music is worthy of the Church and of the Divine Art. But where are we to find a musical system capable of realizing so lofty an ideal? And firstly, can our modern music reach such heights ? It is not intended to renew here an oft-fought contest ; we think, however, that few will claim for the average Church-music of the day, that peaceful, elevating influence so commended in ancient chant both sacred and profane.
Of Palestrina nothing need now be said. His work has been often and ably treated, and the growing interest in his compositions is a happy sign. High, however, as is its charafter, Palestrinian music is not the original song of the Church ; unless we agree that the honour of furnishing a form of chant worthy of celebrating divine mysteries and capable of raising the heart to God, was reserved for the sixteenth century.
What then of the earliest known music of the Roman Church? Does iV rise to the high ideal expressed above? It is hoped that the follow- ing simple pages will give some answer to this question.
In this study, the raisoii d'etre of religious music must ever be kept in view. The Church's life is centred in her Liturgy, — that won- derful cycle of prayer and praise. The text of this Liturgy, borrowed in great part from Sacred Scripture, is in itself sufficiently beautiful to dispense with all borrowed ornament. But the Church is not satisfied with merely saying her praise ; her loving enthusiasm urges her to song : " La raison ne pent que parler, c'est I'amour qui chante ".-
The Church sings too for another reason : knowing how much
1 Migne, Gr. Patrol., 0pp. S. Dion. Areop., Eccles. Hier., iii. ■^ J. de Maistre.
4 1- THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC.
the soul of man is influenced by all that strikes his senses, she appeals to mosteT^die^subtlest and most spiritual of the_arts, as an auxiliaiy-in tbe-greaLwork of human regeneration. |' Music appeals primarily to the senses, but does not tarry within their bounds ; forcing a passage through them, it hurries onward to the soul, bearing on its strain the ' burden of the mystery ' of those fafts of life and of living, which ' lie deeper down than any reasons that are to be found. ' ' ' The great spiritual realities of life are indeed too deep, too fiir-reaching to be expressed in mere words. It has been beautifully said by the writer just quoted that while " Speech is but broken light on the depth of the unspoken, music is a mystical illumination of those depths, which the rays of language are too feeble to reach. While the achievement of language is to chisel into articulate permanence a clearly-defined thought, the mis- sion of music is to give vent to such passions or inspirations, such imaginings or such realities, as are too subtle or too mighty, too dreamy or too spiritual, to be imprisoned within the thinkable terms of logic. Though necessarily less precise than speech, this is not by reason of the vagueness, but by reason of the vastness of its meaning, which thereby becomes proportionately overwhelming. While language is the crystallization of emotions from which the vital essence has escaped, and words, by defining, limit, — music is a revelation of the illimitable which lies behind all the barriers of time. " '
The Church then must sing...Ejjt-wb€4JC£_!AdlUhe derive_^h£iLSongs? Having been brought into touch with two civilizations and two forms of art, — the Hebrew and the Greco-Roman, — with exquisite tact she borrowed from each what best suited her ends. To the Jiebrew Liturgy we owe the form of our psalmody ; the Church to this added
^ Tablet, Feb. i6tli. 1896. •' On the verbal innsic of Blank Verse.
I. THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC. 5
her own songs and the first elements of thesejrielodies she drew from Greco-Roman sources. The earlisstXluirch chants, written in the dia- tonic form, were probably adapted, in at least a general way,_lQ_the scales and modes of the Greeks ; but there is no foundation for the statement of certain authors, that the very airs were borrowed from pagan songs.
Church music has not only its distinft aim ; it has_aliQjls_pxQiDei- jjiarafteristjcs^ It is scarcely necessary to remark that this ancient art
^^must not be judged by the rules of modern music.) It is the growth of a civilization differing widely from ours ; its principles, unlike those of our music, are one with those of the classic melody of Greece and Rome. The beauties of such a system will never appear to a superficial observer, but any one who lays aside the prejudices of education and habit, and gives himself to the study, will be repaid by initiation into an exquisite art. To the musician, Plain-Chant is a revelation; it leads him into a new sphere, where his ideas become enlarged and ennobled by the discovery of melodic riches undreamed of before.
Ancient Church music is all song, that is to say, it is always set to
.words. Here again we have the classic ideal ; music is the auxiliary of poetry, a development of speech, — or rather it w 'speech intensified to its fullest power. I " All perfeftly rhythmic poetry is meant to be sung to music, and all entirely noble music to the illustration of noble words. " — " Songs without words " would not indeed answer the ^ end of sacred music. The_ChujxIVs__rnelQdy is not intended merely to suggest vague, pious thoughts or feelings, but to express deep theologicaL truths, formal afts of faitIi,-of4K)pe,-of lave, and of praise.- Again, Plain-Chant is all in unison, hence it can have iione of those dissonances on which modern_ inusic depends for many of its finest effeds. On the contrary, it is ever sjrnple and natural, and one
6 I. THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC.
would look in vain for sudden modulations, or in faft for any startling device. Herein lies much of the power and of the purifying influe^nce of this music.
Gregorian Tonality, moreover, is totally unlike its modern name- sake, one of the most striking differences being that jL^has^no I.eg^ ^llgzjiof<\ that " joy for ever "" to the modern musical ear. ' When once the ear has become accustomed to the frajik, ckaj Tonality of the Gregorian modes, it feels a certain distaste for the softer progressions of Chromatic intervals.
But perhaps absence of TwrnAs the problem which most perplexes the modern musician in his study of Plain-Chant. Of this all-important question of Gregorian Rhythm, there will be more to say in a subse- quent chapter.
These leading characteristics give to Plain-Song a certain dignjtyj^ a^mpHcity, a convenance (always supposing of course that the Chant is properly rendered), which produce that indescribable something which may be called unftion, The influence it exercises on the heart of man is always elevating and purifying, and thus the Church finds this her song a powerful auxiliary in her mission of leading men to Him Who is infmite Beauty and Holiness.
The theme of this song is the vastest that may be ; it unites in one harmonious chorus the celebration of God's most mighty works and the yearnings and hopes of the human soul, blending both in a sweet hymn of adoration and thanksgiving.
' The subjed of Tonality has been admirably handled in the Elements of Plain- Song, and the reader is referred to that work.
. CHAPTER 11.
" LA PALEOGR.APHIE MUSICALE. "
It would be superfluous to call attention to the influence exerted on History and Archaeology by the study of the first sources of those sciences. This method is not indeed the growth of our age, having produced many finished works as for back as the i6th. century; but its principles are now mucli more generally adopted, and, thanks to the produftion of fac-similes, almost every branch of Archaeology is amply provided with colleftions reproducing its most ancient and reliable mo- numents.
Ecclesiastical music has shared, to some extent, in this movement. The attention of students once turned to the ancient notations, f;ic- similes of the MSS. followed almost necessarily. These publications, however, which date from the 17th. century, are not only few and far between, they are moreover short and inexafl:. In the present century there have been numerous reproductions of MSS. chants ; but these, besides being imperfeft representations of the originals, are, with the exception of a Gradual published by the Jesuit Pere Lambiliotte, too fragmentary to serve as foundation to any serious study of the ancient musical notations.
Since the appearance of Dom Pothier's " Melodies Gregoriennes ",
8 "la PALEOGRAPHIE MUSICALE. "
(1880), the study of the ueums (vrjua = a sign) ' from being merely speculative has found its way into even the humblest methods of Plain- Chant. It is indeed impossible to teach the first principles of Gregorian music, without giving the pupil some idea of the origin, the nature, and the value of these neums. But students desirous of pursuing such studies have been hindered hitherto by the insufficiency of the published materials. To supply this want the learned Benediftines of Solesmes have undertaken the monumental work, which now enjoys an universal and well-earned reputation, " La Paleographie Musicale ''. This publica- tion, the fruit of much patient and persevering labour, includes the repro- duftion by phototypography of two entire Graduals (or, as they were formerly called, " Antiphonalia Missarum "), as well as of numerous specimens of notation ranging from the 9th. to the 17th. century and embracing all the countries of Europe. The soundness of the principles deduced from a conscientious and enlightened study of these MSS. is admitted by competent authorities, who do no hesitate to believe that we now possess, at least in great measure, the true rules for the inter- pretation, and, as we shall see, even for the practical rendering of the venerable Gregorian melodies. These rules, be it remembered, were lost — it was thought irretrievably lost — and have been reclaimed only at the cost of an indefatigable perseverance which is beyond all praise, and to which we are happy to pay here a humble tribute of admiration.
Let us then see what materials the musical archaeologist has at his disposal, for the restoration of the Church's Chant, both in its form and in its execution. These materials are of three kinds, and are found
1 Neums are certain signs, used in all ancient MSS. for the notation of ecclesiastical chant. These signs have nothing in common with the alphabetical chara{5ters of any language.
II. " LA PALEOGRAPHIE MUSICALE. 9
— I St. In the worksjiLthe Fathgrs, Liturgists, and Latin Grammarians, ~| as well as in the Chronicles of Churches and Monasteries ; — 2nd. In the musical treatises belonging to the Middle Ages; — and 3rd. In the musical texts themselves, i. e. MSS. with musical notation.
The value of these three sources is by no means equal. With regard to the first class, it furnishes only indireft information on musical sub- jefts. The documents of the second class are, it is true, more impor- tant; yet, though their authors have undeniable intrinsic merit, they give us only here and there, and as it were by chance, those practical rules by which we set such store. There is nothing surprising in this when we remember the character of musical studies in the Middle Ages. Music was then rather a science than an art, being one of the branches of the Quadrivium, which, as is well known, consisted of Arithmetic, Music, Geometry, and Astronomy. To us this seems somewhat strange company for the divine art, and we naturally fee! suspicious of theorists whose musical doftrines, borrowed from the Greeks and Romans, con- sist chietly of speculations on the relation of sounds to numbers, or better still, on the harmony produced by the motions of the stars.' k_
Add to this peculiar view of Music the faft, that in the 9th. cen- tury (which is just the period at which such theorists as Aurelian, Hucbald, and the pseudo-Hucbald wrote), a methodical exposition of Gregorian_chant was far from easy. The difficulty arose from the co- existence of two distinft elements : on the one hand, there was the Liturgical Music, which was already several centuries old, was connected
I No man, however proficient in execution, could be called a musician, unless thoroughly versed in this transcendental science. One text out of a thousand : Musicorum & cantorum magna est distantia, Isti dicunt, illi sclunt qux componit musica : Nam qui facit quod non sapit, diffinitur bestia.
(Musics Regulae Guidonis. Cf. Gerbert Script.)
b
lO LA PALEOGRAPHIE MUSICALE.
with classical times only by the general character of its tonality, and was preserved by tradition without any written theory. On the other hand, there were the princi^lesof greco-roman rnusjc, which had survived tJTe_fall of pagan art, and which were still taught in the schools, at least theoretically. Here was a snare for our authors who failed to distinguish the two musical theories with sufficient clearness, and were inclined to apply the modal and rhythmical system of greco-roman art to ecclesiastical chant. Whatever useful information is gathered from these mediaeval treatises, is the fruit of their authors' simple study of the liturgical melodies, without any admi.xture of greco-roman theories.
But, just when the science of Church Music was beginning to throw off the yoke of mathematics, a new difficulty arose in the increasing influence of Time and Harmony. Up to the loth. century, these ele- ments had been merely popular and practical, but from that time they aimed at obtaining a place in the schools of chant. The theoretical writers of the time, carried away by this new current, turned their attention to the mysteries of Time and of counterpoint, to the almost total negled of Church Music. Henceforth there are two distinQ: kinds of music, plain or unmeasured {immensiirabilis), and measured (men- surabilis) music, — and consequently, two distinft theories.
It is therefore evident, that in studying the musical treatises bequeathed to us by the Middle Ages, we must be careful to distinguish three currents : viz. greco-roman doftrine, Gregorian principles, and the rules of the Mensuralists.
To come now to the third class of monuments, the Texts of the music itself. These documents are, beyond comparison, the most reliable foundations for the study of sacred chant. In them we find all the desired information regarding the version, the rhythm, the tonality, and the notation of ecclesiastical music. True, they furnish no formal
" LA PALEOGRAPHIE MUSICALE. II
principles ; but they are the substantial expression of both theory and practice, they are the translation into writing of the teaching and of the execution of the old masters. Hence their importance, and their superio- rity to theoretical treatises.
Fifty years ago the neums of these MSS. were a closed letter. Many systems of interpretation have since been ventilated, but these, though containing some true principles, have proved to be, on the whole, in contradidion with the MSS. themselves and with history. Patient study has however overcome all obstacles, and it is now universally acknow- ledged that these neums may be read and analysed, and, (if we may use the expression) translated, by the help of three distinft classes of documents, in which the melody is represented either by (i) points written one above another, or by (2) letters of the Alphabet, or lastly, by notes written on lines.
The Chant of the Western Church alone offers a wide field for interesting study, but we shall here confine ourselves to the songs of the Church of Rome. We may however notice in passing that the chants known as Ambrosian, Galilean and Mozarabic are in their chief features identical with the Roman, from which indeed they seem to be derived, so that the four classes may be likened to so many dialefts of one and the same language. The notation, too, is the same in all, i. e. neumatic writing, charafterised of course by the peculiarities of each country's caligraphy.
Let us then, taking advantage of the labour of previous students, learn some of the precious secrets hidden in the dusty parchments of neumatic MSS. We shall gain from the study a deeper and more rea- sonable appreciation of the songs of our Mother, the Holy Roman Church, — songs to which their association with St. Gregory the Great adds fresh interest. For it was he whose master-hand brought into
12 II. LA PALEOGRAPHIE MUSICALE.
unity, developed and enriched the already-existing Church Music, and who bequeathed to us among the many blessings of his fruitful Ponti- ficate, a colledlion of sacred chants, the fruit of a civilisation which had its roots in the classic age, and which availed itself of the happiest in- ventions of human genius for the adornment of the Divine Truths of Christianity.
CHAPTER 111.
ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING.
Let us for the moment lay aside whatever knowledge we may have of modern music, with its inseparable associates, Staves, Leger lines. Clefs, Keys, etc., etc., and let us try to trace the notation of Litur- gical Chant from its beginning. The subjed is not without interest to even the modern musician, since the system of notation with which he is familiar is the outcome of the Roman Church's earliest attempts at music-writing.
The oamieftion between-sppprh and chant is obvious, the essential difference being that in speech the modulations of the voice are unde- termined, whilst in chant the melody advances by fixed intervals, which the ear can assign to a definite position in the scale of sounds. It is therefore not surprising to find the primitive signs of a musical notation in the accents which regulate the inflexions of the voice in speaking. These accents^ (acute, grave, circumflex and anticircumflex) from which all the iieufmtic and modern systems of notation are derived, are figures originating naturally in oratorical modulations of voice, and as we shall see, wonderfully fitted for their purpose.
It is plain that sounds, by their very nature, are incapable of repre- sentation : '• Soni, nisi memoria retineantur, pereunt. "' If they are to be preserved, it must be by means of some expressive symbol. In
^ S. Isid., EtymoL. iii. is.
14 ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING.
the case of oratorical notation, such a symbol was soon found, being borrowed from the gesture of the speaker. We know how intimate is . the connexion between voice and hand ; both are ruled simultaneously by movements of the soul : " Gestus & ipse voci consentit, & animo cum eo simul paret. "'So true is this and so natural, that the very accents are merely gr^hic representations of those gestures, and take their form from the motion of the speaker's hand. Quintilian's descrip- tion of gestures applies with equal fitness to accents : " Optime autem manus a sinistra incipit, " — is not this the aciiic accent (/) traced upward from left to right? " In dextra parte deponitur '" — here is the grave accent, also drawn from left to riglit, but downward (\).
Let us now follow these accents in their application to diatonic melodies. With regard to the aciife accent^ (VirgaJ, we find it entire in the six groups or neums which are the foundation of all the rest, and we notice that, whether alone or in composition, it invariably denotes an elevation of voice. -
In the Clivis, first stroke A [■
Podattis, second stroke 7 J ■•
Torciilits, middle stroke S ■"■
PorreQiis, ist. and 3rd. strokes /\i j V!^ Scandicits, iiighest note ./ j^
Climacus, first note /■. ^^^
The grave accent preserves its normal shape in the Clivis (2nd. stroke) and PoireBus (middle stroke) — but becomes slightly altered in the other groups, being either made horizontally or reduced to a mere point — hence its name " PiinBum ' '. The inverse of the Virga or acute accent, the Punftum or grave accent always represents a fall of the voice.
1 Qiiintil., hist. Oral., xi, 3. - See Plates 1 et 2.
ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING. 1 5
The CircLimnex and Anticircumflex, which praftically are mere combinations of the acute and grave accents, figure respectively in the Clivis and Podatus.
The chief features of this Chironomic Notation (Xslp = hand, v6;ao; = rule) — in its application to both oratory and music, may be summed up as follows :
(1 ) The respective /)05///o« of the accents is of no consequence; the musical value, the pitch of a note, depends on the direftion in which the sign is traced. Thus, the acute accent invariably marks an eleva- tion of voice, whether it be written higher or lower in any given series of accents. (2) From this it follows that it is the lobole sign which expresses the note, not the beginning nor the end of the stroke. (3) The accents indicate an indefinite rise or fall, as the case may be. (4) The accents have no value as expressions of time or force.
These then are the forms of notation in Liturgical music. But how did they give the melody, the air as we should say? To understand this we must go back to the period when the oratorical accents were transferred to the domain of music, for it is clear that this primitive notation would not have been originally suited to express the elaborate compositions of later ages. The very use of such signs, for notation, presupposes extreme simplicity in the chants of the early Roman Church, and as a matter of fact, nothing could be simpler than those melodies which were nearly allied to the natural modulations of speech. Such pieces being easily learned and remembered, the oratorical accents were considered quite sufficient^irexpress them. It must not be forgot- ten that the only notation available at that time was the alphabetic system of the Greeks, and this was unnecessarily complicated for appli- cation to such simple types. ^
As the Chants developed, the neum-accents easily lent themselves
i6
111. ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING.
to the growth, and groups of four, five or more notes were formed by combining the simple neums given above.
TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL NEUMS.
NAME.
1 Punclum
2 Virga
5 Scandicus
6 Climacus
1 Torculus
Porreclus
FORM. ELEMENTS.
Grave ace. (g.)
I Acute ace. (a.)
MODERN NOTES.
3 Pes or Podalus J g- ^■
4 Clivis
/!/
10 Scandicus flexus
g- g- ci.
a- g- g-
g- '1- ^•
9 Porrectus flexus /V\ "• g- "• g-
g- g- "■ g-
to
^
:n.=
■A-
K;
M
^
^
111. ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING. I7
NAME. FORM. ELEMENTS. MODERN NOTES.
g
H. Torculus resupinus J\l g. a. g. a.
35:
12. Climacus resupinus /■. / ,?. g. g. j. ' ^V^'
5=33
13. Pes subbipunctis J-, g. <?. g. g.
5li
But how did tiiese groups express tlie various intervals of the J scale? How could one tell, e. g. what distance was marked by a Poda- tus (7) or Clivis (/1), since the neum might represent, according to the ancients, any one of thirteen intervals? The enigma may be solved by considering a parallel e.xample in speech. In English, the word ward has six meanings. Yet, meeting it in reading, we see at a glance what it means, because we know our language and are quite sure that in such a context the word has such a meaning. This is exactly the process by which the neum-accents were interpreted ; the Cantor knew his melo- dies by heart, an indispensable qualification, and he saw at a glance that a Podatus for instance in such a connexion must represent such an interval. We are not prepared to maintain that the system was re- markable for its simplicity, for indeed it severely taxed the memory of the poor Cantor '. The realisation of its difficulties prepares us for the
' ■' Mirabiles autem cantores & cantorum discipuli, etiamsi per centum annos cantent, numquam per se sine magistro unam vel saltern parvulam antiphonam canta- bunt ; tantum tempus in cantando perdentes, in quanto & divinam & SKCularem scri- ptiiram potuissent plane cognoscere. " (Guido Aretinus, De ignoto cantii.)
" Sed cantus adhuc per li;ec signa (i. e. neumata) minus perfeifla cognoscitur, nee per se quisquam eum potest addiscere, sed oportet ut aliunde audiatur & longo usu dis- catur, & propter hoc hujus cantus nomen usus accepit. " (Joan, de iVluris. Siimiiid Mu- sicce. cap. vi.)
c
1 8 111. ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING.
otherwise astonishing fad — that ten years was the modicum of train- ing required for a singer, who was absolutely obliged to possess all the Liturgical chants " in theca cordis. "
As a matter of faft, then, tlie neum-accents served, especially in elaborate pieces, merely as guides and reminders, showing clearly the number of notes to be sung and the manner o{ grouping them, but in- dicating only indefinitely a rise or fall of pitch. '
The insufficiency of this notation must have been felt early, for fromTfie--9l±L^ceDturyfjwe find attempts at reform, and the beginnings of a new and really musical system, in which the notes are written on a graduated scale according to the respedtive distances of the musical intervals.
The transition to this new system affords matter for interesting study and will be the subjeft of the next chapter.
> See Plate i .
CHAPTER IV.
DIASTEMATIC NOTATION.
We saw in the last chapter how the oratorical accents came to be adopted as signs of musical notation, and we hinted at the insufficiency of a system which indicated only indefinitely the intervals of sound. We are thus prepared to find masters seeking some means of supplying the deficiencies of their notation.
One ofjtlie first^^attempts in this diredion was the use of the let- ters of the Alphabet to express the dififej;ent notes. These letters were generally used with the neum-accents, to which they were added by way of translation. We are told that St. Odo of Cluny noted a complete AntiphOnary in this way. His work has unfortunately perished, but we have a complete Codex (Montpellier MS.) ' as well as various fragments of this notation. From these it seems that the system was intended almost exclusively for teaching purposes. At least it was never widely used in liturgical books, for by jts side th^re was forming a new kind of notation, which aimed at showing the pitch of notes by wri- ting the neums either higher or lower according to their position in the scale of sounds.
Since " The human mind seems to have an innate tendency to represent sounds as if contained in a vertical straight line ", (M. Ge- vaert.) one might suppose that some graphic system corresponding to
' See Plate 3.
20 IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION.
this idea would early have been invented. Yet centuries passed before anything of the kind was attempted. The Greeks with their Alphabetic notation seem never to have dreamed of such a thing ; oratorical accents gave no idea of the various intervals, and perhaps Diastematic (o'.aTTY, 'j.n. ^interval) notation would never have been invented, had not the neum- accents existed as the materials out of which a perfed representation of the musical scale has been produced.
Yet, Diastematic notation differs widely from Chironomic. In the latter, as we have seen, a ris£_or fall of pitch is expressed by tht form ol-th£-_signj. by the direftion in which the sign is traced ; for instance, the acute accent (/) always marks a rise. In the former, the musical value of a sign depends on its position on the staff.
The first signs of the new system appear about the 9th. century, in the v\tum-points gradually spaced according to intervals^, long even beforg^the invention_of Hjies. This is already a great advance from the neum-accents written over the text, either high or low, without other rule it seems than the copyist's caprice. For the origin of these neum- points, we must look to the neumatic accents of which they are the natural development and the perfeftion.
It will perhaps be well to give at once a Table showing the pro- gressive transformations of the neum-accents.
|
NEUM-ACCENT. |
ALTERATIONS. |
MODERN NOTES, |
|
|
Virga |
; |
v/ ' ^ |
1 |
|
Clivis |
A |
^ ^ C )2 |
\ |
|
Porreftus |
/I/ |
yy.v N |
ha |
|
Podatus |
7 |
JJ^^'2 |
1 1 |
|
Torculus |
S |
A j-rj A |
.". |
|
Climacus |
/: |
^ •? /^ \. |
1% |
IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 21
The changes visible in each group are due primarily to the inclina- tion of writers to facilitate their work by giving the neums a more cursive form. Copyists of all ages have been ingenious in finding expe- dients for saving time and trouble^ In the musical scribe this instinft first shows itself in a tendency to shorten the strokes of the neum- accents; points next appear at the extremities of the accents, whilst the accents often disappear completely and give place to points.
It seems that these transformations of the neums first suggested the idea of spacing the notes according to intervals ; at first the groups are spaced, then the notes of each group begin to be written according to the desired intervals. These first attempts were not to be unproduc- tive. At first, the intervals were shown, more or less, but they still remained rather indefinite, and the transcription of the notes thus spaced called for a scrupulously careful copyist. ^ But now a bright idea occurs to some anxious scribe : why not utilise the blind line drawn for the text and make it the starting point of the notationj_Whv not, for instance, call the line Fa and thus give some guide for the rest of the notes? Here we have notation on one line, which may be seen in many MSS. -
la sol
Fa .
mi '^
re re
The method is a vast improvement, but it does not remove all
difficulties, for the further the notes are from this line, the more doubt-
l~>o ful their pitch becomes. This suggests a second line, representing Utj_
' See Plate 5. 2 See Plate 6.
22 IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION.
C
mi re
SI
la sol
mi
re
lit
Having got so far, additional lines were_soonadopted, until the staff of fourj^2& found to be sufficient.
The invention of this system is commonly ascribed to Guy of Arezzo, but a study of the MSS. proves that the method, which had been forming for two centuries before his time, is the work of the theo- rists and copyists of those ages. What Guy did was to perfect the sys- tem by fixing the Clefs and the number of lines. It is important to bear this in mind, as the fa£t is one of the strongest guarantees for the au- thenticity of the Gregorian melodies. Had the chants been translated by Guy or any other individual into a notation entirely of his own in- vention, the tradition would be open to doubt, as we should have no assurance that he had always interpreted the neums aright. But when we find that '' the transition from neums without lines to diastematic neums has come slowly, progressively, simultaneously in all parts of Europe, and by means which vary with MSS. and places, — circum- stances which prove that the neumists in their attempts at improving notation worked independently of one another, — we have every reason to believe in the identity of the melodies, whether noted chiro- nomically or diastematically. " '
The intj:odji£tioa of lines hacLjiQnsiderableJnfluence on the form
' Pill. Mus.. t. ii, p. i6o.
IV. DIASTRMATIC NOTATION. 2}
of the neums, by requiring them to be written very— exa^ly- on the desired degree of the staff. A Virga (/), for example, placed on lines would be almost as vague as if written in campo aperto.
:/:
In this case the note might be either on the first or second space, or on the second or the third line. To remove all ambiguity the copyist adds a point representing the note :
-X
By this means the point becomes the essential part of the sign, and the accent remaining as a relic of the original neum serves as a conneding line for the notes of each group, which thus preserves almost its pri- mitive form. (See Table, p. 20.) — As to those groups in which the notes are sometimes diamonds, sometimes squares, sometimes again points, these peculiarities are merely material, depending solely on the shape of each writer's pen and on his manner of handling it.
Side by side with tbsj^l^iiin-poiiifs, in which the original accents are preserved as ligatures, we have another class of neumatic figures, i. e. Dctacbed-poiiits . We saw an indication of this system even in Chi- ronomic notation, where the grave accents of Climacus and Scandicus were replaced by mere points, on account of tlie inconvenience of ma- king several consecutive accents in the same direction. Thus Cljjna- cus /"' became /•. , Scandicus J becanie /. The same process was soon
applied to other neumatic groups.' Some copyists set to work boldly and transform all the neums past recognition. Others proceeding more timidly change only a few of the signs, and thus we sometimes finp
1 See Plate 4.
24 'V- DIASTEMATIC NOTATION.
both detached and conne£led points in the same MS. A glance at the following Table will satisfy us that these detached points are derived, like lU'itiH-poiiiis, from the primitive neum-accents.
|
NAMB. |
NEUM |
-ACcr. |
TRANSITION. |
DETACHED-POINTS, |
|
|
Climacus |
r^ |
/•. |
r- /-. |
■ • • |
|
|
ScandicLis |
0 |
/ |
J 1 |
• • |
• • • |
|
PodatLis |
7 |
1 |
r • |
• |
|
|
Torculus |
J- |
.1 |
»\ |
• |
|
|
Clivis |
A |
n. |
• ■ |
X |
|
|
Porreftus |
/!/ |
V |
• |
:r |
The system of detached-points prevailed in nearly the whole of Spain and in Aquitaine, and became quite a distinft kind of notation. ' In other parts it seems to have been fused with the system of connefted- points, so that both forms of notation arrive at the same result by different means[. In the connefted-points, points are added to the accents; while in the detached-points, accents are added to the points.
Connedcd-points. Detached-points. .
>^ became ftA» .•, became »\ r"|' jj^^
In both systems we remark the care of copyists to preserve the traditional manner of ^;w//)///o- the notes, which is an essential point. A Porrectus, e. g. may assume a dozen different shapes, but it remains a Porreftus still, a group, that is, of three notes /I/ (acute, grave, acute). It is to be regretted that our modern chant books, completely ignoring or at least disregarding this important point, reduce the succession of groups, each with its own accent and character, to an incoherent string
1 See Plate 6.
IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 25
of notes, which " drag their slow length along " in unrelieved heavi-
ness. 1
Compare the following :
fc==;=rKM^=FMi^
in mu-li- e- ri- bus
|
■ |
|||
|
i« . . ■ V%'i% |
• nT". |
■■-■v |
|
|
■■ ■ ■ |
i— ■- - ., |
May we be allowed a word on the practical bearing of some of the fads mentioned in this paper? Firstly with regard to the Virga, known as the tailed and therefore (why therefore?) the long note.
We have seen that in the system of neum-accents it originally con- sisted of a tail only (/) and that its head was added to specify the note ; whilst in the neum-point system, by the irony of fate, it consisted of only a head and became possessed of a tail by evolution. So much for fa£ts. After the introduftion of the staff, the virga had no longer the same raison d'etre as before (the notes being then determined not by the form of the sign, but by its position on the staff), and it became a mere matter of choice whether a Virga or a Punftum (i. e. a tailed note or a square) should be used for a single note. In most MSS. the Virga is employed arbitrarily, but in some it is pretty regularly used for the first syllable of each word, in others for the last, while in others it is invariably employed for every note standing alone. It is plain then that to the minds of those who used the Virga in such varied ways, the tailed note had no value as to time.
Another proof of this faft is found in a very interesting MS. of
1 See Plate 7, where the groups are preserved.
26 IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION.
the I ith. century '. The last page of this volume gives several Alleluiatic verses, noted with a double line of neums, or, as we should say, in two parts. The ordinary melody is written immediately over the text, and the second part over that. The second voice corresponds, note for note, to the first, and generally proceeds by contrary motion. Now in these two parts a puncliiin in one voice corresponds to a t^irga in the other — a clivis iopodatus, torciilus ioporre£lus, scandiciis to climaciis. If the Virga be a long note, the corresponding groups must be transla- ted thus :
.St Fart. / ^ /> «l_* ^ J ^ m Z'- ^' J J
2nd Part. . , J ^J ^ J • ^ .-^ J J ^
This is obviously impracticable and we are forced to believe that a virga or a punftum has of itself no value as an expression of time.
The same is to be said of diamond notes. Their form is due simply to their being made with a broad pen held obliquely.
How surprised the good old Monastic scribes would be, could they hear the theories evolved from the accidental squares, tails, or diamonds traced by their unwitting pens. They would learn the impor- tance of a tailed note, the respectable mediocrity of a square, and the insignificance of a diamond. No doubt their first praftical lesson would be that in singing for instance a Climacus T% they should duly hold on the tailed note and dispatch the diamonds with the least possible delay.
We do not, however, mean to say that in Plain Chant all the notes are of absolutely equal length, for this is far from the truth. The prin- ciple which we would insist on is this — that one must not seek
1 Biblioth. de la Ville de Charlres, No. 130.
IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 27
indications oftlie time-value of a note in its shape, for this value depends, not on the shape of the note, but, if we may say so, on circumstances, and chiefly on the words to which the music is set. This is especially the case with syllabic chant, for then each note has simply the value of the syllable which it accompanies, the accent of each word being well marked, and the weak syllables sung softly, but not hurriedly. As a matter of fa£l, it is more a question of loud and soft, tlian of long and short. It is unnecessary to remark that a pause must be prepared for by a ritardando in the notes which precede it.
In more elaborate pieces the value of notes is fixed by several rules. We shall see farther on that the Romanian Letters and Signs are freely used to mark the relative duration of sounds. 'Xht position too of a note will often determine its time-value.
We here mention these few fads, lest what we have previously said should lead to the conclusion that the Church's Chant is devoid of artistic feeling, which would assuredly be the case, did it require an absolutely equal value for every sound.
CHAPTER V.
LIQUESCENT or SEMIVOCAL NEUMS.
Having now made acquaintance with the neums in their primitive form, and having sketched their subsequent history, let us return to the early MSS., and try to get some insight into the art of the Grego- rian melodies.
The neum-accents are derived, as we have seen, from the accents used in oratory ; this fa6l gives us the first hint of the close connection which exists between text and melody in these venerable compositions. This connexion will be made more evident the farther we advance in our study, for we shall see how words and music are fused, and how in fa£t the melody is simply a development of the accent of the text.
We purpose to consider now certain details of notation, which prove plainly the influence of the words on the music, and show how exaftly the liturgical musicians appreciated the fusion of these two ele- ments, and how ingeniously they represented this fusion in their no- tation.
" In singing, and indeed in reading also, the passage from one syllable to another requires special attention ; at the moment of such transition the singer or reader must be most vigilant, so that, amidst Ihe evolutions of the voice, he may ensure a harmonious flow of the
V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAI. NEUMS. 29
syllables, and preserve not only the unity of the word, but the finish and completeness of the smallest details of pronunciation. These con- ditions are essentia! to the flow of the rhythm and the clearness of the text. "' For this end, Gregorian composers and Cantors employed various means, all which show that the liturgical music, in its best days, was composed and rendered with consummate art and true esthetic sense. We will confine ourselves here to one of these methods, the use of Liquescent or Semivoca! Neums.
Musical Liquescence is thus defined by Guy of Arezzo : " Lique- scunt in multis voces, more litterarum, ita ut inceptus modus unius ad alterum limpide transiens nee finiri videatur. " Which may be thus paraphrased : " As in the Alphabet there are liquids (1, m, n, r,), so there are liquid sounds. These occur at the passage from one syllable to another, when a note which began full and entire expires, as it were, and is fused with the next note. "
Liquescence is in faft a delicate shade of pronunciation refleded in the melody and consequently marked in neumatic notation. This
—ba^SQunded (semivocalis) note which thus dies away (liquescit, deficit) at the transition to a new syllable, is consequent on certain combina- tions of consonants or of vowels. Before entering on the study of these combinations, an introductory remark will not be out of place.
Musical Liquescence originated at a time when Latin was pro- nounced with all the purity and correctness of a living language, and it may be illustrated by a similar fact in grammar. In Greek and in Latin a short vowel becomes long by position before two consonants. The cause of this seems to be the difficulty which the ancients had in pronouncing several consonants consecutively. To a short vowel of
* Paleog. MmicaU, t. ii.
30 V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS.
one beat they added a pause equal to a fraction of another beat. This pause is defined as " a momentary interruption between two conso- nants, in pronouncing the syllables of a word. " ' Yet this interruption is not a silence ; it consists rather in the insertion of an indistinct vowel, an arriere-son, which is not part of the preceding consonant, but which results from the suspension of the effort required for pronouncing that consonant. " - This may be seen by pronouncing quickly and distinctly a word like sub^-dat". The exact articulation of each group of syllables explains the kind of resonance which seems to separate them, v. g., con^-fun^-daw-tur. sal^-ve.
Now this grammatical principle applies exactly to semi-vocalisa- tion ; it is precisely this arricre-soii, this delicate shade of pronunciation, that influences the melody and even the material form of the neums. This half-vowel used, through ignorance, to be written in many words ; in MSS. and inscriptions of all ages such examples as the following frequently appear : Pet(e)ro, uber(i)tas, aug(i)mentum, ur(e)bem, and it is just in such words that liquescent or semivocal notes are found. In words, this insertion is a blemish, because a full vowel is added; in chant, it is an ornament, introducing only a feeble note, naturally called for by an exa£l pronunciation. In practice, Liquescence may be likened to portamento di voce, which, when judiciously employed, adds so much to a melody.
We may now notice the principles which regulate the use of semi- vocal notes :
I. Liquescents are never found in the course of a vocalise, a faft which proves that they result from the influence of the text.
II. Every ^quescent comes at the end of a group and serves as^
^ M. Edon. " Ecriture & prononciation du latin savant & du latin populaire, " p. 213.
- PaUog. Mus., t. ii, p. 43.
V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS.
31
transition to a new syllable. Tiiis does not however imply that the final of every group before a new syllable is liquescent ; because,
III. In order to produce semivocalisation the notes must be in con- tact with syllables the letters of which call for such treatment.
[ IV. Paradoxical as it may seem, semivocal sounds are not always employed when such combinations of letters occur, j
Let us examine these fatts more closely. I and II require no com- ment, but we must pause at III. We have said that in order to produce Liquescence, the notes must be in conta6t with syllables the letters of which call for such treatment. The phonetic concurrences which require Liquescence are mainly : — ist. At the meeting of two consonants,, the first of which is-aJiqiiid, v. g. palma, super ccvlos, tempiis, scientia. This is the commonest kind of Liquescence. The musical effeft may be seen in the following example :
|
■ |
|||||
|
k |
|||||
|
■ ■ ■ |
'■ |
■ |
|||
|
Ou |
6-ni- |
am ^-di- |
fi- |
ca- |
vit |
The notes susceptible of Liquescence here are the last note of the Clivis (col. I .) and the last of the Podatus (col. 2.) ; but with the word a^di- ficavit there is no call for semivocalisation. Sing to the same notes the word inventus :
8
Non est
in-
ven- tus
Here the sol of the Clivis and the ut of the Podatus have become liquescent, because of their contact with the letter;/, the exaft pronun-
J2 V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS.
elation of which calls for a kind of half-vowel. The semivoca! notes might be thus translated :
5
Non est in- ^- ve- n^- tus
— 2nd. At the meeting of two consonants, the first of which is a den- tal (t, d) : V. g. u/ ^iscam, ad it. These letters produce Liquescence only when they come at the end of a word, for it is only then that they have a resonance. (Cf. fa and at). — 3rd. At the meeting of two con- sonants, the first of which \s s : " sacerdos magnus ". — 4th. When the consonants gii come together in the body of a word : " magnus ". — 5th. When certain consonants (d, m, n, r, t, b, s, I), are followed by/.
— 6th. Semivocal notes are very frequently used with the diphthong au " autem ". — 7th. There are also examples of Liquescence caused by single consonants, for instance m and g : " sewitas, reo-i. "
Other instances are so rare that they are mere exceptions.
IV. We have yet to examine our last principle. It seems very contradiftory to state that, in spite of the truth of what has been said above, semivocal sounds are not always employed when such combi- nations of letters occur. We must bear in mind that jn Liquescencejhere are twojUiings to, consider^ viZ7~tex4-aad jaglody . The text must con- tain Igtlers^suscepiible of JJqiiescence and the rhythm and melody must be in a condition to allow of its application. As a rule the music easily lends itself to the requirements and even to the caprices of the words, yet as music it has inaljen^able r|ghts, which it cannot sacrifice without endangering the harmony of its parts. The result of Liquescence is to make^the sounds which it affefts almost imperceptible, semivocal, and therefore it cannot be admitted in certain notes the fulness of which
V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS. }}
is essential to the purity and perfection of the musical phrase. Moreo- ver, liquescence sometimes takes the form of an additional note, and in many instances such an addition would injure both the rhythm and melody.
NOTATION OF LIQUESCENTS. (1st. CLASS).
Let us now turn to the MSS. and learn what effeft this Liques- cence has on the form of neums.
The semivocal signs vary somewhat in form, as do the neums themselves, in each country, but in most cases the Liquescence is ex- pressed by shortening the last stroke of a neum. In England, however, and in France, a contrary system prevails, and groups affefted by Liques- cence generally kngtben their last stroke.
Coming then to examine the semivocal Neums of the first class, we find that they are derived from the neum-accents by a simple mo- dification of the last stroke of the sign. * (All neums may become semi-vocal, the last note being always the one affefted.)
Neums ending in an acute accent are thus modified ;
|
ORDINARY NEUM. |
LIQUESCENT NEUM. |
|
|
J ] |
becomes |
IJ |
|
/I/ (C |
» |
A rJ |
|
./ ^ |
» |
\j i |
|
/••/ Isl |
» |
Liquescent neums ending in a grave accent take the following form :
1 See Plate i.
e
34 V. LIQUESCENT OR. SEMIVOCAL NEUMS.
|
ORDINARY NEUM. |
LIQUESCENT NEUM. |
||
|
/I f. |
becomes |
r |
\ |
|
</ |
» |
r |
J!i |
|
r^i: !♦♦ |
» |
r |
ft 1% |
|
J: 3% |
» |
uP |
3% |
With regard to the Climacus, we must remember that the original form of the neum was /"-, and that /. is a derived figure, though very ancient. The Liquescent takes its shape from the original, uniting in a curve the last two notes, both of which are semivocal r. The group thus changed is called Climacus Sinuosus, or Ancus, (iy/wv = curve). The Podatus when affefted by Liquescence is called Epipboiiiis, a corruption ofEmiphonus, (y.^vitovo,- = semivocal), and the Clivis be- comes Cephalicus, the shortening of the second stroke of the neum making a kind of little head {-/.t-:^-//:/,). The other groups retain their or- dinary name and are called, for instance, semivocal Torculus, Porre- ftus, etc.
II
We have already remarked that Liquescence is prodJiced at times hy-Aiie-tftMition-of^-aot&^Xo the ordiaayy-oeiim^n this case the semi- vocal note dees-ftot-beJQng to the original melody, and it might be, and indeed very often is, retrenched, without injuring the phrase. Neums ending in an acute accent are more frequently affefted by this kind of Liquescence than those ending in a grave.
V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMiVOCAL NEUMS.
35
NOTATION OF LIQJJESCENTS. (2nd. CLASS).
LIQUESCENT NEUM.
becomes Ccphalicus f fj
» Liq. Torciilus / •!
If
|
ORDINARY |
NEUM. |
|
|
Firga |
/ |
1 |
|
Pod at us |
J |
■ ■ |
|
Scandiciis |
1 |
^ |
|
PorreElus |
N |
S |
|
Tor CI lilts |
yi |
•"• |
|
Climacus |
/•. |
Is |
|
Pes sitbpuiiLlis |
J: |
3s |
»
^:
Pes siniiosiis
J:
3%
'\
These additional notes, which are produced under the influence of the text, give a curioj.is_insight into Gregorian rhythjiL, showing both thj freedom of its jnpyements and its .closejinijOii_with the words, hi faft the rules of this rhythm are strikingly portrayed in neumatjcjoota:: tion, and the liquescent neums furnish fresh proofs of the fift, and show that this notation is really a phanographicjifipreientation of the smallest details of Latin pronunciation. When taste had become deprav- ed and execution heavy, these delicate shades were neglected and liquescent notes became a fruitful source of mistakes, and of serious alterations in the melody. The added liquescent note was sometimes taken for an essential note of the phrase, and itself received a liquescent addition. But in the best days of Gregorian Chant liquescent additions were made with exquisite taste and care, and served to embellish both rhythm and melody.
CHAPTER VI,
ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS.
The 4th. Vol. of the " Paleographie musicale " reproduces in facsimile a precious MS. belonging to the great Abbey of Einsiedein (No. 121). It is a Gradual, noted throughout in neum-accents, and written at the end of the loth. or the beginning of the i ith. century. The tradition of the Monastery, supported by a German inscription pre- fixed to the volume in 1599, assures us that it belonged to the Blessed Abbot Gregory.' (A. D. 945.)
The peculiar interest of this document lies in the Romanian Signs and Lettefs^, which are add^edjp the ordinary neumatic notation. In this particular, the MS. is the richest of its kind.
But what are these Romanian Signs and Letters? They have a history of their own which takes us back to the days of Charlemagne, and may here be told in a few words. The great Kiiig being at Rome for the Easter of 787, was called on to decide a\dispute which had arisen between the royal and the papal singers. The King's cantors
' Mentioned in '■ Menology of England and Wales, " Nov. 13th. He is said to have been son of Edward the Elder, but however this may be, he was at least of the Royal family of England. Having left his country, he became a Monk in St. Gregory's Mona- stery in Rome, whence he passed to Einsiedein, where he eventually became Abbot.
VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 37
declared their preference for their own chants, while the Romans rested their claims to superiority on the authority of St. Gregory, whose teaching had been carefully preserved at Rome. The debate becoming animated, both parties referred the matter to the King. Having heard the arguments on each side, Charlemagne asked his followers : " Tell me, where is the stream the purest, at its source or in its channel? " " In its source, " was the unanimous reply. " Then ", rejoined the King, " do you return to the source, for by your own argument you are proved to be in the wrong. " The praftical result of the dispute was, that Charlemagne resolved to reform the Church Music in his dominions, and for this end obtained from Pope Adrian two cantors of the Gregorian School, each of them provided with an authentic copy of the Antiphonary. The cantors chosen for this mission were Peter and Romanus, who seem to have set out for Germany about the year 789. They travelled together as far as the great Monastery of St. Gall, where Romanus falling sick, Peter was obliged to continue his journey alone. He settled at Metz and founded there a school of sacred chant which flourished for many centuries.
On Romanus' recovery, the Monks, appreciating the treasure which Providence had entrusted to them, begged Charlemagne to leave the great cantor among them. The King consented, and Romanus spent the remainder of his life at St. Gall, forming a Gregorian Schola, and at his death he bequeathed his priceless Antiphonary to the Abbey. His experience as a teacher has happily left its mark. He must have had his full share of the difficulties inseparable from the training of a choir, and no doubt he found Northern voices more rebellious than the refined organs of his native land. In order to remedy the insufficiency of Neu- matic Notation, as well as to mark various shades of expression , he added to the neums certain Signs and Letters, called after him " Roma- nian ".
^8 VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS.
There can be no doubt that Romanus himself was the originator of the system ; we liavc the word of Ekkhnrd the Younger, Chronicler of the Abbey (1036) : '" Primus ille (Romanus) in ipso Antiphonario lit- tenis alphabeti significativas notuiis, quibus visum est aut sursum, aut iusum, aut ante, aut retro, assignari excogitavit, quas postea cuidam amico qucerenti Notker Balbulus dilucidavit ".
This letter of Notker's has happily been preserved, and has been published several times of late years, though so incorreftly as to be unintelligible in some parts. Fortunately there is an abridged form of the letter extant in a MS. of the 13th. century (St. Thomas', Leipzig.), which clears up the obscurities of the original. Notker's authority as interpreter of the Romanian Letters is unimpeachable, since the poet- monk was almost a cotemporary of the Roman master, if he had not actually found his way to St. Gall's in Romanus' lifetime, if he was not so fortunate as to hear the great cantor's lessons, he was at least instruded by his immediate disciples. As to its form, B-^ Notker's letter does him no credit, being written in the worst style of that time. Instead of giving in simple terms the meaning of each letter, he goes out of his way and aims at beginning each word of his explanation with the letter under consideration. He succeeds in a few instances; but where he fails, he insists on getting at least the last word into his plan. This contrivance seriously endangers the clearness of his explana- tions, ' but by the help of the Leipzig MS. the meaning of the most important letters has been ascertained.
I The following may give some idea of the perplexing efted of Notker's alliteration : g — Ut in o-utture ^radatim ^arruletur o^enuine ^ratulatur. m — Afediocriter »;elodia»! ///oderari ;»endicando »!e»;orat. n — Wotare, hoc est iioscitare notificat. S — Su5um, vel surium jcandere sibilat.
VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 39
ROMANIAN LETTERS.
In order to appreciate the usefulness of these Letters we must remember that the Chironomic Notation to which they were applied was an imperfeft system and had two serious deficiencies : it did not 1 fix the intervals of the sounds, and it gave only scant indications as to 1 rhythm and expression. Hence we find two principal classes of Letters, J I St. those relating to intonation ; 2nd. those relating to rhythm.
1st. class, letters relating to intonation. (7 letters).
Of these, four indicate an elevation of voice, viz : —
a — Ut altiits elevetur admonet.
1 — Levare.
s — Sursum.
g — Gradatim. Two denote a lowering of pitch, viz : —
d — Deprimatur.
i — lusum or inferius. Ojie marks unison, viz : —
e — equaliter.
2nd. CLASS.
LETTERS RELATING TO RHYTHM. (7 LETTERS).
One marks accelerando, viz : —
c — celeriter or cito. Three express ritardando, viz : —
t — trahere or tenere.
X — exspeftare.
m — mediocriter.
40 VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS.
Three denote force or intensity, viz : — p — pressionem significat. f — cum fragore. k — clange or Klcnke.
But Romanus' ingenuity goes still further, and we have another class of letters.
3rd. class. LETTERS MODIKYING THE PRECEDING. (3 LETTERS).
b — bene. V — valde. m. — mediocriter.
b and v are very frequently used to modify t, i, and other letters. m is found by itself, as in the 2nd. class, or with another letter, as tm — teneatur mediocriter.
Of all the letters c and t are the most frequently used, being found at almost every word in the MSS.
The remaining seven Letters are seldom or never used, though Notker takes the trouble to explain each of them.
As a rule the Romanian Letters, when added to a neumatic group, affeft only one note ; for instance, in the following clivis /l the first note is long, while in this podatus 7 it is the second. When a letter is to be applied to more than one note, it is drawn out over the group or groups, thus aM- '
ROMANIAN SIGNS.
There are two classes of these Signs :
The first is formed by various changes in the form of the neum-
' For both Signs and Letters, see Plate 1.
VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 4I
accents, the lines being made longer or thicker, or being turned in different directions.
The Piiiicf 11111 ( . ) becomes . _
The fust stroke of the Podatiis {J) is lengthened and makes 7 or V
The Torculiis (</) becomes ./ or S
The Porre£fiis (/V) becomes /N/
The Climacus (/.) changes its points into strokes and becomes /■- /•-. /--. according to the number of notes afifefted.
The mark of the second class of Romanian Signs is the addition of a little stroke to the ordinary neum, or even to groups already changed as in the first class. Since this stroke may occupy various places in the groups, it is often obliged to change its form, so that we find it sometimes horizontal, sometimes curved, sometimes vertical ; but, whatever its shape, it has always the same signification and de- notes a lengthening of the note to which it is added. Unlike the signs of the first class, which mark the whole group as ritardando, this little stroke affefts only one note, being repeated if applied to more than one.
The Romanian Sign is found in the following forms :
|
ORDINARY NEUM. |
NEUM WITH ROMANIAN SIGN |
|
|
Virga |
/ |
/ |
|
Podatus |
J |
J |
|
Clivis |
A |
A A |
|
Torculus |
J\ |
</ |
|
Porreflus |
/!/ |
/^ |
|
Climacus |
/•. |
/•. |
|
Scandicus |
/ |
/ |
42 VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS.
[^ The importance of Romanian Signs and Letters can scarcely be exaggerated. Their authority is of the highest, since they are derived direftly from Rome, through one of the most proficient Gregorian cantors of the 8th. century. They throw much light too on the practical execution of the chant, showing the manner of phrasing passages? marl<ing ritardando, accelerando, crescendo, &c., with an attention to detail scarcely surpassed by our modern expression-marks. J
We may remark in conclusion that these Romanian Signs and Letters, though originating at St. Gall's, are not confined to the MSS. of that house. They appear in the choir-books not only of the neigh- bouring Monasteries, but of distant places, and are found even in Eng- land.
Having now some idea of the notation of the Gregorian melodies, we are prepared for the study of those melodies themselves. In seeking for the principle on which they are construfted, we must take the chants, not as they are in many modern editions , but as they appear in the most authentic MSS. ; just as the student of an ancient language turns to its most reliable monuments and reads its purest writers.
Our enquiry will therefore be concerned with the chants of the litur- gical books in their ancient form, — (the Liber Antiphonarius, Liber Gradualis and Liber Responsorialis.)
The pieces contained in these books may be roughly classified as follows : ist. ^ntipbons 4'ith psalm verses;! i. e. Antiphons of the Office (Vespers, &c.), and of the Mass(lntioit, Offertory, Communion.) — 2nd. Ri'sponsorics of the Office (Matins), and of the Mass (GraduaQ, also followed by verses. (The Alleluia-verse belongs to this class.) — }Td. Tra&s, i. e. verses without Antiphons or Responsories.\
VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS.
4}
There are then two distinft parts in liturgical pieces : {\) Antiphons and Respoiisories which open and close the chant of Psalms, — and (2) yerses.
Leaving aside Antiphons and Responsories, let us look at the melody oi Verses, i. e. Psalms of the Office, and Verses of the Gra- dual of the Mass, and of the Responsories of Matins.
The first thing to strike us in psalm-tones is their simplicity. Ail Psalmody may be described as consisting of three parts, {i) Ajiuitona- tjoii ; — (2)^^ recitins-note (dominant) : — (3) cadences, either medial or final. These forms serve to punduate the phrase.
Intonation
Dominant
Medial Cadence
Dominant
Final Cadence
|
a |
■ |
■ . |
|
|
V. Mode ■ . ■ |
■ ■ , |
||
|
■ |
Di-xit Do- mi-nus D6mi-no me- 0 : Se-de a dextris me- is
The melody is more developed in the Psalms of the Introit, in the Psalm " Venite exsultemus, " and in the Verses of the Matins' Responsories ; yet we find the same component parts, — intonation, dominant and final. This we may call ornate psalmody, (e. g. Ps. 1. M.)
Inton. Dominant
Medial Cadence Inton.
Dominant
Final Cadence
-•— ■-
f.
-« ■■■
Las-ti- fi-ca... servi tu- i:qu6-ni- am ad te D6mi-ne... me- am le-va- vi
Analysing Trails and Verses of Graduals we find the same struc- ture, though hidden under a greater number of notes and neums. This third style we may call neiimatic psalmody. '
^^h
' See Table at the end of this volume.
44 VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS.
Intonation Dominant Cadence
s
Tract. VIII. Mode
3SEFB^5E!555^^?^^
Adjii-tor... faiftus est mi-hi in sa- lu- tem
Psalmodic striiLture hns, therefore, three parts, and each part, ac- cording as it is more or less developed, may belong to simple, ornate, or neumatic style. As far as construction goes, a verse of a Trad, Gra- dual, or Alleluia may conceal under its florid neums a structure identical with that of a simple psalm-tone.
We may now enquire what is the origin of this Psalmody. — It is scarcely satisfactory to be told that Psalmody comes from the Greeks, the Jews, or the Syrians. What we want to know is [\\t first, the natural
, source of this musical declamation which we call Psalmody. This origin is not far to seek.
A little observation will discover that in the most natural and com-
) mon form of speech a sentence begins on the lower notes of the voice, rises by degrees to a recitative, which varies according to the speaker's sentiments, and tails at the close, by well-prepared and pleasant caden- ces, to a final low note. These inflcLtions may be inverted under the
: influence of passion or great emotion, or for effeft, but the fad remains that a spoken phrase, in its normal state, consists of an intonation, a recitative (more or less varied), and a cadence, — three parts which we have already distinguished in psalmodic structure. May it not be found
""that Psalmody owes its origin to speech, and is really the musical ex- pression of that speech? — And, to carry out the principle to the full, if the general form of a psalmodic phrase is borrowed from speech, may not Psalmody have likewise taken from language, (i. e. from the text of the Liturgy) its strong and weak notes, its accents, its divisions, its pauses, — in a word, all the details of its rhythm?
But, having advanced this supposition, we must, before trying to make it good, examine the charafteristics of Gregorian rhythm.
CHAPTER VIl.
RHYTHM.
Rhythm (isw, iu^ij-oi), i. e. the flow of sound or language, " con- sists in the recurrence of accent or stress of voice ' at regulated inter- vals. " " This regularity is made appreciable by a more or less symme- trical division, into certain small portions, of the time occupied by a musical or poetical work of art. Hence the word rhythm is applied to the proportion, balance and symmetry between the various portions of the composition. The Romans also applied the word to rhetorical com- positions, having regard to the balance and symmetry of the sentences and periods ; and this is the sense in which we have to apply it to Gre- gorian music. " -
There are two kinds of proportion and consequently two kinds of rhythm.
" First there is sin'^ rhythm, (poetry and modern music) in which the proportion is based on fixed and unchangeable rules.
" Then there is free rhythm, (prose) in which the proportion is regulated by the natural instinft of the ear. " ■'
' This stress of voice is called arsis, and tiie unaccented syllable thesis. - Elements of Plain-Song, p. 31. •* Melodies Gregoriennes , ch. xiii.
^6 VII. RHYTHM.
Of this free rhythm, the oratorical " Humerus, " Cicero says : " Esse ergo in oratione numerum quemdam non est difficile cognos- cere ; judicat cnim sensus. Qiiod qui non sentiunt, quas aures habeant, vel quid in iiis hominibus simile sit nescio. " '
hi free, therefore, as in strict rhythm, there is a certain proportion, consisting in the " balance and symmetry between certain portions of \ the composition. ' guch is Gregorian rhythm, — free, taking its form from the text of the Liturgy and founded on principles of balance and proportion and on the use of the ccesura. - This balance, says Guy of Arezzo, consists primarily in the number of sounds and in the propor- tion of the pauses. nL^
It would be beyond our present purpose to enter into a detailed examination of these proportions ; the reader is referred to Dom Joseph Pothier's exhaustive treatment of the subject, ^ and to the " Elements of Plain-Song " in which the same principles are presented in an English form.
Since the words of the Liturgical text are the " prima materies " of Gregorian rhythm, and since the life of a word is its accent, " ac- centus anima vocis, " we may say that the tonic or acute accent is the chief fa£tor in this rhythm.
The Hist thing to remark about the tonic accent is its essentially musical character. The syllable of each word which it afifefts was mark- ed, with the ancients, by an elevation of voice, while the other sylla- bles were in a lower pitch. The accent is really a melody, the expres- [_sion of all that is most musical in language.
it seems however that this musical charafter belonged more to the
1 Or. Iv.
2 Elements, p. 30.
•'' Melodies Gregoriennes, ch. xiii.
VII. RHYTHM. 47
Greek accent. Qiiintilian tells us that the Latin accent, though musical, had a certain force unknown to the Greek. In the Augustan Age, des- pite the efforts of literary purists, the accent gained in intensity, and by the third century it had obtained pre-eminence over the other syllables. It is important to observe tliat the accent by becoming strong became an element of rhythm in a word or a plirase, since rhythm consists in the alternation of strong and of weak beats.
This is not the place to write the history of the accent, but we may note that on the formation of the Romance languages, it further became long; indeed this lengthening of the accented syllable was one of the chief causes of the transformation and decadence of Latin. As a matter of fad, the long accent is not Latin at all, but a Romance, a modern accent. However, at the time in which we are interested, i. e. in the 3rd. and 4th. centuries, the accent was still musical and strong, and had not yet become long.
The position of the accent in Latin words is well known ; suffice it here to say that : ist. in dissyllables the penultimate is accented : '■' m'xtis, fbrtis ; " 2nd. that in words of more than two syllables the accent falls on the penultimate if prosodically long, and on the antepen- ultimate if the penultimate is short : " Redimptor, Dbminus. "
These rules for the position of the accent bring out two important fads regarding the melody and the r/jythm of Latin words. With regard to the first we remark that the musical clevntion of the tonic accent on th£_pen ultimate or antepenultimate, occasions a fall of pitch on the fol- jQwing^ syllable or syllables of the word, so that the effed might be represented thus
/_ r r
•_._.__ ._■ — . ■ . _
Red-emptoi Red-emptor Domi-nus
48 Vll. RHYTHM.
As to the second faft, that which refers to the rhythm of words, — the force of the tonic accent falling always on the penultimate or antepenul- timate, there is a consequent weakening of the subsequent syllable or syllables.
It follows from these indications that if, as we suppose, the tonic accent lias had a real influence on the structure of Roman Psalmody, we should, as a general rule, find notes of higher pitch on the accented syllables and lower notes on the final syllables of words. Let us see whether the supposition is supported by the ancient MSS.
With a view to greater clearness, we purpose to confine ourselves to the finals of psalmodic phrases; these ^cadences are, moreover, the most important parts of the phrase_, — since it is at the end of a sen- tence or a period, whether musical or otherwise, that the rhythm js_ most strongly marked : " Cum aures extremum exspeftent, in eoque acquiescant, id vacare numero non oportet. " '
But a word first on the texl to which the melodies had to be fitted. The old Roman masters had no choice of words or phrases ; they had to take them as they found them in the prose-psalter, in which the cadences are very varied.
Let us see how the early composers set to work. Nothing could exceed the simplicity of their first expedient. This consisted in keeping to one reciting note until the last accent of the phrase inclusively, and then lowering the last syllable or syllables. This, the simplest inflexion possible, occurs frequently in the Ambrosian Chant and occasionally in the Roman. -
' Cicero.
- See Table at end of this volume.
VII. RHYTHM.
49
Final
Ambrosian
|
1 |
||
|
'■■■■■ ■ |
||
|
f |
. in excelsis De- o r |
. . . bopje volun-ta-tis f |
|
i |
||
|
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ |
||
Di-xit Dfius Dfio me- o : Se-de a dextris me- is
Or again, — and here the musical charafter of the accent is still further emphasized, — the melody rises on the acute syllable of the last word in a phrase, and falls again on the final syllable or syllables.
D6mi-nus Domi-no me-o
The above examples are cadences of one accent. They give small enough scope to the music, and it is not surprising to find composers claiming more consideration for their art.
Afting always under the influence of the accent they begin their inflections on the last accent but one ; examples may be found in the following final of 5th. mode, and in the mediant of the Introit psalms.
r j_
V. Mode i ■ ■ ■ *~* " ■ *^~r
. . . se-de a dextris me- is
I. Mode i: Psalm at Int. ~
:Pi=a:
. . . a-nimam servi tu- This is the cadence of two accents.
50 VII. RHYTHM.
The melody still further asserts its rights in such pieces as the following which belongs to neumatic psalmody. The plain psalmodic construction is kept up until the last accent of the phrase, when the music, taking advantage of this accent, goes off into a long and joyous
neum.
• — ■ — ■ — ■— Nfl'»^^i ■
. . . ut palma flo-re- bit
These few examples, which might be multiplied ad infinitum, may suffice to show the influence of the tonic accent on the rhythm of psal- mody.
So fiir we have traced that influence only in cadences of two or three notes. These forms are the most natural, the most akin to ordi- nary speech ; but our Gregorian composers did not overlook the CurstisX i. e. more studied combinations of accents and syllables. We shall see \ the masters making use of these forms, and composing more perfeft melodies for these more perfect syllabic types. We must therefore recal the rules of the Cursus.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE " CURSUS. "
A ' ' Cursus " is a certain harmonious succession of words and syllables, much used by prose-writers both Greek and Latin, with a view to procuring measured and pleasant cadences. When this combi- nation of syllables is based on quantity, the Cursus is metrical; when on the tonic accent and the number of syllables, the Cursus is rhyth- mical or tonic. ' It is with the latter that we are here concerned, since the text of the Liturgy is prose, and its rhythm, as we have seen, founded on the tonic accent.
There are four forms of the Rhythmical Cursus or Cadence. The first three are found in the prayer of the Angelus, with which we are all familiar :
I. Gratiam tuam, quaesumus... nostris mfiinde Giirsus planus.
f r
1. Ut qui Angelo . . incarnati- oncm cognovimiis Cursus tardus.
f !
3. per passionem .... gloriam perducamur Cursus velox.
The fourth is exemplified in the following :
r f
4. Deus qui corda . . illustrati- one docitisti Trispondiac Cursus.
' It is only since the 12th. century that the word ■' Cursus" has been used in the sense here attached to it.
52 VIM. THE • CURSUS.
These first examples demonstrate the use of the four Cursus in the prayers of the Roman Liturgy. In faft, we may open the Breviary or Missal at hap-hazard, and we shall be sure to find Collefts, Secrets, Postcommunions, Prefaces, etc., ending in one of the four forms.
It will not be out of place to sum up the charafteristics of these
Cursus.
ist. Cursus Planus. It consists oi five syllables so disposed — a paroxyton ' of three syllables preceded by another paroxyton :
5 syllables.
f . . f .
\ be- nigmts il- lustra
I cle- meiiter ex- an di / mere- amur in ca'- lis
type : 2 + 3
I mere- amur tii ca'- us ■ , ^ ^ ^
1 equivalent to type : 2 -)- i 4- 2
/ mun- demur in meii-te
This Cursus is csWtdi planus , says M. Noel Valois, on account of the monotony caused by the sequence of two words accented on the penultimate.
2nd. Cursus Tardus. This cadence o^ six syllables ends in a pro- paroxyton- of four syllables, preceded by a paroxyton :
6 syllables.
r ' . f ' '
solemni- la- k hv- ti- ficas
earn is appa-niit impi- o-rinn oc-cii-biiit ini- nii-tos di- li-gere
type ; 2 -I- 4
Equivalents
( mentis ct corpo-ris 2 -f- i -)- 3
/ instau- ra-rc dignafus es 2-1-3-^1
< Paroxyton = a word accented on the pauiUimatc.
- Proparoxyton = a word accented on the antepenultimate.
VIII. THE " CURSUS. " 53
This CursLis is in fa£l only a Cursus planus lengthened, retarded by one syllable ; hence perhaps its name.
3rd. Cursus Velox. Seven syllables. It ends like the preceding in a word of four syllables, but the word in this case is a paroxyton and is preceded by a proparoxyton of three or more syllables. Of the three Cursus this is the most solemn ; it owes its name perhaps to the fad that it has more weak than strong syllables :
7 syllables.
r . . . . r .
prcc- mi-a proestitisti
pe- lagi Ji-beravit type : 3 -f- 4
sanguine de-dicasti
Equivalents / . . . . f . \Jni- ge-iii-ti tu-i vi-as } -\- 2 -\- 2
cernitiir et in terra 3 -1- i + i + 2
pro- fi- ciant et sa-Iu-ti 3 -|- 1 -[- 3
4th . The fourth form of the Cursus remains to be noticed ; it is made up o^ six syllables thus arranged : A paroxyton of four syllables preceded by another paroxyton. This is the Trispondiac Cursus :
6 syllables.
|
a- more roboremur |
|
|
tei- rena modera-ris |
2 -l- |
|
duce revela-sti |
All the above cadences, in spite of their variety, have certain fea- tures in common, as the following table will show.
54
|
[ |
VIII. THE " CURSUS. |
|||
|
1st. part. |
Ccesura. |
2nd. part. |
||
|
CursLis planus |
f . |
. f . |
5 syllables |
|
|
» tardus |
f . |
' f ■ ' |
6 » |
|
|
» trispondiac |
f . |
. . ! . |
6 >v |
|
|
» velox |
f . . |
• . / . |
7 » |
" Each of the four Cursus is founded on two principal accents, and is thus cut up into two unequal parts separated by a coesura which is marked by the distinction of the words. The first half always begins with an arsis or acute accent, and lalls at the end of the word, v. g.
" nostris, privmia. " — This is the place of the coesura. In the second half the movement is taken up again and after one or two syllables reaches the second accent, falling again on the final or finals; v. g.
. r . . /.. . . r .
" illustra, apparuit, dedicasti. "'
Turning to our musical cadences of five notes to which the last chapter had brought us, let us enquire whether they owe anything to the Cursus planus, which consists, as we have just seen, of five syl- lables .
Not to be rash, we may put the case thus : Is it possible to fit a literary Cursus planus to the musical finals of which we are seeking the origin? Would the result be perfect harmony between text and melody? Yes, most certainly. Take the following examples from the Preface (ferial tone) ; no one can fail to remark the coincidence of the acute accents of the words with the elevation of pitch in the melody :
' PaU-ographie Musicale.
VIII. THE
CURSUS.
55
|
r |
f |
|
|
^ |
||
|
s ■ |
■ |
■ " ■ |
|
■ |
Sine
Una
ha-
jucun-
|
fl- |
ne |
di- |
cen- |
|
vo- |
ce |
di- |
cen- |
|
ben- |
da |
per- |
du- |
|
ca- |
sta |
li- |
ber- |
|
dan- |
ter |
oc- |
cur- |
tes tes cas tas rant
Is then the origin of these and similar musical phrases to be traced to the Cursus planus? One is inclined to think so, from the relatively large number of mediants and finals of five syllables to which the Cursus planus lends itself so perfectly. These cadences occur at every line in Sacramentaries, Graduals, and Responsorials, both Roman and Ambrosian, and the pieces in which they are found belong to the three classes of chant which we have already noticed (simple, ornate and neumatic). The Pater, Preface, Exsultet, supply examples in simple style, see the following :
5 4 3
From the
introdiulion to the
Pater noster.
Pater noster
Ferial tone.
Exsultet.
|
.p |
|||
|
1i |
■ |
■ ^ |
■ |
|
~ ■ |
|||
|
. instituti- |
6- ne |
for-ma- ti |
|
|
.f |
|||
|
1i |
■ . |
■ |
|
|
~ ■ |
|||
|
qui es |
in caj-lis |
||
|
■F - - |
|||
|
1i |
■ |
■ B • |
|
turba cas- 16-rum
For pieces in ornate style we may refer to the Introit Ps. of all the modes except the 5th., v. g. :
^6 VIII. THE " CURSUS. "
54321
. . . animam me- am le- va- vi
For neumatic chants founded on the Cursiis planus we may take the Verses of the Matins' Responsories, in all the eight modes. '
:F'fi_%_.8~1 \^fu—
ti- bi so- 11 pec- ca- vi
The strudure is the same throughout. Adapt a Cursus planus to any of the above cited cadences, and it will be seen that the melody always rises to a higher note on the tonic accent and falls again on weak syllables. Can this be accidental? It would indeed be strange, were it so. A more reasonable conclusion is, that these innumerable musical cadences were modelled by ancient composers on the literary Cursus planus, just as the cadences of one or two accents, which we have already studied, were formed on simpler types of speech. The influence of the tonic accent on the strufture of the Church's chant, both in its melody and in its rhythm, is therefore evident.
Yet, when all this has been said and insisted upon, and we turn to the MSS. for justification of our theory, we find that tlie musical cadences of five notes, which we have just been analysing, are not in- variably so happy as to be fitted to the Cursus planus. We notice that often enough, especially in florid cadences, the tonic accent of a word is set to a lower note than are the unaccented syllables. Not only so,
< See Table at end.
VIII. THE " CURSUS. 57
but we find, horribile di£lii ! short, yes aftually short penultimates en- dowed with two, three, four, six or even more notes ! What then is to become of our fine theory ?
Our authorities give several, and to our mind satisfactory, solu- tions of this contradiction. We need not here dwell on the power of the phrasing or logical accent ; this accent is freer than the tonic accent, which indeed it often overrules. Even in ordinary speech a word may lose its usual accentuation under the influence of the logical or of the pathetic accent. It is not surprising therefore that in Music, under the same pressure, the tonic should lose its relatively higher pitch, or its force, or even both. — .
A further explanation of our present difficulty may be found in the consideration that a perfeft agreement between text and melody, desir- able as it is, admits of lawful exceptions, whenever the melody's form or rhythm is so fixed as to give it a right to overrule the text. But of this more presently. /
These reasons might suffice, hut there is another consideration which is still more important and which goes to the root of the ques- tion. In studying our Gregorian melodies, we must be careful to dis- criminate between the original struSliire of any given melody and the adaptation of various texts to that same melody. The two questions are quite distinft, and, in a certain sense, independent of each other. We have already spoken of the Origin of a melodic structure, and may turn in the next chapter to the question of adaptation.
But, before leaving the Cursus, we must say a word on its im- portance as a guide to fixing the date of our melodies. We are accus- tomed to hear that the restoration of St. Gregory's chant is impossible, since we have no noted MSS. earlier than the 9th. century. True ; but is it fair to conclude that therefore the Chant itself cannot boast of any
h
58 VIII. THE " CURSUS. "
greater antiquity? Is tiie time at wiiiclT a MS. is written sufficient to fix the date of the composition of its contents? Tlie logical conclusion of such reasoning would be that we must rejeft as spurious some of the greatest of St. Gregory's literary works, which come to us from the same century that gives us his chants. The famous " Peregrinatio Syl- via' " which is now interesting liturgical students, and which belongs to the 4th. century, has been recovered from an 1 ith. century MS. — This seems to show that there is some possibility of proving our chants to be authentic Gregorian ; but happily we have stronger argu- ments, furnished in part by the history of the Cursus.
The study of this literary formula has led to the conclusion that the Cursus was in use chiefly from the end of the 4th. to the middle of the 7th. century, from which time " rhythm seemed banished from prose for four centuries, " being restored only under B. Urban 11 (1088-99). This Pope's Chancellor, John Gaetani, was anxious o im- prove the style of the Roman Chancery and his efforts were not without success. The 12th. century welcomed several treatises, laying down the rules for this literary renaissance. Albert of Morra, who be- came Pope under the name Gregory Vlll, (^ 1 187) wrote the '' Forma ditiandi, " a work which had so wide an influence that rhythmical prose began to be called '' stylus gregorianus ".It was at this time that the terms " Cursus vclox, tardus, and planus " came into use. ' (The trispondaic Cursus was not then acknowledged). We will leave a learn- ed writer in the " Correspondant "' - to bring out the significance of these fads in their bearing on the Liturgical Chant. He remarks first — that a knowledge of the laws of the Cursus and of the date at which it
' See PaUographic Mm., t. iv. p. 34.
- Decembre 1894. " Le Plain-Chant & le Pape S. Gregoire le Grand. " par M. Jules Combarieu.
VIII. THE CURSUS. ' 59
fell into disuse makes this form a precious criterion for correding a doubtful reading of a MS., and for proving the date or authenticity of certain charts; just as a detail of dress, etc., may determine the period to which a statue belongs, or as the use of obsolete words may fix, at least approximately, the date of a literary work.
He then points out that the careful study of the Cursus has ren- dered an analogous service to Gregorian Chant, by throwing light on the vexed question of its authenticity. He says :
" There is a musical Cursus ; that is to say — there are in phrases certain cadences, in which the accented syllables are represented by higher notes, the unaccented syllables by lower notes. '" He then sums up the reasoning of the '' Paleographie Musicale, " as follows :
" In the Liturgical books of the three chief dialeds of Plain-Chant (Ambrosian, Gregorian, and Mozarabic), we find more than a hundred cadences (repeated thousands of times) which follow the rhythmical rise and fall of the literary Cursus planus on which they have evidently been framed.
" Now we know that from the 8th. to the 12th. century there was a general disregard of the Cursus. This is the conclusion arrived at by M. W. Meyer, after studying numerous authors of all countries. M. Noel Valois, in his " Etude sur le rhythme des bulles pontificales, " shows that from the middle of the 7th. century the Cursus was scarcely observed, and often completely misunderstood.
" The Abbe L. Couture, on his side, bears witness that " from the time of St. Gregory the Great rhythm seems to have been banished for four centuries from literary prose. "
\J " The Gregorian Melodies may therefore be considered as contem- poraneous with the literary formula on which they are built ; that is to say — their composition dates from before the middle of the 7th. cen-
6o VIII. THli " CURSUS. ■'
tury. Now, St. Gregory's reign reaches just to the beginning of that century, and therefore the Church is confirmed, by new titles, in her traditional belief, " — the belief that her Chants are really the songs of the early Church, gathered together, regulated, and enriched by Pope Saint Gregory the Great.
CHAPTER IX.
ADAPTATION OF TEXTS.
We have already hinted at the difficulties in the task of organising Liturgical psalmody. Perhaps the most embarrassing question was how to secure perfeft harmony between the text and the melody, and how to fit the various prose cadences of the Psalter to musical mediants and finals. There were only two ways out of the difficulty : one was to compose in each mode as many " motifs " or airs as there were syl- labic combinations ; one, for example, for Dens, one for Dominus, one iox genui te, etc., etc. This plan however entailed endless inconvenien- ces ; if it would have procured perfect agreement between the words and the music, it would at the same time have destroyed the very cha- rafter of psalmody, which ought to be, above all things, simple and popular. For we should have had a new musical formula, a new tune, or at least a change in the model-tune, at every verse of the Psalm. This was obviously impradicable. ^
The alternative which suggested itself and which was adopted, was — to choose among the endings of verses some simple and fami- liar types which might serve as models for all the cadence-melodies of the Psalter. All the syllabic endings, even when their accents did not,/
t>r IX, ADAPTATION OF TEXTS.
agree \\ith the u-pe. would have to be adapted to the form chosen, on condition, however, of ha\ing the essential laws of their rh\thm res- piected- This VK'as the wiser and more pradical plan.
The rirst syllabic t>"pes seleded were naturally the simplest, as we have seen elsew here : words of two syllables : Dcus. — or of four : Deus mtus, — and after these the Cursus pUnus : wejm Zrrar/.
It will be remarked that these three forms all end in a parox\ton. What then was to be done with a verse ending in a proparoxATon, e. g. Dominus ? What was to become of the additional short syllable w hich had to be fitted to the musical cadence, without altering its rh\thm?
In the case of simple cadences of one or of two accents (see p. 49) a solution was soon found by introducing an additional note for this short penultimate. The melody in these cadences is ver\- light, we might say fUstir. easily \ields to the text, and can even receive addi- tional notes without prejudice to its structure. '
|
Orig. Form |
I |
use |
rtjon |
||||||
|
a |
■ * ■ |
■ |
„ |
||||||
|
• |
"^ |
||||||||
Do-mi- no me- o ... pii- e- ri D6-mi-num
With regard to cadences in onuU and munutic style, the problem was more complicated. True, even in these the music is modelled on the accents of the text, and faithfully reflects the natural undulations of the voice ; but at the same time the melody is more developed, more impatient of the influence of the text : it tends to fall back on its own great and varied resources, and to assert its inherent power. It is well to remember, in this connection, that the rhythm of a melody depends
• See Table at end.
IX. adaptat;o.s o.- texts. 63
not only on the words to which rt is set, but also on the number of notes, on their varied arrangement, on a proportion between the groups of sounds. When therefore the music finds itself so hampered b>' the text that it cannot freely express itself, it has no hesitation in asserting its claims ; yet, even when it seems most independent, it has a thou- sand little ways of softening its demands, so as to leave as much in- fluence as possible to the text and to preserve the unity of the words. Let us look at one of the ingenious devices by which the melody strives to keep on good terms with its neighbour, the text : the first example is from an Introit Psalm, ornate st>1e.
|
a |
|||
|
■ |
|||
|
Mode |
■ ■3^5 |
||
|
. . a- .i.-.T.a.-r. con-fi- |
ScT-v: t-- ; te- ri Do- mi- no |
Here both tonic accent and musical rhjthm are secured. The melody insists on preserving the rhjthm of this medial cadence and refuses to insert a note for the penultimate between the last two groups, for such an insertion would destroy the symmetr>' of the phrase. Cf with above :
i ■
■ ■ ■ ■ — ■■ = ! —
:on-i:- le-
On the other hand, wishing to show some deference to the accent, the melody doubles the first note of the divis and draws the energy of the accent on to that new note, which, by the force of its attack, throws the following group on the short penultimate into the shade, and causes it to be sung lightly and quickly. This is no arbitrarj' expla- nation, for the effed just described is marked in the Romanian MSS.
64 IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS.
by the letter c (celeriter), placed over the clivis. — More could not be done to ensure the predominance of the accent ; and as a matter of fact, the pre-eminence of the melody in the above and similar exam- ples is merely material and by a good execution would be rendered unobservable. In spite of the two notes on the short penultimate the whole form and rhythm of the melody come from the accent of the text. Here is a second example of the same process, belonging also to ornate psalmody, the verse of a Matins' Responsory.
ist. Mode i a-i ^— g— 3— 0^^— ■—
. . . me- am e- go a- gno- sco Pa- tri & Fi- ii- o
-^This cadence brings before us a curious point in Gregorian rhythm, and one which is closely connected with the question of short penul- timates, — we mean musical rbvmcs. In the Gregorian and Ambrosian chants there are real musical rhymes recurring frequently at the end of phrases. When once the ear has become familiar with these forms, it demands them in all their fulness, just as it requires the recurrence of a rhyme or of a certain " foot '" in poetry, or of a " cursus " in rhyth- \ mical prose. A beat more or less wounds the ear by producing a change l or hitch in the final.
Composers of old recognised the importance of these rhymes and carefully respefted them, shielding them, when needful, from the text's encroachments. The process most generally adopted was the addition of a note for the accented syllable, as we have seen in the two prece- ding examples.
We may examine another instance. Take the Introit : " Populus Sion " for 2nd. Sunday in Advent, and that of the Octave-Day of St. Laurence : " Probasii me ".
Introit
Popiiliis Sion.
Introit
Probasti me.
IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS.
Mus. rhyme
e ^"^-T— ■■i-a
_ — p _
ad sal- van- das
J
c^-r-
VO- CIS
i^^tz^rtr
cor- dis
\=^:z^zH:^
VI- SI- ta- sti
^S:
in-
|
-rt |
■ |
|
gen- |
tes |
|
■"■ |
■ |
|
su- |
ae |
ve-stri
no- ifle
a ■ ■ ■
i-qui- tas
65
All the phrases of these two Introits end, in MSS., with the same musical rhyme on different degrees of the scale. With the v/ords gentes , sua', vcstri, no£le, there is no difficulty, the Torculus fitting in perfect- ly with the accent. But lo ! the last word in the last line is a propa- roxyton. Well, let it be; the Gregorian refuses to dislocate his rhyme and merely adds a note, before the Torculus. for the accented syllable. This form of cadence (>■« ■) recurs at almost every line of chant and is a real rhyme. No ear, however slightly cultivated, or familiarised with the natural flow of this final, could bear the insertion of a note between the Torculus and the last note.
Faulty g-%*j-
Cadence ^^'^
in-
i-qui-tas
66 IX. ADAPTATION OH TEXTS.
To put it in a modern form, would not such an insertion be equivalent to a fourth quaver in a bar of y?
It is in order to avoid this unbearable dislocation, that composers employ the forms which we have noticed.
In the above cited examples we see the struggle between text and melody settled as it were by compromise, each yielding as much as possible to the other. But there are cases in which the music cannot hut be inflexible and must overrule the words. This happens when a melody contains in itself all the formal elements of its own rhythm ; or again, when it has taken its form so definitely from the original text for which it was made, that it can change neither the order nor the relative force of its notes and groups.
Take the following, from a Traft, 8th. Mode.
Tract. VIII. Mode
l=^(^S!i^^5iS^
. . . sa- 111- tern ju- di- ci- um
This cadence has evidently been framed on " salutem, " or on a simi- lar word ; when a word ending in a daftyl presents itself at the cadence, it is fitted in just as it comes (see " judicium "), the last three groups to the last three syllables, whatever these may be.
Ornate cadences, formed on the Cursus planus, are treated in the same manner, the rule here being : the last Jive groups to the last Jive syllables.
IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS.
67
Resp. 1st. M.
animam & te-
=F-^
me-
am
git
le- os
u^
va- me-
VI
um
We are aware that these combinations are the horror of certain moderns, who do not hesitate to stigmatise our composers as ignorant barbarians. For our part, we agree with Dom Mocquereau in his reply to such objeftors : " Without hesitation I take the side of these ' ignorant barbarians ' ; their names are St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Leo, St. Gregory. I throw in my cause with the greatest literary men, rhetoricians, and grammarians of Greece and Rome, — with Dio- nysius of Halicarnassus, Longinus, Cicero, Varro, Quintilian, Marius Viftorinus. Strange barbarians these men of talent, not to say genius! Yes, they were keen connoisseurs in matters of style, of prose, and of poetry, but that did not prevent them from recognising in theory and in practice, that as often as a melody and its text are at variance, the music must take the precedence. "'
Their teaching on the subject is too clear to allow of misunder- standing. Let us take first a Greek, Dionysiusof Halicarnassus. He says : " In music, whether vocal or instrumental, the words are subordinate to the chant and not the chant to the words. " He gives as example a passage from a chorus in " Orestes, " in which the music disregards the Greek accentuation.
QLiintilian must speak for the Latins : " One is not allowed (in ordinary speech) to lengthen or to shorten words; it is only Music that is thus free to make syllables either long or short at will. " '
' fust., Or. ix, 4.
IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS.
Turning to Mediaeval theorists, we find the same principle insisted on. The author of the " Iiistitiita Patriim, " after recommending atten- tion to the proper pronunciation of words, adds this significant reserve : " as far as possible. "' The same writer says elsewhere that the fall of pitch in final cadences (when tc.\t and melody are at variance) is regulated not by the accent of the word but by the melody of the tone; and he adds, quoting Priscian : " Musica non subjacet regulis Donati, sicut nee divina Scriptura. "
Bernon of Reichnau is still more explicit and tells us that we are no more free to change a musical cadence fixed by tradition, than to accent the words " docitc ct legife " thus : docefc ct leg'ite ; or to end an hexameter with a spondee and dactyl. He adds that if, for the sake of preserving the character of a melody, we change the usual value of a syllable, we must let grammarians grumble, and, with St. Augustine, follow the music which has a right to fix the rhythmical value of words.
There is then something to be said for the occasional pre-eminence of a melody over its text, for the use, v.g. of several notes on a short syllable. In faft, our composers, barbarians as they were ! showed much taste and esthetic sense in fully recognising not only the nature of musical rhythm, but also its demands, — its incontestable superiority, under certain circumstances, over the rhythm of language.
This need not surprise us. Music is employed for the sake of adding force to the words ; this implies that there is in it a power not to be found in mere speech. Why then should the text not yield occa- sionally to a melody from which it derives an increase of strength and beauty ?
' '■ In omni textu ledionis, psalmodia, vel cantus, accentus sive concentus verborum, in quantum suppetit facultas. non negligatur, quia e.xinde maxime redolet intelledus. " (Gerbert, Scriptoies, t. i, p. 6-7.)
IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS. 69
We willingly acknowledge that the perfection of the art is to secure absolute harmony between words and music. When, for example, a Citrsus planus is fitted to a musical cadence formed on that syllabic type, nothing more perfeft could be desired.
Yet, there are between text and melody relations which, though falling short of this desirable perfection, are full of charm. The musical cadences are so artistic in themselves, and appeal so strongly to the ear, that a change in any one of their parts would, in many cases, des- troy the unity and beauty of the whole.
Generally, however, a melody is made to humour the varied texts to which it is fitted ; it is spread out, contrafted or divided with won- derful facility, always with regard to the accent. The composers of these melodies considered accentuation the rule of rules. When therefore they seemed to disregard this rule, they aCted thus not from ignorance or negligence, but from a true appreciation of their art and of its power. In faft, they resolved a question which is still a problem to musicians — the union of words and music.
CHAPTER X.
EXECUTION.
The reader who has followed this little work so far may be inclin- ed to enquire : What is the practical outcome of such a study? What is its bearing on the execution of the chant? Has it anything to do with bettering the condition of our Plain-Chant choirs? Such questions are very natural, but to answer them fully would lead us far beyond the scope of the present work. We cannot, however, completely pass over this matter of execution, for it is nil-important, and on it depends the reputation of the whole Gregorian system of song.
We give farther on the titles of a few practical works which every choir-master should study. Unfortunately there is little to be had in English, but we hope that this want may soon be supplied. For the present we shall confine ourselves to a rough sketch of the principles on which a Plain-Song choir should be trained.
What kiihi of execution is fitting for such melodies? Each style of music has its own style of execution and can have its full effeft only when interpreted in that style. This is emphatically true with regard to Plain-Chant. We have tried to show that this venerable music is at once artistic and simple : artistic in its forms and principles, simple in the
X. EXECUTION. 71
elements of which it is composed. Its execution must therefore be both simple and artistic ; and the two qualities are not so difficult to recon- cile as might at first appear.
By artistic we do not mean that all who attempt Plain-Chant must be artistes, nor do we say that a faultless voice is required ; no, for experience proves that, with a moderate amount of training, very ordi- nary voices may attain to a most satisfactory rendering of Plain-Song. It must be owned that art of any kind has come to be an unknown quantity in most Gregorian services, and a more strange anomaly is scarcely to be found. There seems to be an idea not only that any kind of unprepared voice is good enough for Plain-Chant, but even that a cultivated singer should beware of " wasting his sweetness on such desert air. " There are people who will sing a song with careful attention to the rules of good taste, and who, on taking up a piece of Gregorian music, will perform it in the most unnatural manner, mak- ing it into a staccato exercise, or drawling out every note to an inor- dinate length, or again breaking up groups of notes in the most dis- tressing manner. Surely a little art would be a boon here.
r^_ Firstly, the voice must be trained by exercises, in order to obtain both a sufficient volume of sound, and a true and precise " attack. " When this has been secured, the pupil should be practised in vocalise exercises, paying special attention to smoothness of execution and to purity of the vowel-sounds. (The vocalise should be sung to each vowel in turn). This attention to the mechanism of the voice is indispen- sable for acquiring a free and flowing movement in elaborate passages, as well as for accustoming the voice to the leo-gfo'^^y^p , whirh js equally required in syllabic chant. Any approach to staccato must be carefully and constantly avoided, for nothing can be more painful than to hear the beautiful neums of a melody mercilessly jolted, with a new impulse of voice at each note.
•72 X. EXECUTION.
These preliminaries may appear elaborate, and perhaps discour- aging; but we repeat, they imply only a fair amount of training under an intelligent teacher, the sine qua non of advance in any art. Let the attempt but be made, and the result will surprise. It has been tried with complete success in not a few places, where simple choirs composed of men and of boys, trained generally by their Priest, succeed in ren- dering the Gregorian melodies in a satisfactory manner. What then might not be done with more artistic elements ? It is not too much to ask for some cultivation of a voice which is to sing God's praise, for surely that, if anything, should be done to the best of one's power. The Holy Scripture praises David not merely for " setting singers before the Altar, " but for " making sweet me loci v in tijeir voices. " The long, persevering praftice of the world's singers may well shame us into doing the little that is needed to fit ourselves for so holy a work. Moreover, when once the chant with its rhythm has been fully grasped, a great amount of practice is unnecessary ; the airs are very " catching, " and even children soon learn to sing them by heart.
As to the simplicity which we have said is the second charader- istic of a good execution, it follows from the very nature of Plain-Song. This musical system owes its existence to the Liturgical text ; " Its role is to unite itself with the words of the Church's prayer, so as to give them their full expression. " The words are the soul of this me- lodic body; they give it life. This is the chief axiom which we have tried to develop in the preceding pages.
Practically, the important point to remember is that in Plain-Chant tlje notes Imve no value of tJjeir oivn, but only that of tJje syllables to wljicb tbey are sung. This is the fundamental rule : " Cantabis sylla- bas sicutpronuntiaveris, " that is to say : " Sing as you would speak. " This rule is easiest of application in syllabic pieces, in those, i.e. in
X. EXECUTION. 73
which generally one note corresponds to each syllable. An excellent plan for teaching such pieces is to make the pupils read the text, taking care to give the proper accentuation, not only to each word, but to the piece as a whole ; the places of the pauses, whether longer or shorter, should also be pointed out. When the pupils have succeeded in reading the text satisfadorily, they should be made to sing it, keep- ing in singing exactly the same movement as in reading, for such por- tions of the chant are really gems of modulated reading.
The whole execution of syllabic chant may be summed up in two rules : ist. Mark well the accents of words and phrases, and 2nd. Ob- serve the various pauses according to the sense of the text. '
Elaborate, or what we call neitmatic chants, are treated on the same principles as simpler melodies. Here again the greatest care must be taken to give the words their full force by bringing out the accented syllable. This is the less easy on account of there being on each sylla- ble a number of notes, and a certain amount of skill is required for pre- serving the unity of the words.
When, as sometimes happens, an unaccented syllable bears a number of notes, and the tonic syllable only one, the full power of the accent must be given on that one note and the rest of the word sung lightly. It cannot be too strongly impressed on the reader that the force of accentuation depends not on the iiitmber of notes, nor on the length of a note, but on the stress laid on the syllable which is to be accented.
We saw in a previous chapter (Chap, iv, p. 24) how carefully the traditional manner of grouping the notes was preserved, even up to a late date. Attention to this grouping is essential for an intelligent ren- dering of Plain-Chant. The rhythm of a passage may be completely
' The Antiphons of the Office are in syllabic style, as is also the Credo, and some- times the Gloria in excelsis.
74 X. EXECUTION.
disfigured by ignorance or carelessness in this inatter ; if, for example, groups written apart be joined in singing, or vice versa ; or again, if an insignificant note be so sung as to make it important, or if an impor- tant note be put in the shade. Those who are unfortunately obliged to make use of choir-books in which the grouping of the sounds has been disregarded, cannot do better than compare their books with one printed in traditional notation, and follow as fir as possible with their mutilated melodies the rhythmical indications there given. These de- tails may appear to be mere minutic-e, but they are some of the little things on which perfection depends.
With regard to these groups, the chief rule to be observed is, that all notes printed closely together are to be united in singing. Each group is considered in some sort as one note, and must be sung with one impulse of voice. Again, the first note of each group should be accent- ed (but not lengthened), and the other notes of the group should tlow from this initial impulse. Tailed notes generally have an accent, not because they are tailed, but because their position usually requires that they should be well marked. On the other hand, diamonds are not to be hurried over, since they are equal in value to the tailed notes, but they should be sung lightly, and should be dependent on the accent given to the tailed note which precedes them. Y"^ The neums of the florid pieces of chant are extremely graceful and
beautiful ; they require a light, easy, flexible execution, without which Ltlieir grace and beauty are as though they were not. To do them jus- tice it is important that the singer should know how to control his breath, and one aim of the preliminary exercises is to strengthen the lungs and to gain full command in this respeft. The power of sustain- ing is a great advantage, but sometimes even the longest breath may require a new impulse in singing a word. When this occurs, strict atten-
X. EXECUTION. 75
tion must be paid to what a medineval musician calls " The Golden Rule, ■' — ;in elementary and most natural rule, but one which is sadly neglefted : breath must never be taken immediately before a new syl- lable in a word. " Non debet fieri pausa, quando debet exprimi syllaba incboat(r diftionis. " So that in a vocalise such as the following, one may take breath at i or 2 but on no account at ^.
c — ■
^tt-'^:^
■ ■
E-le-va- ti- o
As to the speed at which the chant should be sung, the extremes of drawling and of hurrying are to be avoided. Some authorities give \ 132 Metronome as a guide, but much depends on the spirit of the piece and on the size of the Church. — In the course of each piece good taste will suggest changes of speed. Every pause should be pre- pared by a ritardando, and this slackening of speed must be in propor- tion with the length of the pause which is to follow ; a short pause will require only the last of the preceding notes to be slightly prolonged, a mediimi pause will suggest a fuller preparation, while the final of a piece will demand a considerable ritardando. It is almost unnecessary to say that attention must be paid to shades of expression ; it is not human to sing a piece through at an uniform loudness. As a rule the accented syllables, in both neumatic and syllabic chant, should be louder than the other syllables of a word ; — all final phrases should be sung softly.
Attention to the above-cited rules will secure a proper expression. This expression, that it may be in keeping with the Gregorian style of music, must be simple and natural, without even a suspicion ot affeftation or self-seeking. Plain-Chant does not depend for its expres-
-jG X. EXECUTION.
sion on far-fetched effects ; the sacred text has within itself the elements of this expression. Above all there must be nothing suggestive of a thea- trical manner of singing. The Fathers of the Church, and Saints, and Bishops, up to the present day, have been severe in banishing all such worldly reminiscences from the Santtuary, In England, as early as the 8th. century, we have a Synod speaking strongly on abuses of tiiis kind.'
Such exaggerations have however nothing to do with the cultiva- tion of the voice which we have been advocating. Art is necessary here, " not to supply resources to artificial sentiment, but to prepare a docile instrument which will give facility of expression to real sentiment. "
To sum up, let us remember that, to secure a proper execution and expression, it is absolutely necessary(i)that the words of the text be cor- rettly pronounced and grouped ; (2) that the rhythm be regularly kept up ; and, though last not least, that the singers fulfil their task with piety.
If, together with the preparation of which we have spoken, the singer's whole soul be thrown into the chant, then Plain-Song will infallibly have its full expression.
We may add that the accompanist is to a large extent responsible for the execution of Plain-Song, for although accompaniment is merely an accessory, it exercises considerable influence on the chant, for either better or worse.
A great deal has been said and written on the proper manner of accompanying Gregorian Chant, but much discussion may be dispensed
' ■' Ut piesbyteri sacularium poctarum more in ecclesia non garriant, ne tragico sono sacrorum verborum compositionem ac distiniflionem corrumpant vel confundant, sed simplicem sani5laniqLie melodiam secundum morem ecclesi;e seftentur. "
(Synod of Clovesho, A.D. 747. Canon xii.)
X. EXECUTION. 77
with, when once it is agreed, that the perfeftion of any accompaniment is, to be in strift agreement with the melody which it is to support. The best accompaniment, that which fully bears out its name, does notaim at leading the voices, in an obtrusive manner ; still less at drown- ing them in its magnificence. It is content to give a sympathetic sup- port to the singers, and to suggest more than it expresses.
It is generally agreed that in accompanying Plain-Song the har- monies should be founded on the Diatonic Scale. Chromatic progres- sions are absolutely foreign to the Gregorian melody, and rob it of many of its strongest and most beautiful effects. Strict attention should be paid to the modality of each piece. The accompaniment should moreover " be small in volume and very simple in texture, the parts moving as little as possible and as small intervals as may be ; for every large interval (more especially in the bass) tends to make it sound heavy, and actually makes it difficult to avoid playing heavily, thereby hamper- ing the freedom of the rhythm. " '
A loud accompaniment is to be strongly deprecated, as most pre- judicial to a choir, since it obliges the singers to exert themselves, pro- bably beyond the strength of their voices, and thus causes a strained effect which is both disagreeable to the audience and hurtful to the per- formers.
The stillness of the parts noted above should be observed in ac- companying Psalmody as well as elaborate pieces. Some organists seem to look on the Psalms as a delightful opportunity of escaping from the exigencies of the choir, and of exhibiting their proficiency in scale- passages. Yet experience proves that a calm accompaniment, varied by a judicious change of chords, affords the most satisfactory setting for Psalm-tones.
1 Elements of Plain-Song. p. go.
^8 X. EXECUTION.
The organist must be thoroughly conversant with the theory of the Chant wliich he is to accompany, if he be himself accustomed to sing it, so much the better, for he will then have regard to details which only praftical experience can appreciate. He must, moreover, be careful to mark the rhythm of each piece, bringing out its accents, and passing lightly over unaccented notes and phrases.
But besides corredlness of harmony and of execution there is in good accompaniment a something, difficult indeed to define, but easy to feel, the absence of which is often fatal to the performances of even the best-trained choirs : — this is that sympathy, without which accompaniment can be only a hindrance. The organist must be in touch with his choir ; he must feel for its weaknesses and be ready to give support, he must know its strong points and give them scope, and he must be willing to restrain those gorgeous harmonies which too often seduce the accompanist of Plain-Song.
In conclusion, we venture to express a hope that these simple pages may induce some of our readers to apply seriously to the study of Gregorian Music, or may be of service to those whose duty and privi- lege it is to spend their life in choral praise. We should consider ourselves happy if we might contribute in any degree to furthering the intelligent celebration of the holy Liturgy, or to increasing an appreciation of the artistic and devotional merits of Plain-Song, so that our choirs might realise that word of the great Patriarch St. Benedift : " Metis nostra concordi't voci nostra'.
MUSICAL EXAMPLES.
Introit. i:
o =
hzr^d^*:'^!-?.
■-S— ■— ■-■i — — ^i -■— A
S ju- sti me-di- ta- bi-tur sa-pi- en-ti- am, &
5=i^^.
lie:
^i=3=Pi^S-*^iZjP.-t=
T"" — r
■ ■ — J- —
lingua e- jus loque-tur ju-di- ci- um : lex De- i e- jus in
■ - -•.
■•— ■-
"■ ^5 fe ■
t-\
corde ipsi- us. T. P. AUe-lu- ia, al-le- lu- ia. Ps. No-li
5
1
HI—*-
-fe-r
r
::
-H
-■ — =— »
aemu-Ia-ri in ma-lignanti-bus : neque ze-ia-ve-ris fa-ci- entes in-iqui
6 -n -^^--,^-^
a
HI ■ ■ ■
■ ■
r
J-^
ta-tem. G16-ri- a Patri, & Fi-li- o, & Spi-ri-tu- i Sanfto. Sic-ut
5
•t-
:]
fl — ■-
e-rat in princi-pi- o, & nunc, & semper, & in saecu-la saecu-16-rum.
Amen.
8o
MUSICAL EXAMPLES.
Grad. i,
y^C di- e'
y^C di- es, quam fe- cit
Do- mi-
ll[^ji^^zri^^^prtP^»;i3-ja±^
^O*^
nus :
exsul-te-
mus,
& lae-
tt^^?g=^=K^1^H5^i
te- mur in e- ;i. '
1 X. L-le- lu
g=j^^j%j^^,fvr,vi^nw=
r 'Vr
la. //.
:5===?X^Ji!?b.-r35E^
— r
f. Te Marty-rum
Pi^1izri=?4^
■ ■ ■
can- di- da- tus lau-
dat ex-er-
^•n-r
^45,
i:±±^*J^iif=^f^^
ci- tus, Do- mi- ne.
J- ^^.
' For the melody oftiiis Gradual sec- Plate 5.
We give a list of woi ks in wliich the statements of the preceding pages may be verified :
" Paleographie Musicale. " Les principaux manuscrits de chant Gregorien, Ambrosien, Mozarabe et Gallican, publics en fac-similes phototypiques par les RR. PP. Benediftins de Solesmes. Recueil tri- mestriel, 2S fr. par an.
" GradualeSarisburiense. " Fac-simileofa 13th. century Gradual, published by the " Plain-Song and Mediaeval Music Society. " (B. Qiiaritch, London).
" Liber Gradualis " juxta antiquorum codicum fldem restitutus. — Editio altera. (Solesmes, 1893.)
" Liber Usualis Miss,« et Officii cum cantu gregoriano. "(So- lesmes, 1896). This is an invaluable little volume, serving the pur- pose of Missal, Gradual, and Vesperal. It contains, besides all the prayers and chants of the Ordinary of the Mass, the complete proper (Mass and Vespers) for all Sundays and Double feasts, the whole office of Christmas-Day and Holy Week, and the Office of the Dead. All this is comprised in a volume of convenient dimensions and of an equally convenient price.
For pradical purposes, the following will be found useful.
" Hlements of Plain-Song. " H. B. Briggs. (Quaritch, London. 1895.)
" Methode pratique du Chant Gregorien, " par Dom A. Schmitt. (Solesmes.)
" Grammaire elementaire de Chant Gregorien, " par le Chan. Cartaud. 2nd. Edition. (Solesmes, 1896.)
" Le Mecanisme vocal dans le Chant Gregorien, '' par A. Vi- gourel, Pretre de S. Sulpice. o fr. 20.
APPENDIX.
I. THE MODES.
The question of gregorian modality being so important, some surprise may be felt at our having merely alluded to it. The omission is, however, volun- tary, for the matter still awaits further study. As it is now engaging the attention of musical students, we trust that their labours may result in elucidating a subjed as important as it is at present obscure. In the mean- time, we give here, for the convenience of our readers, the current theory of gregorian modes, though it is doubtful whether the system will prove ulti- mately tenable.
Eight modes are recognised in gregorian chant. These eight modes are comprised in four scales of an octave each, beginning respectively on the notes, re, mi, fa, sol.
It must be borne in mind that in Plain-Chant only the diatonic scale is admitted, hence the four scales of which we speak do not correspond to the modern scales of the same tonic. All the notes of our four scales are natural, and the distinguishing feature of each oftave is the position occupied in it by the semitones.
84 '• THE MODES.
Each scale consists of two tetrachords, thus arranged : '
1st. tetrachord. 2nd. tetrachord.
re mi fa sol la si ut re
mi fa sol la si ut re mi
fa sol la si ut re mi fa
sol la si ut re mi fa sol
To each of these scales belong ti.'o modes which agree as to their Jinal, but differ as to their dominant.- The first of each pair of modes is called au- thentic or primitive ; the second, plagal or derived. In the plagal modes the order of the two tetrachords is reversed, so that the scales of those modes are sometimes said to be, la, si. ut. re.
TABLE OF MonFS
|
No |
Name |
Final |
DOMIN.\NT |
Character |
|
1. |
Authentic |
re |
la |
Gravis |
|
11. |
Plagal |
re |
fa |
Tristis |
|
111. |
Authentic |
mi |
ut |
Mysticus |
|
IV. |
Plagal |
mi |
la |
Harmonicas |
|
V. |
Authentic |
fa |
ut |
Lastus |
|
VI. |
Plagal |
fa |
la |
Devotus |
|
Vli. |
Authentic |
sol |
re |
Angelicus |
|
Vlll. |
Plagal |
sol |
ut |
Perfeftus |
' The place of the semitones is maiked by a slur. - Not to be confounded with the dominant of the modern scale, hi Plain-Song the dominant is really the predominjiil note in each mode.
I. THE MODES. 85
In the authentic modes the melody often embraces the higher notes of the scale, and hardly ever falls below the final. In the plagal modes, on the contrary, the melody seldom rises above the dominant, and a great part of it may be below the final.
These remarks cannot, however, be rigidly applied, for some pieces par- take of two different modes, and these two modes need not be the relative authentic and plagal. The melody, again, often passes from one mode to an- other in a manner very much akin to modulation from key to key. '
' See " The Winchester Tioper, " edited by R. W. Howard Frere for the Henry Bradshaw Society. 1S94. Introduftion, p. xxxvii. — Plate 2 of our volume reproduces a page of this Troper.
II. PSALMODY
Psalmody comprises the chant of the psalms and of the canticles of the Liturgy. '
Psalms are divided into verses, and each verse consists of two distinft parts marked in the liturgical books by an asterisk (*).
There are eight regular psalm-tones, one for each mode, and one irregular tone called Tonus peregrinus.
THE EIGHT PSALM-TONES.
First Tone. Recit.
V
Int. Recit. Mediant
7 T
Final.
|
^ .-^ |
— •— |
f |
|||
|
_^ |
-^r |
-p»- |
|||
|
■ |
|||||
|
— |
|
— |
■ |
||
|
— ■ ■ « |
-r |
||||
|
-■-■ ■ |
-^ |
-i- |
-»- |
||
|
— |
-%- |
||||
|
- |
|||||
|
-•- |
— »— |
■ |
i» - |
||
|
\ |
\ |
' The following pages are taken from the •' Petit Traite lie Psalmodie '' just completed by the Solesmes Fathers, and khidly put by them at our disposal. The treatise is a preface to the noted Psalter which is to appear shortly. In this work the purest traditions of psalmody have been restored, and several unwarranted exceptions, formerly in vogue, have been suppressed. We hope to translate the '■ Traite " in full, together with a Method of chant now in preparation.
II. PSALMODY.
87
|
Int. Recit. |
Med. |
|
|
r |
||
|
lS m- -,-,-,-m^*. |
-'i |
- |
Final.
Third Tone.
Recit.
Final.
&
Int. Recit. Hediant.
3
|
/ |
-.- |
"•~ |
— •— c |
|
|
|
, |
— |
||
|
■ ■■■■■■ |
-P-. |
|||
|
■ |
-f- |
|||
|
/ |
||||
|
/ |
— ■— |
"8"" a |
||
|
\ |
||||
|
■ g |
||||
|
1 |
||||
|
'-^-^ |
-.- |
|||
|
[ |
■_ |
E |
||
|
\ |
■ |
Int. Recit. Mediant.
Fourth Tone.
Recit.
/
Final.
^1
^
|
/ |
||||
|
— ■— |
||||
|
|
■ |
|||
|
^z |
— ■— |
m • |
■ |
|
|
—•-»-■- |
■ |
~*~ |
||
|
—•-■-•- |
~i~ |
-^ |
■ |
p^
'11'^ J''or anolher position oft
ZltlI~I »>'"' Jinals E and a, see p.
this tone, p. 88.
Fifth Tone.
Inton. Recit. Mediant. Recit. rinal.
^^ -^ y— ~ 7^-7-
|
1 |
- |
a |
||
|
i , - |
■ ■ ■ |
• |
||
|
— |
S^^-
88
II. PSALMODY.
Sixth Tone.
Inton. Recit. Hediaiit. Rec.
Final.
|
s— n |
||||
|
. 9 |
■ ■ ■ |
■ |
||
/
Seventh Tone.
Recit. Final.
Int. Recit. Mediant.
ind
^i
■ ■ * — -1- -^
lEXlL l!Z l!l ^
' ■ ■ — IJII^
« b
Eighth Tone.
Recit.
Final.
IntonaliOD Recit. Illediant.
|
E— r-T—" 1 ' r 1 |
|
■ ' |
= == = ^
-. .- -S
■
Intonation Recit.
Tonus Peregrinus.
Mediant. Recit.
f f
Final.
|
f^m |
b. |
-.- } |
||
|
■ ■ ■ |
■ |
• |
||
L.»-J 1— h
Fourth Tone transposed.
Recit. Final.
Int. Recit. mediant. /
r^ J— — — —-
|
E " 9 |
■ ■ ■ |
■ |
■ |
■ |
||
|
i ■ |
||||||
/±5
=^=^ = ^
~A
II. PSALMODY.
89
It will be seen from the above tables that every complete Psalm-tone consists of : (i) Intonation, (2) Recitative, (3) Cadences, either medial o\ final.
1. INTONATION.
The Intonation is a musical formula connefting the final phrase of an anti- phon with the dominant of the psalm-tone which follows. It is used for only the first verse of every psalm, and for each verse of the Gospel-Canticles {Magnificat, Benedidiis, and Nunc dimittis).
The intonation consists of two or three notes or groups, which are adapt- ed to as many syllables. There is no exception to this rule. The syllables must be fitted in just as they come, and the groups of notes may not be disunited.
Iitonat. of two syllables.
1st. and 6th. Modes , 8
3rd.
4th.
Peregrinus
1=^
ilf^
hj
Di- xit Cre-di- Be- a- Con-fi-
Intonat. of three syllables. 2nd. Mode %
5th
8ih.
Dominus di propter tus vir tebor tibi
|
Di- xit U6- |
rainus |
|
Cre-di- di |
propter |
|
Be- a- tus |
vir qui |
|
Confi- te- |
bor tibi |
|
In conver- |
tcrido |
The intonation of the Magnificat follows the ordinary form in the ist., 3rd., 4th., 3th. and 6th. modes; in the other modes it is as shown below.
2nd. Mode. 8th. Mode.
7th. Mode.
^
i r. i • • '
Magni-li-cat Magni-ti-cat Ma-gni- fi- cat El exsul-tavit Qui- a respexit G16- ri- a
go II. PSALMODY.
In the 2nd. and 8th. modes, the usual form of intonation is used for all the verses except the first.
ihf-
Et cxsul-lavit Quia respexit
II. RECITATIVE.
The recitative comprises all the notes in unison between the intonation and the mediant, and from the mediant to the final.
In the eight regular tones the recitative is always the dominant of the mode. The irregular tone (Tonus Peregrinus) has two recitatives; /a for the first half of the verse, and sol for the second.
In the choir-books of the monastic rite, the recitative of verses of unusual length is broken by the flex, the sign of which is a cross (f ). This flex is made by lowering the syllable or syllables following the last accent. In the ist., 4th., 6th.. 7th. and Peregrinus tones, the fall is of a major second; in the other tones, it is of a minor third.
111. CADENCES, (MEDIANTS AND FINALS).
NUMBER OF CADENCES.
Medial cadences end the first half of a verse. There is one such cadence for each mode. (See Table, p. 86). Final cadences end the second half of a verse ; they are more numerous than medial cadences. The reason of this is to be found in the connexion which exists between a psalm and its anti- phon. The ending of the antiphon is conne(fted, as we have seen, with the intonation of the psalm ; in the same way, the ending of the psalm prepares for the repetition of the antiphon. As, however, there are various manners of beginning antiphons, the endings of the psalm-tones are modified to suit the different forms of intonation.
II. PSALMODY. 91
To mark which of the endings is to be used, letters are prefixed to the antiphon :
la si ut re mi fa sol
Capitals A B C D E F G
Small letters abed e f g
Modified letters h <; E
A word on the signification of these letters. Capitals are used if the last note of the ending is also the final note of the mode. Small letters are em- ployed when the psalm-tone ends on any note except the final of the mode. If, in any mode, two psalm-tones end on the same note, modified letters are used.
The melodies of the psalm-cadences being unchangeable, and, at the same time, having to be applied to the most various combinations of syllables, it might seem a thankless task to attempt any classification of these forms. But such is not the case. For praiftical purposes it is sufficient to follow the rules of Latin accentuation, modified occasionally by the rules of rhythmical poetry.
In Latin the accent falls, in dissyllables, on the first syllable, fortis. In words of more than two syllables, the accent occurs on the penultimate if long, and on the antepenultimate if the penultimate is short : manere, discipulus.
The psalm-tones may be divided into two classes : those founded on one accent, meo. and those founded on tzco accents, corde meo. *
\ 5 mediants 25 cadences o( one accent
/ 20 finals
10 cadences of tzvo accents
i. 4 mediants I 6 finals
See p. 49. and the Table at end.
92
II. PSALMODY.
CADENCES OF ONE ACCENT.
I. MEDIANTS (Hivh).
Passing from recitative to accent
1
2 Kithoul [)ri'[jaralion.
4 with one note, of /ire-
paration,
5 liith two nc)(c of pre-
paration.
Do-
pii-
I)o-
Doiui-
qu^ ad pacem
adji'ciat Di't-
Deus
propter
di-
propiti-
ini- nus sunt mi- me- quod eta
-J— a- — .—
-8— o-i— »—
2 I I
■ :
-a-l — ■ —
2 1
lodes
2
Ja- nus
us lo- sunt ti-
num
vid
on
lem
vos
tu
sum
te
est
II. FINALS (TwfcNTY).
Passing from recitative to accent N" without C 6 preparation ,
11
13
15
18
24
25
' 4^
i 3
Modes 4g
Ji^-
-^
=^P^
3 c
3 a
1 g
3 a
3 g
6 f
8 G
94 I'- PSALMODY.
We give four of these finals adapted to verses of various lengtiis.
Passing from recitative to accent
without pre- 6 paration.
ivith on*' 7 note of pre- paration,
with two 21 notes of pre- paration,
with three 25 notes of pre- paration.
Cad. spond. <i dactyl.
|
k ,,,,,.. . 1 |
|||
|
- |
" |
||
|
1 |
|||
|
■5 |
|||
|
■ |
|||
|
<-— — --^ |
■ — ■ — |
||
|
4 |
3 |
||
|
* ■ a ■ |
|
||
|
■ " " ~ |
■ |
' |
|
|
5 |
4 |
3 |
|
|
; |
|||
|
■ • • • |
~> |
||
|
■ |
|||
|
sede |
a |
dex- |
.ris |
|
in |
SEB- |
cu- |
lum |
|
vo- |
vit |
I)(- |
o |
|
6r- |
di- |
neui |
Mel- |
|
me- |
OS |
||
|
scab^Uum |
pe- |
dnm |
tu- |
|
a |
sse- |
cu- |
lo |
|
nie- |
a |
lau- |
|
|
fili- |
is |
tu- |
is |
|
lucife- |
ruin |
g<5- |
nil- |
Siecii-
Ja-
chi'-se-
su-pei*
6-
lu
dabunt
Modes 4 g
2 D
8 G
4 E
cob
dech
me
rum
es
te
te
te
RULE. A. Tile penultimate or antepenultimate syllable of each verse or half-verse, must correspond with the accent of the melody. — B. The notes preceding the accent are set each to one syllable. In these cadences the rhyth- mical formula begins on the accent ; the preceding notes are a graceful prepa- ration leading to the accent, and therefore should not be overladen with syl- lables. (.As some cadences of one accent pass diredlly from the recitative to the accent, there is no occasion in such cases for applying the second half of the preceding rule).
Cadences icithout preparation, Mediants of the 2nd., ^th. and 8th. modes, and final of the 4th. mode, (g).
Cadences zcith one note of preparation. Mediant of the 6th. mode, and finals of the 2nd. (D), 3rd. (c, a), and irregular modes.
II. PSALMODY.
95
Cadences with two notes of preparation, Mediant of the 4th. mode, and finals of the ist. (f, g, a, a, D, J), ^rd. (a, g, E), 6th. (0, and 8th. (G, c) modes.
Cadences with three notes of preparation. Finals of the 4th. mode (£, a, E).
CADENCES OF TWO ACCENTS.
I. MEDIANTS (Four).
N • 26
i 2 I
f r
28
|
• |
|
-¥-"- |
|||
|
' • • |
|
I" 0 0 |
_ |
||
|
• (3 |
|||||
|
i" °~ |
' |
||||
|
! ■ ' |
■ ■ • ■ ■ |
||||
|
s |
|||||
|
• |
■ u |
||||
|
^ ■ ■ ■ ■ I ■ |
Ijl 0 |
— ■ — |
|||
|
ill toto |
cur- |
de |
me- |
0 |
|
|
Laudate |
pii- e- |
ri |
D6- mi- |
num |
|
|
im- |
pie- bit |
ru- |
i- |
nas |
|
|
ex Ba- |
sail |
COIl- |
ver- |
tain |
|
|
Je- |
ru- sa- |
lem |
D6- mi- |
num |
|
|
co- ram |
te |
le- |
ci |
||
|
et |
CO- |
igno- |
VI- sti |
me |
|
|
con- |
lu- |
si- |
6- |
ne |
|
|
coutirmatum |
est |
cor |
e- |
jus |
|
|
sol |
inon |
u- ret |
te |
||
|
propter |
quod |
;lo- |
cii- tus |
sum |
|
|
dicta |
'sunt |
de |
te |
||
|
olamavi |
ad |
te |
Do- mi- |
ne |
|
|
et |
nunc |
et |
sem- |
per |
|
|
Domi- |
nus |
lex |
Si- |
on |
|
|
iii splendori- |
bus f |
:San- |
cto- f |
rum |
|
|
E ■ • |
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ |
■ J |
_ |
' r. |
— ■ — |
|
b ■ ■ |
|||||
|
cor- |
:de |
me- |
0 |
||
|
pu- e- |
i" |
06- mi- |
num |
||
|
sol |
Uion |
u- ret |
te |
||
|
&c. |
&c. |
lodes 1
96
II. PSALMODY.
II. FINALS (Six).
30
31
32
33
34
35
|
r |
r |
|||
|
• _ _ _ _ |
■ |
|||
|
g ■ ■ ■ ■ |
0 |
■ |
||
|
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ |
■ |
|||
|
■- |
||||
|
|
|
|
||
|
• ■ ■ ■ • |
-•— 6— |
-.— |
|
|
|
* 0 |
K |
|||
|
■ |
||||
|
■ ■ • ■ ■ |
' D |
. |
||
|
|
" a |
! |
||
|
-•— D- |
||||
|
■ ■ ■ ■ • |
■ |
~* G |
-3- |
|
|
~" 0 |
||||
|
< ■ ■ ■ ■ |
• |
— • 0— |
% |
|
|
sede a |
dex- |
tris |
me- |
is |
|
III |
s±-cu- |
lum |
SiB-CU- |
li |
|
scabellum |
pe-dum |
lu- |
6- |
rum |
|
O |
reb |
el |
Zeb |
|
|
Ja- |
cob |
et |
,Io- |
seph |
|
1- |
sra- |
el |
est |
|
|
Isra- |
el |
in |
D6-mi- |
no |
|
pax |
S!l- |
per |
I-sra- |
el |
|
us-qne |
in |
SiC -cu- |
lura |
|
|
ad-hiic |
sum |
te- |
cum |
|
|
it- |
qiii- |
la- |
le |
|
|
com- |
mo- |
v^-bi- |
tur |
|
|
in- |
i- |
qui- |
ta- |
tern |
|
juslifi- |
ca- |
ti- |
<S-ni- |
bus |
|
confirmaluiu |
est |
cor |
c- |
JUS |
|
i|ui |
cu- |
slo-dit |
te |
|
|
el |
TIl |
ter- |
ra |
|
|
ordi- |
neiu |
MpI- |
clii-se- |
dech |
|
susti'nu- |
i |
le |
l)o-rai- |
ne |
|
volu- |
cres |
pen- |
na- |
\.x |
nodes 5 a
7 b
RULE. The last two accented syllables of the verse oi' half-verse, must correspond with the two accents of the melody. It is not allowed, however, to seek the first of these two accented syllables beyond a certain limit; that is to say, one may not go back more than three syllables from the /js/ accent of the verse.
11. PSALMODY.
97
SOLEMN TONE OF THE MAGNIFICAT.
(Ornate cadence of one accent.)
There is a more solemn chant for the Magnificat, in the ist., 2nd. and 8th. modes. This is sung ad libitum on greater feasts.
|
Model |
• , |
-fs- |
bn |
— .— |
~°~rs" |
|||
|
. i |
" " " |
■ |
s |
|||||
|
Magni |
Beat |
|||||||
|
Et ex- |
sultavit |
spi- |
ri- |
las |
me- |
us |
||
|
Qui- a |
ffcit mihi |
ma- |
gna |
qui |
po-tens |
est |
||
|
lodes |
/ |
|||||||
|
rf ■ • |
• |
■ |
-3— o— |
_ |
||||
|
2aiid8 |
s% , • |
% |
* |
' |
||||
|
■ ■ Magaiti- |
||||||||
|
cat |
||||||||
|
Et exsul- |
tavit |
spi- |
ri- |
tus |
me- |
us |
||
|
Quia fe- |
cit mihi |
ma- |
gna |
qui |
po- tens |
est |
||
|
Uepo |
su- |
it po- |
len- |
tes |
de |
Se- |
de |
RULE. The last accented syllable of the verse must be sung to the accent of the tone (col. 2.) The groups or notes of col* 3, 4, 5, must be fitted to the three syllables preceding the last accent.
I4JO- — Solesmss. PrinteJ at St. Peter's Press. January 1S97.
ROMAN PSALMODY AND THE LATIN TONIC ACCENT
Ambrosias
Romaii
Simple Preface
Psalms e I of the Introit
, Verses
\ ol the Responsories
R.-G. Justus
J f
h
Dixit D6-
creatiira libe-
E Lseti-
Boiium
Gl6-ri- a in exc^lsis
Dixit D<Sminus Domino
-■■ ■ ■ — ■ a
minus D6mino
ra ab omni impugna-
ti-ca .^nimam est
confi-
T^
s^rvi t^- ri
:S^.-
t)uoni- am
Ju-
-r
H Si me- i
i^^
a
Tract
Alleluia
Tract
Adju-tor
^=^P^^^^
J Di-
/ r
!— i 1-
-Tt-^-8-
iii-i(]ui- ta- tern me- am
e-go a- Patri et
stus ut palma llo-
|
■ ■ ■ ■ |
a |
! |
||
|
.... |
||||
|
non fu- e-riat |
do- r |
r |
mi- |
|
|
! I -M - |
||||
|
i • • |
a • |
• 9' ' |
|
et pro- te-ctor fa-ctus est mi- hi in sa-
ju- di-
-: — ■ ■ a .— . — s-
sancti- li- ca- tus il- lu- xit
Medial (jience
Di- o
r
m6-
^^=L
tii- i D6mi-no
gnosco ri- li- o
-tS5^^^^
ri- bit
-■«tf:h-^ i^'^1^:*
^i^:n;r— rSS
^-^^>\f. ---
lii- tern ci- um
:;^S!5^^
bis
Et in ter
I't de-
ra pax ho-mi- nibus bonse vo-lun-
sede a dextris
sede a
■ ■ ■ " ■ ■ ■
ti*- us ne- qui- li-.T pur-
am ad te D6mine ani- mam
r
-S-
I^^
li'ctum me- um coram me est semper tibi sO'
-p.- li
Final Cadence
!
m^-
r
pec-
^^
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Gregorian music, an outline of musical p
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