Lecture 4

Chapter 12 - Voice and Worship: Tradition and Individuality in Medieval Chant

The main ceremony in the Catholic Church is the Mass; like many types of ceremonies, the events in a Mass happen in a prescribed order. The events in a Mass are divided into two categories: the Ordinary and the Proper. The Ordinary of the Mass consists of all of the parts of the Mass with unchanging text (for example, there are certain prayers that are recited in exactly the same way in every single Mass); the Proper of the Mass consists of all of the parts of the Mass with texts that change according to the season (for example, a priest will give a sermon in each Mass, but the actual words are different every time). Many church musicians chose to focus on composing music for the Mass Ordinary, because that music could be used over and over again.

The music of the early Catholic Church is called chant, plainchant, or Gregorian chant. The entire church service was sung, so musicians and church officials were responsible for knowing a large number of chants and for choosing which ones to use in each church service. Pope Gregory the Great decided that since some chants were appropriate for Christmas, and some were appropriate for Easter, and others were appropriate for various feast days, the chants should be tied to the church calendar. This meant that all 3,000 or so chants had to be written down and organized. Because Pope Gregory is credited with starting this project, chant is often referred to as Gregorian chant. The written notation of many of these chants survived so that we can study them today.

Chant Characteristics

There are several characteristics of chant:

  • Monophonic texture.
  • Sacred Latin text. Chant was part of the church service, which was performed in Latin.
  • Conjunct motion. Chants move mostly by conjunct motion, but can also have disjunct motion.
  • Very little rhythmic variety. Each note lasts the same length; every once in a while a note is twice as long as the others.  Since chants were not originally written down, this made them easier to remember.

Reading Comprehension Self Check


The music of the early Catholic Church is called a hymn

True.
False.

Catholic mass has no perscribed order.

True.
False.
Catholic Mass, like many types of ceremonies, has events that happen in a prescribed order