History of Music, Mr. Robert L. Johnston
Plainsong or Plainchant (Notation, Day 5)
Aim:
How, when and where was chant written, and how does it
differ from today’s notation?
Instructional Objectives:
At the conclusion of this unit, students will:
I.
II.
Have defined Plainsong.
Have gained an understanding as to its place in
worship.
III. Have a basic understanding of medieval social
structure and monastic life and its purposes.
IV. Have an understanding as to its geographical
development.
V.
Have an understanding as to its development and
growth as a musical form.
VI. Have an introduction to some of the key figures of
its development.
VII. Have an understanding of its notation.
VIII. Have heard a strong representation of plainsong.
Motivation:
Volunteer to sing/perform the following:
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_chant)
Development/Procedures:
I.
Chant was often learned by ear, and our standardized
musical notation saw its beginnings during the
Middle Ages.
a. Notation varied considerably from one place to
another. (Miller)
b. Notation’s simplest purposes are to indicate
pitch and rhythm.
c. Modern notation dates from the early 17th century.
(Miller)
d. The history of Western notation begins at the end
of the 9th century. (Miller)
II.
According to Miller, there were three major systems
of notation.
a. Neumatic
i.
Neumes are inflection symbols to indicate
the general direction of a melody. There
were originally three types (Miller):
1. Acute, /
2. Grave, \
^
ii.
iii.
iv.
3. Circumflex,
Originally, these were
known chant melodies.
Ultimately, there were
signs. (Miller)
An example of neumatic
merely reminders for
(Miller)
more than a dozen
notation:
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neume)
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
Originally, neumes were only written above
the text, without specific indication of
pitch. (Miller)
By the early 10th century, they were written
higher or lower above the text to give a
greater sense of melodic contour. These
were called heightened neumes. (Miller)
By the end of the 10th century, a single
line staff was employed, the line being
“F.” (Miller)
1. Notes as we know them were still not
used. The neumes were written relative
to the single line.
2. This was the origin of the staff.
(Miller)
A further development was the two line
staff, “F” and “C” below it. (Miller)
1. Think for a moment what it would be
like to read music with only two lines.
2. Oftentimes, these to lines were
colored, or illuminated, “F” being red,
“C” being green or yellow. (Miller)
3. By the 11th century, Guido d’Arezzo had
developed the four line staff, which is
still used in modern Gregorian
notation. (Miller)
4. Ultimately, the five line staff came
into use in the 13th century. (Miller)
5. Clefs were developed by placing one of
the actual letters on a particular
line.
a. Our modern “F,” “C,” and “G” clefs
are derived from this practice.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neume)
b. Modal (square notation)
i.
Modal notation is based on rhythmic modes
(which we will study in roughly a month’s
time).
ii.
Modal notation uses note shapes as opposed
to the “sweeps” of neumes.
1. There are three types of notes
(Miller):
a. Longa (looks like a square quarter
note)
b. Brevis (looks like a square,
colored in whole note)
c. Semibrevis (diamond-shaped)
2. When used together, these groupings
were called ligatures. (Miller)
3. The rhythmic basis of modal notation
was perfection. (Miller)
a. This was a triple division of
rhythm where each longer note
value was equal to three of the
next smaller, just like a triplet.
4. The example from our motivation uses
modal notation.
a. Note the ligatures.
5. Note the “C” clef at the beginning of
the line. The top (fourth) line is
“C.”
a. The first note is “A,” followed by
“Bb,” “A,” “G,” “A,” “Bb,” and so
on.
6. Play the opening of the Kyrie from the
Mass for Septuagesima Sunday.
a. If time allows, learn the fragment
by rote!
c. Mensural (measured notation)
i.
Was in use from the second half of the 13th
century to the end of the 16th century.
ii.
Ultimately achieved a high degree of
accuracy in representing relative duration.
(Miller)
iii.
A style of mensural notation is Franconian
notation,
1. Named after Franco of Cologne, who
codified it in Ars Cantus Mensurabilis
(ca. 1260)
2. This system uses the same kind of notes
as modal notation, but the brevis
became the basic unit (much like our
quarter note) and was still
predominantly perfect.
a. This was called Tempus perfectum.
b. Duple divisions were called Tempus
imperfectum.
iv.
What is the significance of triple meter,
or three?
v.
If time allows, we will revisit notation in
later eras.
vi.
The chant in the Norton Anthology of
Western Music, Volume I is an example of
mensural notation using ligatures.
III. Early manuscripts
a. Books, as we know them, were very precious
commodities is the Middle Ages.
i.
Book making was a many-layered process that
involved many different skilled people.
ii.
There were no printing presses, and books
were made by hand.
b. What types of books were made?
i.
Most books were bibles.
ii.
If you were a student, you had to copy your
own textbooks.
1. Think of the textbooks you currently
use, and having to copy them all.
c. How were they made?
i.
They were made out of vellum or parchment,
both derived from animal skins.
1. Making the “paper” was a craft in and
of itself.
ii.
Covers were leather or wood, and studded
with precious metal, if the owner could
afford it.
iii.
Ink was derived from among other materials,
tree branches, wine and salt.
iv.
Illuminated manuscripts, or colored pages,
were made out of gold leaf or expensive and
exotic inks, such as those derived from
lapis lazuli (ultramarine).
d. Refer to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminated_manuscri
pt
i.
All illuminated by hand.
1. Not only by monks in the scriptorium of
a monastery, but by craftsmen.
ii.
Pictures helped define the story.
e. If this interests you, I suggest referencing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_kells
f. Pictures of visit to St. Gallen, summer 1992,
including manuscripts by Notker.
Materials of Instruction:
Smart Board
Internet
Norton Anthology Of Western Music, Vol. 1 (Disc 1)
The Norton Anthology of Western Music, Volume I
Piano for pitch reference
Summary:
Musical notation still has any differences, not only
between different genres (i.e. - classical, jazz, rock),
but also within each individual genre. As I have stated,
all Western music has its roots in chant and its
development, as does notation. Many will assert that this
is the most important period of music to study, on all
fronts.
Even today, contemporary musicians will use their own
form of shorthand that he or she will understand when
marking their parts.
It should note that the discussion on manuscript was
taken almost exclusively from, “From Monks to Markets: Artistic
Production and Patronage in the Middle Ages,”
K. Michelle Hearne, guest lecturer, presented at The Cloisters on July 28th.
Assignment:
Study for quiz on plainsong.
Bibliography:
History of Music, Hugh H. Miller, Barnes & Noble
Books, New York. 1972
Shirmer History of Music, Leonie Rosenstiel, general
editor, Schirmer Books, New York. 1982
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_chant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neume
Norton Anthology Of Western Music, Vol. 1 (Disc 1), (c)
W.W. Norton & Co., Inc. (p) 1988 Sony Special Music
Products
The Norton Anthology of Western Music, Volume I, ed.
Claude V. Palisca, W.W. Norton & Company, New York.
1980
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminated_manuscript
Suggested Reference:
History of Music, Hugh H. Miller, Barnes & Noble
Books, New York. 1972
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_chant
Robert L. Johnston