The Introit Gaudeamus omnes, scripted in square notation in the 14th—15th century Graduale Aboense, honors Henry, patron saint of Finland.

Gaudeamus omnes, Introit for the Mass in honor of Henry, patron saint of Finland ( file info) — play in browser (beta) Click on the manuscript image and download the high-resolution version to follow along with the score, starting at the large calligraphed "G." The antiphon repeats after the psalm verse "Annunciabunt...quẽ fecit dominus" and again after the "Gloria patri." Only the beginning and end of the "Gloria patri" are in the manuscript; "EVOVAE" represents the vowels in the final six syllables, "sæculorum, amen." The Latin is pronounced in the manner of Renaissance Germany, based on Åbo's German ecclesiastical connections. Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in the Frankish lands of western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions. Although popular legend credits Pope Gregory the Great with inventing Gregorian chant, scholars believe that it arose from a later Carolingian synthesis of Roman and Gallican chant. Image File history File links LinkFA-star. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (469x640, 107 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gregorian chant Wikipedia:Todays featured article/August 2006 Portal:Christianity/Article Archive Wikipedia:Todays featured article... The introit (Latin: introitus, entrance) is part of the opening of the celebration of the Mass. ... Bishop Henry and Lalli as depicted in Missale Aboense. ... Image File history File links Gaudeamus_omnes_-_Graduale_Aboense. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ... Broadly speaking, plainsong is the name given to the body of traditional songs used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. ... In music, the word texture is often used in a rather vague way in reference to the overall sound of a piece of music. ... Religious music (also sacred music) is music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus of Nazareth, with its traditions first established by the Twelve Apostles and... For other uses, see Franks (disambiguation). ... Saint Gregory redirects here. ... Also see: France in the Middle Ages. ... Gallican chant refers to the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Gallican rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Gaul, prior to the introduction and development of elements of the Roman rite from which Gregorian chant evolved. ...

Gregorian chants are organized into eight scalar modes. Typical melodic features include characteristic incipits and cadences, the use of reciting tones around which the other notes of the melody revolve, and a vocabulary of musical motifs woven together through a process called centonization to create families of related chants. Instead of octave scales, six-note patterns called hexachords underlie the modes. These patterns use elements of the modern diatonic scale as well as what would now be called B flat. Gregorian melodies are transcribed using neumes, an early form of musical notation from which the modern five-line staff developed during the 16th century.^[1] Gregorian chant played a fundamental role in the development of polyphony. In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. ... The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is its first few words. ... In Western musical theory a cadence (Latin cadentia, a falling) is a particular series of intervals or chords that ends a phrase, section, or piece of music. ... In the church modes of Gregorian chant the reciting tone (also dominant, tenor, tubae) is the melodic formula used for reciting psalm tones. ... Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Centonization refers to the practice of composing melodies based on pre-existing melodic figures and formulas. ... It is proposed that this article be deleted, because of the following concern: This article duplicates Scientific pitch notation. ... In music, a hexachord is a collection of six tones. ... In music theory, a diatonic scale (from the Greek diatonikos, to stretch out; also known as the heptatonia prima; set form 7-35) is a seven-note musical scale comprising five whole-tone and two half-tone steps, in which the half tones are maximally separated. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Hand-written musical notation by J.S. Bach: beginning of the Prelude from the Suite for Lute in G minor BWV 995 (transcription of Cello Suite No. ... In musical notation, the staff or stave is a set of five horizontal lines on which note symbols are placed to indicate pitch and rhythm. ... Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ...

Gregorian chant was traditionally sung by choirs of men and boys in churches, or by women and men of religious orders in their chapels. It is the music of the Roman Rite, performed in the Mass and the monastic Office. Gregorian chant supplanted or marginalized the other indigenous plainchant traditions of the Christian West to become the official music of the Roman Catholic liturgy. Although Gregorian chant is no longer obligatory, the Roman Catholic Church still officially considers it the music most suitable for worship.^[2] During the 20th century, Gregorian chant underwent a musicological and popular resurgence. A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. ... A religious order may mean any of the following: // In Buddhist societies such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Korea and Tibet, a religious order is one of the strikingly large number of monastic orders of monks and nuns. ... Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article, refers to the sui juris particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church that developed in the area of western Europe and northern Africa where Latin was for many centuries the language of education and culture. ... For other uses of Mass, see Mass (disambiguation). ... Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. ...

History

Development of earlier plainchant

Unaccompanied singing has been part of the Christian liturgy since the earliest days of the Church. Until the mid-1990s, it was widely accepted that the psalmody of ancient Jewish worship significantly influenced and contributed to early Christian ritual and chant. This view is no longer generally accepted by scholars, due to analysis that shows that most early Christian hymns did not have Psalms for texts, and that the Psalms were not sung in synagogues for centuries after the Destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70.^[3] However, early Christian rites did incorporate elements of Jewish worship that survived in later chant tradition. Canonical hours have their roots in Jewish prayer hours. "Amen" and "alleluia" come from Hebrew, and the threefold "sanctus" derives from the threefold "kadosh" of the Kedusha.^[4] Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth and his life, death, resurrection, and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... The word leitourgia is derived from the two Greek words, leos and ergon. Leos, meaning the people of God and Ergon meaning the work. ... Psalms (Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh. ... In compiling the history of ancient Israel and Judah, there are many available sources. ... Fourth-century inscription, representing Christ as the Good Shepherd. ... A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul; Ladino אסנוגה esnoga) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ... Combatants Roman Empire Jews of Judea Commanders Titus Flavius Vespasianus Simon Bar-Giora Yohanan mi-Gush Halav (John of Gischala) Eleazar ben Simon Strength 70,000 men 13,000 men, split among three factions Casualties Unknown 60,000–1,100,000 (mass civilian casualties) The Siege of Jerusalem in the... Dionysius Exiguus invented Anno Domini years to date Easter. ... Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. ... The word Amen (Tiberian Hebrew אמן ’ĀmÄ“n So be it; truly, Standard Hebrew אמן Amen, Arabic آمين ’ĀmÄ«n) is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and in the Quran. ... Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia, is a transliteration of the Hebrew word הַלְלוּיָהּ meaning [Let us] praise (הַלְלוּ) God (יָהּ) (or Praise (הַלְלוּ) [the] Lord (&#1497... Hebrew redirects here. ... Sanctus is the Latin word for holy, and is the name of an important hymn of Christian liturgy. ... The Kedusha is traditionally the third section of all Amidah recitations. ...

The New Testament mentions singing hymns during the Last Supper: "When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives" Matthew 26.30. Other ancient witnesses such as Pope Clement I, Tertullian, St. Athanasius, and Egeria confirm the practice,^[5] although in poetic or obscure ways that shed little light on how music sounded during this period.^[6] The 3rd-century Greek "Oxyrhynchus hymn" survived with musical notation, but the connection between this hymn and the plainchant tradition is uncertain.^[7] John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... According to gospel, the Last Supper was the last meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his death. ... This entry incorporates text from the public domain Eastons Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. ... Saint Clement I, the bishop of Rome also called Clement of Rome and Clemens Romanus, was either the third or fourth pope, before or after Anacletus. ... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicized as Tertullian, (ca. ... Athanasius of Alexandria (also spelled Athanasios) (c. ... In early Chistian history, Egeria, also known as Aetheria, is the name of a woman who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land about 381–384, taking about four years to do it, and who wrote a long letter to her beloved circle of women at home (probably along the... The Oxyrhynchus hymn is the earliest known manuscript of a Christian hymn to contain both lyrics and musical notation. ...

Musical elements that would later be used in the Roman Rite began to appear in the 3rd century. The Apostolic Tradition, attributed to the theologian Hippolytus, attests the singing of Hallel psalms with Alleluia as the refrain in early Christian agape feasts.^[8] Chants of the Office, sung during the canonical hours, have their roots in the early 4th century, when desert monks following St. Anthony introduced the practice of continuous psalmody, singing the complete cycle of 150 psalms each week. Around 375, antiphonal psalmody became popular in the Christian East; in 386, St. Ambrose introduced this practice to the West. In the Catholic Church and in some other religious bodies, Sacred Tradition is held as one infallible, inerrant source for teaching and doctrine on matters related to faith and morals. ... Statue of Hippolytus, 3rd century. ... Hallel (Hebrew: הלל Praise [God]) is part of Judaisms prayers, a verbatim recitation from Psalms 113-118, which is used for praise and thanksgiving that is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays. ... The Agape Feast was a love feast celebrated in apostolic times on any day, in addition to the Eucharist. ... Saint Anthony the Great (251 - 356), also known as Saint Anthony of Egypt, Saint Anthony of the Desert, Saint Anthony the Anchorite, and The Father of All Monks, was an Egyptian Christian saint and the outstanding leader among the Desert Fathers, who were Christian monks in the Egyptian desert in... This article is about the musical term. ... Saint Ambrose, (Latin: Sanctus Ambrosius, Ambrosius episcopus Mediolanensis; Italian: SantAmbrogio) (c. ...

Scholars are still debating how plainchant developed during the 5th through the 9th centuries, as information from this period is scarce. Around 410, St. Augustine described the responsorial singing of a Gradual psalm at Mass. Around 678, Roman chant was taught at York.^[9] Distinctive regional traditions of Western plainchant arose during this period, notably in the British Isles (Celtic chant), Spain (Mozarabic), Gaul (Gallican), and Italy (Roman, Old Roman, Ambrosian and Beneventan). These traditions may have evolved from a hypothetical year-round repertory of 5th-century plainchant after the western Roman Empire collapsed. For the first Archbishop of Canterbury, see Saint Augustine of Canterbury. ... A responsory is a type of chant in Christian liturgies that involves one section singing a respond, answered by another section singing a verse, then the respond is sung again by the first section, followed by a different verse from the second, et al. ... The Gradual (Latin: graduale, sometimes called the Grail) is a chant in the Roman Catholic Mass, sung after the reading or singing of the Epistle and before the Alleluia, or, during penitential seasons, before the Tract. ... This article is about the historic English city. ... Celtic chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Celtic rite of the Roman Catholic Church performed in the British Isles and Brittany, related to but distinct from the Gregorian chant of the Sarum use of the Roman rite which officially supplanted it by the 12th century. ... Mozarabic chant (also known as Hispanic chant, Old Hispanic chant, Old Spanish chant, or Visigothic chant) is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Mozarabic rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to but distinct from Gregorian chant. ... Gallican chant refers to the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Gallican rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Gaul, prior to the introduction and development of elements of the Roman rite from which Gregorian chant evolved. ... Old Roman chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Roman rite of the Roman Catholic Church formerly performed in Rome, closely related to but distinct from the Gregorian chant which gradually supplanted between the 11th century and the 13th century. ... Ambrosian chant (also known as Milanese chant) is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Ambrosian rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to but distinct from Gregorian chant. ... Beneventan chant is a liturgical plainchant repertory of the Roman Catholic Church, used primarily in the orbit of the southern Italian ecclesiastical centers of Benevento and Montecassino, distinct from Gregorian chant and closely related to Ambrosian chant. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ...

Origins of the new tradition

According to legend, a dove representing the Holy Spirit inspired Pope Gregory I to dictate Gregorian chant.

The Gregorian repertory was systematized for use in the Roman Rite. According to James McKinnon, the core liturgy of the Roman Mass was compiled over a brief period in the late 7th century. Other scholars, including Andreas Pfisterer, have argued for an earlier origin. Image File history File links Gregory_I_-_Antiphonary_of_Hartker_of_Sankt_Gallen. ... Image File history File links Gregory_I_-_Antiphonary_of_Hartker_of_Sankt_Gallen. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ... Saint Gregory redirects here. ... Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article, refers to the sui juris particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church that developed in the area of western Europe and northern Africa where Latin was for many centuries the language of education and culture. ... James K. McKinnon (1932 - February 23, 1999) was an American musicologist most known for his work in the fields of Western plainchant, medieval and renaissance music, Latin liturgy and musical iconography. ...

Scholars debate whether the essentials of the melodies originated in Rome, before the 7th century, or in Francia, in the 8th and early 9th centuries. Traditionalists point to evidence supporting an important role for Pope Gregory the Great between 590 and 604, such as that presented in H. Bewerung's article in the Catholic Encyclopedia.^[10] Scholarly consensus, supported by Willi Apel and Robert Snow, asserts instead that Gregorian chant developed around 750 from a synthesis of Roman and Gallican chant commissioned by Carolingian rulers in France. During a visit to Gaul in 752-753, Pope Stephen II had celebrated Mass using Roman chant. According to Charlemagne, his father Pepin abolished the local Gallican rites in favor of the Roman use, in order to strengthen ties with Rome.^[11] In 785-786, at Charlemagne's request, Pope Hadrian I sent a papal sacramentary with Roman chants to the Carolingian court. This Roman chant was subsequently modified, influenced by local styles and Gallican chant, and later adapted into the system of eight modes. This Frankish-Roman Carolingian chant, augmented with new chants to complete the liturgical year, became known as "Gregorian." Originally the chant was probably so named to honor the contemporary Pope Gregory II,^[12] but later lore attributed the authorship of chant to his more famous predecessor Gregory the Great. Gregory was portrayed dictating plainchant inspired by a dove representing the Holy Spirit, giving Gregorian chant the stamp of holy authority. Gregory's authorship is popularly accepted as fact to this day.^[13] For other uses, see Franks (disambiguation). ... Saint Gregory redirects here. ... Willi Apel (October 10, 1893, Konitz (Chojnice) - March 14, 1988) was a Prussia-born American musicologist. ... Gallican chant refers to the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Gallican rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Gaul, prior to the introduction and development of elements of the Roman rite from which Gregorian chant evolved. ... Also see: France in the Middle Ages. ... Stephen, elected pope in March of 752 to succeed Pope Zacharias, died of apoplexy three days later, before being consecrated. ... For other uses of Mass, see Mass (disambiguation). ... A portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer that was painted several centuries after Charlemagnes death. ... Pippin the Younger Pippin the Younger or Pepin[1] (714 – September 24, 768), often known under the mistranslation Pippin the Short or the ordinal Pippin III, was the king of the Franks from 751 to 768 and is best known for being the father of Charlemagne, or Charles the Great. ... The Gallican Rite is a historical sub-grouping of Christianity in western Europe; it is not a single rite but actually a family of rites within the Western Rite which comprised the majority use of most of Christianity in western Europe for the greater part of the 1st millennium AD... Charlemagne comes to the aid of Pope Adrian I Adrian, or Hadrian I, (died December 25, 795) was pope from 772 to 795. ... Sacramentary was a musical service book, containing the prayers that were recited by the celebrant during the mass. ... In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. ... Saint Gregory II, pope from 715 or 716 to February 11, 731, succeeded Pope Constantine, his election being variously dated May 19, 715, and March 21, 716. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ...

Dissemination and hegemony

Gregorian chant appeared in a remarkably uniform state across Europe within a short time. Charlemagne, once elevated to Holy Roman Emperor, aggressively spread Gregorian chant throughout his empire to consolidate religious and secular power, requiring the clergy to use the new repertory on pain of death.^[14] From English and German sources, Gregorian chant spread north to Scandinavia, Iceland and Finland.^[15] In 885, Pope Stephen V banned the Slavonic liturgy, leading to the ascendancy of Gregorian chant in Eastern Catholic lands including Poland, Moravia, Slovakia, and Austria. The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... Stephen V, Pope from June 816-January 817, succeeded Leo III, whose policy he continued. ... Page from the Spiridon Psalter in Church Slavonic. ... Flag of Moravia Moravia (Czech and Slovak: Morava; German: ; Hungarian: ; Polish: ) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic. ...

The other plainchant repertories of the Christian West faced severe competition from the new Gregorian chant. Charlemagne continued his father's policy of favoring the Roman Rite over the local Gallican traditions. By the 9th century the Gallican rite and chant had effectively been eliminated, although not without local resistance.^[16] The Gregorian chant of the Sarum Rite displaced Celtic chant. Gregorian coexisted with Beneventan chant for over a century before Beneventan chant was abolished by papal decree (1058). Mozarabic chant survived the influx of the Visigoths and Moors, but not the Roman-backed prelates newly installed in Spain during the Reconquista. Restricted to a handful of dedicated chapels, modern Mozarabic chant is highly Gregorianized and bears no musical resemblance to its original form. Ambrosian chant alone survived to the present day, preserved in Milan due to the musical reputation and ecclesiastical authority of St. Ambrose. The Sarum Rite, more properly called the Sarum Use, was a variant of the Latin Rite practiced in Great Britain & Ireland from the late 11th Century until the Reformation. ... Celtic chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Celtic rite of the Roman Catholic Church performed in the British Isles and Brittany, related to but distinct from the Gregorian chant of the Sarum use of the Roman rite which officially supplanted it by the 12th century. ... Beneventan chant is a liturgical plainchant repertory of the Roman Catholic Church, used primarily in the orbit of the southern Italian ecclesiastical centers of Benevento and Montecassino, distinct from Gregorian chant and closely related to Ambrosian chant. ... Mozarabic chant (also known as Hispanic chant, Old Hispanic chant, Old Spanish chant, or Visigothic chant) is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Mozarabic rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to but distinct from Gregorian chant. ... The Visigoths, originally Tervingi, or Vesi (the noble ones), one of the two main branches of the Goths (of which the Ostrogothi were the other), were one of the loosely-termed Germanic peoples that disturbed the late Roman Empire. ... Moorish Ambassador to Queen Isabella I of Castile The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including present day Spain and Portugal) and the Maghreb and western Africa, whose culture is often called Moorish. ... For other senses of this word, see Reconquista (disambiguation). ... Ambrosian chant (also known as Milanese chant) is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Ambrosian rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to but distinct from Gregorian chant. ... Milano redirects here. ... Saint Ambrose, (Latin: Sanctus Ambrosius, Ambrosius episcopus Mediolanensis; Italian: SantAmbrogio) (c. ...

Gregorian chant eventually replaced the local chant tradition of Rome itself, which is now known as Old Roman chant. In the 10th century, virtually no musical manuscripts were being notated in Italy. Instead, Roman Popes imported Gregorian chant from the German Holy Roman Emperors during the 10th and 11th centuries. For example, the Credo was added to the Roman Rite at the behest of the German emperor Henry II in 1014.^[17] Reinforced by the legend of Pope Gregory, Gregorian chant was taken to be the authentic, original chant of Rome, a misconception that continues to this day. By the 12th and 13th centuries, Gregorian chant had supplanted or marginalized all the other Western plainchant traditions. Old Roman chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Roman rite of the Roman Catholic Church formerly performed in Rome, closely related to but distinct from the Gregorian chant which gradually supplanted between the 11th century and the 13th century. ... In Latin, the word credo means I believe. ... Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article, refers to the sui juris particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church that developed in the area of western Europe and northern Africa where Latin was for many centuries the language of education and culture. ... Henry II of Germany (972 - 13 July 1024), was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty. ...

Later sources of these other chant traditions show an increasing Gregorian influence, such as occasional efforts to categorize their chants into the Gregorian modes. Similarly, the Gregorian repertory incorporated elements of these lost plainchant traditions, which can be identified by careful stylistic and historical analysis. For example, the Improperia of Good Friday are believed to be a remnant of the Gallican repertory.^[18] In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. ... The Improperia are a series of antiphons and responses, expressing the remonstrance of Jesus Christ with His people In the Catholic liturgy they are sung on the morning of the Good Friday in place of the daily Mass. ... Good Friday is a holy day celebrated by most Christians on the Friday before Easter or Pascha. ...

Early sources and later revisions

The first extant sources with musical notation were written in the 9th century. Before this, plainchant had been transmitted orally. Most scholars of Gregorian chant agree that the development of music notation assisted the dissemination of chant across Europe. Only a few notated manuscripts survive—primarily from Regensburg in Germany, St. Gall in Switzerland, and Laon and St. Martial in France. Regensburg (also Ratisbon, Latin Ratisbona) is a city (population 129,175 in 2005) in Bavaria, south-east Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. ... Abbey of St. ... Laon is a city and commune of France, préfecture (capital) of the Aisne département. ... The Abbey of St. ...

Gregorian chant has undergone a series of redactions, usually in the name of restoring the allegedly corrupted chant to a hypothetical "original" state. Early Gregorian chant was revised to conform to the theoretical structure of the modes. In 1562–63, the Council of Trent banned most sequences. Guidette's Directorium chori, published in 1582, and the Editio medicaea, published in 1614, drastically revised what was perceived as corrupt and flawed "barbarism" by making the chants conform to contemporary aesthetic standards.^[19] In 1811, the French musicologist Alexandre-Étienne Choron, as part of a conservative backlash following the liberal Catholic orders' inefficacy during the French Revolution, called for returning to the "purer" Gregorian chant of Rome over French corruptions.^[20] In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. ... The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ... In Latin poetry, a sequence (Latin sequentia) is a poem written in a non-classical metre, often on a sacred Christian subject. ... Alexandre-Étienne Choron (Caen 21 October 1771 — Paris 29 June 1834) was a French musicologist, who played an essential role in distinguishing sacred from secular music and was at the origin of the study of the history of music. ... The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a vital period in the history of France and Europe as a whole. ...

In the late 19th century, early liturgical and musical manuscripts were unearthed and edited. In 1871, the Medicean edition of Gregorian chant was reprinted, which Pope Pius IX declared the only official version. In 1889, the monks of Solesmes released a competing edition, the Paléographie musicale, which sought to present the original medieval melodies. This reconstructed chant was academically praised, but rejected by Rome until 1903, when Pope Leo XIII died. His successor, Pope Pius X, promptly accepted the Solesmes chant—now compiled as the Liber usualis—as authoritative. In 1904, the Vatican edition of the Solesmes chant was commissioned. Serious academic debates arose, primarily owing to stylistic liberties taken by the Solesmes editors to impose their controversial interpretation of rhythm. The Solesmes editions insert phrasing marks and note-lengthening episema and mora marks not found in the original sources. Conversely, they omit significative letters found in the original sources, which give instructions for rhythm and articulation such as speeding up or slowing down. This editorializing has placed the historical authenticity of the Solesmes interpretation in doubt.^[21] Blessed Pope Pius IX (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from his election in June 16, 1846, until his death more than 31 years later in 1878, making him the longest-reigning Pope since the Apostle St. ... Abbey St. ... Pope Leo XIII (March 2, 1810 – July 20, 1903), born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having succeeded Pope Pius IX (1846–78) on February 20, 1878 and reigning until his death in 1903. ... Pope Saint Pius X ( Latin: ) (June 2, 1835 — August 20, 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was Pope from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903). ... The Liber usualis is a book of commonly-used Gregorian chants compiled by the monks of the Abbey of Solesmes in France. ...

In his motu proprio Tra le sollicitudine, Pius X mandated the use of Gregorian chant, encouraging the faithful to sing the Ordinary of the Mass, although he reserved the singing of the Propers for males. While this custom is maintained in traditionalist Catholic communities, the Catholic Church no longer persists with this ban. Vatican II officially allowed worshipers to substitute other music, particularly modern music in the vernacular, in place of Gregorian chant, although it did reaffirm that Gregorian chant was still the official music of the Catholic Church, and the music most suitable for worship.^[2] Tra le sollicitudine was a motu proprio issued in 1903 by Pope Pius X, in which the Pope set forth new regulations for the performance of music in the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Ordinary of the Mass (Latin: Ordo Missae) is the set of texts of the Roman Catholic Church Latin Rite Mass that are generally invariable. ... The Proper (Latin proprium) is that part of the Christian liturgy that varies according to the date, either representing an observance within the Liturgical Year, or of a particular saint or significant event. ... A 1950s Low Mass in Bohermeen, Ireland in the presence of a bishop and several priests and with the altar arranged for Eucharistic devotions to follow The terms traditionalist Catholic and Traditional Catholic are used to refer to Roman Catholics who want the forms of worship and customs that prevailed... The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ...

Musical form

Melodic types

Gregorian chants are categorized into three melodic types based on the number of pitches sung to each syllable. Syllabic chants have primarily one note per syllable. In neumatic chants, two or three notes per syllable predominate, while melismatic chants have syllables that are sung to a long series of notes, ranging from five or six notes per syllable to over sixty in the more prolix melismas.^[22] In music, melisma (commonly known as vocal runs or simply runs) is the technique of changing the note (pitch) of a syllable of text while it is being sung. ...

Gregorian chants fall into two broad categories of melody: recitatives and free melodies.^[23] The simplest kind of melody is the liturgical recitative. Recitative melodies are dominated by a single pitch, called the reciting tone. Other pitches appear in melodic formulae for incipits, partial cadences, and full cadences. These chants are primarily syllabic. For example, the Collect for Easter consists of 127 syllables sung to 131 pitches, with 108 of these pitches being the reciting note A and the other 23 pitches flexing down to G.^[24] Liturgical recitatives are commonly found in the accentus chants of the liturgy, such as the intonations of the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel during the Mass, and in the direct psalmody of the Office. Recitative, a form of composition often used in operas, oratorios, cantatas and similar works, is described as a melodic speech set to music, or a descriptive narrative song in which the music follows the words. ... In the church modes of Gregorian chant the reciting tone (also dominant, tenor, tubae) is the melodic formula used for reciting psalm tones. ... The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is its first few words. ... In Western musical theory a cadence (Latin cadentia, a falling) is a particular series of intervals or chords that ends a phrase, section, or piece of music. ... In Christian liturgy, a collect is both a liturgical action and a short, general prayer. ... Easter, also known as Pascha (Greek Πάσχα: Passover), the Feast of the Resurrection, the Sunday of the Resurrection, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed between late March and late April (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity). ... Accentus Ecclesiasticus is a Church music term, the counterpart of concentus. ... An epistle (Greek επιστολη, epistolÄ“, letter) is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of persons, usually a letter and a very formal, often didactic and elegant one. ... For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... For other uses of Mass, see Mass (disambiguation). ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. ...

Psalmodic chants, which intone psalms, include both recitatives and free melodies. Psalmodic chants include direct psalmody , antiphonal chants, and responsorial chants.^[25] In direct psalmody, psalm verses are sung without refrains to simple, formulaic tones. Most psalmodic chants are antiphonal and responsorial, sung to free melodies of varying complexity. Image File history File links Epistle_for_the_Solemn_Mass_of_Easter_Day. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ... Psalms (Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh. ...

Missal with Gregorian chants

Antiphonal chants such as the Introit, Offertory, and Communion originally referred to chants in which two choirs sang in alternation, one choir singing verses of a psalm, the other singing a refrain called an antiphon. Over time, the verses were reduced in number, usually to just one psalm verse and the Doxology, or even omitted entirely. Antiphonal chants reflect their ancient origins as elaborate recitatives through the reciting tones in their melodies. Ordinary chants, such as the Kyrie and Gloria, are not considered antiphonal chants, although they are often performed in antiphonal style. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 460 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gregorian chant Antiphonary Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 460 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gregorian chant Antiphonary Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... The introit (Latin: introitus, entrance) is part of the opening of the celebration of the Mass. ... Offertory (from the ecclesiastical Latin offertorium, French offertoire, a place to which offerings were brought), the alms of a congregation collected in church, or at any religious service. ... The Communion is the Gregorian chant sung during the Eucharist in the Roman Mass. ... This article is about the musical term. ... A doxology (from the Greek doxa, glory + logos, word or speaking) is a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. ... Kyrie is the vocative case of the Greek word κύριος (kyrios - lord) and means O Lord; it is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called Kyrie eleison. ... Gloria may be: Gloria (song), any one of several songs from the history of popular music Gloria in Excelsis Deo, the main doxology of the Roman Catholic Mass Vivaldis Gloria, a musical setting of the doxology Gloria Patri, a relatively short, common doxology Gloria, Oriental Mindoro, a municipality in...

Responsorial chants such as the Gradual, Tract, Alleluia, and the Office Responsories originally consisted of a refrain called a respond sung by a choir, alternating with psalm verses sung by a soloist. Responsorial chants are often composed of an amalgamation of various stock musical phrases, pieced together in a practice called centonization. Although the Tracts lost their responds, they are strongly centonized. Image File history File links Loquetur_Dominus. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ... The Gradual (Latin: graduale, sometimes called the Grail) is a chant in the Roman Catholic Mass, sung after the reading or singing of the Epistle and before the Alleluia, or, during penitential seasons, before the Tract. ... poop ... Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia, is a transliteration of the Hebrew word הַלְלוּיָהּ meaning [Let us] praise (הַלְלוּ) God (יָהּ) (or Praise (הַלְלוּ) [the] Lord (&#1497... A responsory is a type of chant in Christian liturgies that involves one section singing a respond, answered by another section singing a verse, then the respond is sung again by the first section, followed by a different verse from the second, et al. ... Centonization refers to the practice of composing melodies based on pre-existing melodic figures and formulas. ...

Gregorian chant evolved to fulfill various functions in the Roman Catholic liturgy. Broadly speaking, liturgical recitatives are used for texts intoned by deacons or priests. Antiphonal chants accompany liturgical actions: the entrance of the officiant, the collection of offerings, and the distribution of sanctified bread and wine. Responsorial chants expand on readings and lessons.^[26] Image File history File links De_profundis. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ...

The non-psalmodic chants, including the Ordinary of the Mass, sequences, and hymns, were originally intended for congregational singing.^[27] The structure of their texts largely defines their musical style. In sequences, the same melodic phrase is repeated in each couplet. The strophic texts of hymns use the same syllabic melody for each stanza. The Ordinary of the Mass (Latin: Ordo Missae) is the set of texts of the Roman Catholic Church Latin Rite Mass that are generally invariable. ... In Latin poetry, a sequence (Latin sequentia) is a poem written in a non-classical metre, often on a sacred Christian subject. ... A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ...

Modality

Main article: Musical mode

Early plainchant, like much of Western music, is believed to have been distinguished by the use of the diatonic scale, possibly developing from an earlier pentatonic scale. Around 1025, Guido d'Arezzo revolutionized Western music with the development of the gamut, in which pitches in the singing range were organized into overlapping hexachords. Hexachords could be built on C (the natural hexachord, C-D-E^F-G-A), F (the soft hexachord, using a B-flat, F-G-A^Bb-C-D), or G (the hard hexachord, using a B-natural, G-A-B^C-D-E). The B-flat was an integral part of the system of hexachords rather than an accidental. The use of notes outside of this collection was described as musica ficta. In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. ... In music theory, a diatonic scale (from the Greek diatonikos, to stretch out; also known as the heptatonia prima; set form 7-35) is a seven-note musical scale comprising five whole-tone and two half-tone steps, in which the half tones are maximally separated. ... In music, a pentatonic scale is a scale with five notes per octave. ... Guido of Arezzo or Guido Monaco (995-1050) is regarded as the inventor of modern musical notation (staff notation) that replaced neumatic notation. ... In music, a hexachord is a collection of six tones. ... An accidental is a musical notation symbol used to raise or lower the pitch of a note from that indicated by the key signature. ... In European music prior to about 1600, musica ficta (from Latin, false or feigned music) referred to chromatically altered pitches, not notated in the music, which were to be supplied by singers. ...

Gregorian chant was categorized into eight modes, influenced by the eightfold division of Byzantine chants called the oktoechos.^[28] Each mode is distinguished by its final, dominant, and ambitus. The final is the ending note, which is usually an important note in the overall structure of the melody. The dominant is a secondary pitch that usually serves as a reciting tone in the melody. Ambitus refers to the range of pitches used in the melody. Melodies whose final is in the middle of the ambitus, or which have only a limited ambitus, are categorized as plagal, while melodies whose final is in the lower end of the ambitus and have a range of over five or six notes are categorized as authentic. Although corresponding plagal and authentic modes have the same final, they have different dominants.^[29] The names, rarely used in medieval times, derive from a misunderstanding of the Ancient Greek modes; the prefix "Hypo-" indicates corresponding plagal modes. In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. ... Octoechos (8 echos) is the fundamental structure for classifying and describing modes in byzantine music. ... In the church modes of Gregorian chant the reciting tone (also dominant, tenor, tubae) is the melodic formula used for reciting psalm tones. ... The ambitus of a Gregorian chant is the range, or the distance between the highest and lowest note. ...

Modes 1 and 2 are the authentic and plagal modes ending on D, sometimes called Dorian and Hypodorian.

Modes 3 and 4 are the authentic and plagal modes ending on E, sometimes called Phrygian and Hypophrygian.

Modes 5 and 6 are the authentic and plagal modes ending on F, sometimes called Lydian and Hypolydian.

Modes 7 and 8 are the authentic and plagal modes ending on G, sometimes called Mixolydian and Hypomixolydian.

Although the modes with melodies ending on A, B, and C are sometimes referred to as Aeolian, Locrian, and Ionian, these are not considered distinct modes, and are treated as transpositions of whichever mode uses the same set of hexachords. The actual pitch of the Gregorian chant is not fixed, so the piece can be sung in whichever range is most comfortable. Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales. ... The hypodorian mode, literally meaning below dorian, is a musical mode or diatonic scale of ancient Greece that was based upon the dorian tetrachord: a series of rising intervals of a semitone followed by two whole tones. ... Due to historical confusion, Phrygian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales. ... The Hypophrygian mode, literally meaning below Phrygian, is a musical mode or diatonic scale of ancient Greece that was based upon the Phrygian tetrachord: a series of rising intervals of a whole tone, followed by a semitone, followed by another whole tone. ... Alydiancreation 16:29, 24 December 2006 (UTC)Due to historical confusion, Lydian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales. ... The Hypolydian mode, literally meaning below Lydian, is a musical mode or diatonic scale of ancient Greece that was based upon the Lydian tetrachord: a series of rising intervals of two whole tones followed by a semitone. ... The Mixolydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. ... The Mixolydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. ... The aeolian mode comprises a musical mode or diatonic scale. ... The Locrian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. ... The Ionian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. ... In music transposition is moving a note or collection of notes (or pitches) up or down in pitch by a constant interval. ...

Certain classes of Gregorian chant have a separate musical formula for each mode, allowing one section of the chant to transition smoothly into the next section, such as the psalm tones between antiphons and psalm verses.^[30] In chant, a reciting tone (also called a recitation tone) is a repeated musical pitch around which the other pitches of the chant gravitate, or by extension, the entire melodic formula that centers on one or two such pitches. ...

Not every Gregorian chant fits neatly into Guido's hexachords or into the system of eight modes. For example, there are chants—especially from German sources—whose neumes suggest a warbling of pitches between the notes E and F, outside the hexachord system.^[31] Early Gregorian chant, like Ambrosian and Old Roman chant, whose melodies are most closely related to Gregorian, did not use the modal system.^[32] As the modal system gained acceptance, Gregorian chants were edited to conform to the modes, especially during 12th-century Cistercian reforms. Finals were altered, melodic ranges reduced, melismas trimmed, B-flats eliminated, and repeated words removed.^[33] Despite these attempts to impose modal consistency, some chants—notably Communions—defy simple modal assignment. For example, in four medieval manuscripts, the Communion Circuibo was transcribed using a different mode in each.^[34] The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Ambrosian chant (also known as Milanese chant) is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Ambrosian rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to but distinct from Gregorian chant. ... Old Roman chant is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Roman rite of the Roman Catholic Church formerly performed in Rome, closely related to but distinct from the Gregorian chant which gradually supplanted between the 11th century and the 13th century. ... The Order of Cistercians (OCist) (Latin Cistercenses), otherwise Gimey or White Monks (from the colour of the habit, over which is worn a black scapular or apron) are a Catholic order of monks. ...

Musical idiom

Several features besides modality contribute to the musical idiom of Gregorian chant, giving it a distinctive musical flavor. Melodic motion is primarily stepwise. Skips of a third are common, and larger skips far more common than in other plainchant repertories such as Ambrosian chant or Beneventan chant. Gregorian melodies are more likely to traverse a seventh than a full octave, so that melodies rarely travel from D up to the D an octave higher, but often travel from D to the C a seventh higher, using such patterns as D-F-G-A-C.^[35] Gregorian melodies often explore chains of pitches, such as F-A-C, around which the other notes of the chant gravitate.^[36] Within each mode, certain incipits and cadences are preferred, which the modal theory alone does not explain. Chants often display complex internal structures that combine and repeat musical subphrases. This occurs notably in the Offertories; in chants with shorter, repeating texts such as the Kyrie and Agnus Dei; and in longer chants with clear textual divisions such as the Great Responsories, the Gloria, and the Credo.^[37] In music, a step is a linear or succesive interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees. ... Ambrosian chant (also known as Milanese chant) is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Ambrosian rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to but distinct from Gregorian chant. ... Beneventan chant is a liturgical plainchant repertory of the Roman Catholic Church, used primarily in the orbit of the southern Italian ecclesiastical centers of Benevento and Montecassino, distinct from Gregorian chant and closely related to Ambrosian chant. ... Offertory (from the ecclesiastical Latin offertorium, French offertoire, a place to which offerings were brought), the alms of a congregation collected in church, or at any religious service. ... Kyrie is the vocative case of the Greek word κύριος (kyrios - lord) and means O Lord; it is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called Kyrie eleison. ... Agnus Dei is a Latin term meaning Lamb of God, and was originally used to refer to Jesus Christ in his role of the perfect sacrificial offering that atones for the sins of man in Christian theology, harkening back to ancient Jewish Temple sacrifices. ... Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Latin for Glory to God on High) is the title and beginning of the great doxology (song of praise) used in the Roman Catholic Mass and, in translation, in the services of many other Christian churches. ... In Latin, the word credo means I believe. ...

Chants sometimes fall into melodically related groups. The musical phrases centonized to create Graduals and Tracts follow a musical "grammar" of sorts. Certain phrases are used only at the beginnings of chants, or only at the end, or only in certain combinations, creating musical families of chants such as the Iustus ut palma family of Graduals.^[38] Several Introits in mode 3, including Loquetur Dominus above, exhibit melodic similarities. Mode 3 chants have C as a dominant, so C is the expected reciting tone. These mode 3 Introits, however, use both G and C as reciting tones, and often begin with a decorated leap from G to C to establish this tonality.^[39] Similar examples exist throughout the repertory. Centonization refers to the practice of composing melodies based on pre-existing melodic figures and formulas. ... The Gradual (Latin: graduale, sometimes called the Grail) is a chant in the Roman Catholic Mass, sung after the reading or singing of the Epistle and before the Alleluia, or, during penitential seasons, before the Tract. ... poop ... Iustus ut palma (also transliterated as Justus ut palma) is the title of a number of sacred choral works which use Psalm 91:13 in the Latin Vulgate as lyrics. ... The introit (Latin: introitus, entrance) is part of the opening of the celebration of the Mass. ...

Notation

Main article: Neume

Iubilate deo universa terra shows psalm verses in unheightened neumes.

The earliest notated sources of Gregorian chant used symbols called neumes to indicate changes in pitch and duration within each syllable, but not the specific pitches of individual notes, nor the relative starting pitches of each neume. Scholars postulate that this practice may have been derived from cheironomic hand-gestures, the ekphonetic notation of Byzantine chant, punctuation marks, or diacritical accents.^[40] Later innovations included the use of heightened or diastemic neumes showing the relative pitches between neumes, and a musical staff marking one line with a particular pitch, usually C or F. Additional symbols developed, such as the custos, placed at the end of a system to show the next pitch. Other symbols indicated changes in articulation, duration, or tempo, such as a letter "t" to indicate a tenuto. Another form of early notation used a system of letters corresponding to different pitches, much as Shaker music is notated. The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1184x740, 150 KB) Example of early neumes. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1184x740, 150 KB) Example of early neumes. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Tomb painting depicting ancient Egyptian cheironomy. ... Ekphonetic notation consists of symbols added to certain sacred texts, especially lectionary readings of Biblical texts, as a mnemonic device to assist in their cantillation. ... Byzantine music is the music of the Byzantine Empire and by extension the music of its culture(s) as they continued in the Orthodox Christian parts of the population after the fall of the empire to the rule of the Ottoman Empire. ... A tenuto marking on an individual note Tenuto (Italian, past participle of tenere to hold) is a direction used in musical notation. ... The Shakers, a Protestant religious denomination, originated in Manchester, England in 1772 under the leadership of Mother Ann Lee, who moved the 9-person group to the United States in 1774, where they built 19 communal settlements that attracted over the next century some 200,000 converts. ...

The Liber usualis uses square notation, as in this excerpt from the Kyrie eleison (Orbis factor).

By the 13th century, the neumes of Gregorian chant were usually written in square notation on a four-line staff with a clef, as in the Graduale Aboense pictured above. In square notation, small groups of ascending notes on a syllable are shown as stacked squares, read from bottom to top, while descending notes are written with diamonds read from left to right. When a syllable has a large number of notes, a series of smaller such groups of neumes are written in succession, read from left to right. The oriscus, quilisma, and liquescent neumes indicate special vocal treatments, whose exact nature is unconfirmed. B-flat is indicated by a "soft b" placed to the left of the entire neume in which the note occurs, as shown in the "Kyrie" to the right. When necessary, a "hard b" with a descender indicates B-natural. This system of square notation is standard in modern chantbooks. Image File history File links Sample of Gregorian chant; Kyrie orbis factor File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Performance

Texture

Chant was traditionally reserved for men, as it was originally sung by the all-male clergy during the Mass and the prayers of the Office. Outside the larger cities, the number of available clergy dropped, and lay men started singing these parts. In convents, women were permitted to sing the Mass and Office as a function of their consecrated life, but the choir was still considered an official liturgical duty reserved to clergy, so lay women were not allowed to sing in the Schola cantorum or other choirs.^[41] For other uses of Mass, see Mass (disambiguation). ... Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. ... This article is about an abbey as a religious building. ... Schola Cantorum founded in 1894 in France by Vincent dIndy, was devoted to early music, and was an alternative to the Paris Conservatoire. ...

Chant was normally sung in unison. Later innovations included tropes, extra words or notes added to a chant, and organum, improvisational harmonies focusing on octaves, fifths, fourths, and, later, thirds. Neither tropes nor organum, however, belong to the chant repertory proper. The main exception to this is the sequence, whose origins lay in troping the extended melisma of Alleluia chants known as the jubilus, but the sequences, like the tropes, were later officially suppressed. The Council of Trent struck sequences from the Gregorian corpus, except those for Easter, Pentecost, Corpus Christi and All Souls' Day. A trope is a rhetorical figure of speech that consists of a play on words, i. ... Organum (pronounced , though the stress is now sometimes incorrectly put on the second syllable) is a technique of singing developed in the Middle Ages, and is an early form of polyphonic music. ... In music, melisma (commonly known as vocal runs or simply runs) is the technique of changing the note (pitch) of a syllable of text while it is being sung. ... Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia, is a transliteration of the Hebrew word הַלְלוּיָהּ meaning [Let us] praise (הַלְלוּ) God (יָהּ) (or Praise (הַלְלוּ) [the] Lord (&#1497... The jubilus (plural jubili) is the long melisma placed on the final syllable of the Alleluia as it is sung in the Gregorian chant. ... The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Easter, also known as Pascha (Greek Πάσχα: Passover), the Feast of the Resurrection, the Sunday of the Resurrection, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed between late March and late April (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity). ... Pentecost (symbolically related to the Jewish festival of Shavuot) is a feast on the Christian liturgical calendar that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, and the followers (men and women) of Jesus, fifty days (seven weeks) after Easter, and ten days after Ascension Thursday. ... Corpus Christi celebrations in Antigua Guatemala, 14 June, 1979 Corpus Christi (Latin: Body of Christ) in Catholicism is a religious feast celebrated by Roman Catholics on the eighth Thursday after Easter, i. ... All Souls Day (also the Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of the Faithful Departed; formal Catholic name: Commemoratio omnium Fidelium Defunctorum (Latin), Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed), also called Defuncts Day in Mexico and Belgium, is the day set apart in Western Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church but...

We do not know much about the particular vocal stylings or performance practices used for Gregorian chant in the Middle Ages. On occasion, the clergy was urged to have their singers perform with more restraint and piety. This suggests that virtuosic performances occurred, contrary to the modern stereotype of Gregorian chant as slow-moving mood music. This tension between musicality and piety goes far back; Gre