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. Unlike other chant traditions such as Ambrosian chant, Mozarabic chant, and Gallican chant, Old Roman chant and Gregorian chant share essentially the same liturgy and the same texts, and many of their melodies are closely related. Although primarily associated with the churches of Rome, Old Roman chant was also performed in parts of central Italy and possibly even in Great Britain and Ireland. Broadly speaking, plainsong is the name given to the body of traditional songs used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. ... 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. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC (mythical), early 1st millennium BC (archaeological) Region Latium Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... Gregorian chant is also known as plainchant or plainsong and is a form of monophonic, unaccompanied singing, which was developed in the Catholic church, mainly during the period 800-1000. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... 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. ...

History

The chant which we now call "Old Roman" comes primarily from a small number of sources, including three graduals and two antiphoners from between 1071 and 1250. Although these are later than many notated sources from other chant traditions, this chant is called "Old Roman" because it is believed to reflect an oral tradition going back several centuries, which was used in Rome before Gregorian chant replaced it. 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. ... Events Byzantine Empire loses Battle of Manzikert to Turkish army under Alp Arslan. ... Events December 13 - Death of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IX of France is captured by Muslims and has to ransom himself Mabinogion appears Albertus Magnus isolates the element arsenic Vincent of Beauvais writes proto-encyclopedic The Greater Mirror City of Stockholm founded Alphonso III of Portugal takes Algarve...

There are several theories concerning the origins of Gregorian and Old Roman chant, but one prominent hypothesis, supported by Apel and Snow, posits that both chant traditions derive from a common Roman ancestor in use circa 750 CE. In order to consolidate ecclesiastical power and strengthen their political ties to the power of the Roman church, the Franks, especially under the Carolingian rulers Pepin and Charlemagne, brought this older Roman chant north. There it was subsequently modified, influenced by local styles and Gallican chant, and categorized into the system of eight modes. This Carolingian, or Frankish-Roman, chant, became known as "Gregorian." In the meantime, the local chant remaining in Rome gradually evolved into the form in which it was eventually notated, just at the time that Gregorian was supplanting it in Rome. Events Last Umayyad caliph Marwan II (744-750) overthrown by first Abbasid caliph, Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah Bold textItalic textLink title GARY CANT SWIM GARY CANT SWIM GARY CANT SWIM GARY CANT SWIM GARY CANT SWIM GARY CANT SWIM GARY CANT SWIM... For other uses, see Franks (disambiguation). ... Also see: France in the Middle Ages. ... Pippin the Younger (714-September 24, 768) often known under the mistranslation Pippin the Short (French, Pépin le Bref; German, Pippin der Kleine, Pippin der Kurze, Pippin der Jüngere), was a King of the Franks (751-768). ... Charlemagne (742 or 747 – 28 January 814) (also Charles the Great[1]; from Latin, Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus), son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, was the king of the Franks from 768 to 814 and king of the Lombards from 774 to 814. ... This article is about modes as used in music. ...

Another theory suggests that what we now call "Old Roman" chant reflected the use in the city churches in Rome, as opposed to the chants used in the Vatican for papal ceremonies, and that it was the latter that was brought north and evolved into Gregorian chant. This would explain the discrepancies between early Gregorian chant and the local Roman chant which were noticed even during the Middle Ages. However, this remains a minority view. The Pope (from Greek: pappas, father; from Latin: papa, Papa, father) is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

In the case of other defunct chant traditions, such as the Gallican, Mozarabic, and Beneventan, it is understandable that Roman hegemony would have supported the suppression of alternate liturgies and chant traditions. The suppression of the local chant of Rome itself would seem to require some other explanation. Several factors influenced this. In the 10th century, virtually no musical manuscripts were being notated in Italy. A pattern developed wherein Roman Popes imported 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. The local musical traditions in Rome had already been showing some Gregorian influence, and eventually the Gregorian was taken to be the the authentic, original chant of Rome, a misconception that continues to this day. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... 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. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... 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. ... Events February 14 - Pope Benedict VIII recognizes Henry of Bavaria as King of Germany July 29 - Battle of Kleidion: Basil II inflicts not only a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, but his subsequent savage treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of shock...

General characteristics

Old Roman chant is largely defined by its role in the liturgy of the Roman rite, as distinguised from the northern "Gallic" liturgies such as the Gallican rite and the Ambrosian rite. Gregorian and Old Roman chant largely share the same liturgy, but Old Roman chant does not reflect some of the Carolingian changes made to the Roman liturgy. Both an Old Roman and a Gregorian version exist for most chants of the liturgy, using the same text in all but forty chants, with corresponding chants often using related melodies. The split between Gregorian and Old Roman appears to have taken place after 800, since the feast of All Saints, a relatively late addition to the liturgical calendar, is markedly different between the two chant traditions. The Old Roman tradition appears to have preserved the texts conservatively; the Old Roman texts often resemble the earliest Carolingian sources more closely than the later Gregorian sources do. 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. ... 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... Ambrosian Rite (also sometimes called the Milanese rite) named after Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan in the fourth century, is a series of Catholic liturgical rites practised among Catholics in the greater part of the diocese of Milan (excluding notably the city of Monza), and neighbouring area, including some five...

Musically, there are a number of similarities between the Gregorian chants and their Old Roman counterparts. In addition to the similarities in texts noted above, corresponding Old Roman and Gregorian melodies often begin and end musical phrases at the same points. They use similar intonations for incipits, reciting tones, and cadences. Unlike most other chant traditions, they occasionally repeat words within a text, and the two traditions repeat such words in the same places. Corresponding chants in the two traditions are usually assigned to the same mode, although that appears to be the result of later Gregorian influence on the Old Roman repertory, as these analogous chants often have very distinct tonalities. The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is its first few words. ... In the church modes of Gregorian chant the reciting tone (also dominant, tenor, tubae) is the melodic formula used for reciting psalm tones. ... 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. ... Tonality is a system of writing music according to certain hierarchical pitch relationships around a center or tonic. ...

Related chants in the Gregorian and Old Roman repertories differ mostly in ornamentation and surface detail. Old Roman chants are much more stepwise and gently undulating than Gregorian chants. Skips, even of thirds, are much less common in Old Roman chants than Gregorian. Gregorian chants often have a pentatonic structure, reinforced by their skips, while Old Roman chants are simpler in structure but more ornate, with more individual notes. Old Roman chants have intricate melodic motion within a narrow ambitus, with small repeating melodic motifs, which are common in the Italian chant traditions such as the Ambrosian and Beneventan. Old Roman chants are often highly melismatic, with melismas blending into one another and obscuring the underlying melodic structure. In music, a pentatonic scale is a scale with five notes per octave. ... This article needs to be updated. ... In music, melisma is the technique of changing the note (pitch) of a syllable of text while it is being sung. ...

Chants of the Office

Less is known about the chants of the Office. There are only about half as many melodies among the Old Roman Responsories than in the Gregorian repertory. Originally, Old Roman Repertories repeated the respond in full after the verse. This practice survived for several of the major feasts. Most Old Roman Responsories repeat just a portion of the respond, a practice which was borrowed from the Gregorian convention. Vrtually no Hymns are found in the Old Roman Offices; the larger number of Hymns in the Gregorian Offices reflects the later influence of Benedictine rule. Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round (also called offices). Canonical hours also refer to the official set of prayer of the Roman Catholic Church that is known variously as the Divine Office (from... 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. ... A Benedictine is a person who follows the Rule of St Benedict. ...

Chants of the Mass

The Ordinary of the Mass appears to have been borrowed directly from the Gregorian repertory. The Proper chants of the Mass show some special characteristics. 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. ... The Eucharist or Communion or The Lords Supper, is the rite that Christians perform in fulfillment of Jesus instruction, recorded in the New Testament[1], to do in memory of him what he did at his Last Supper. ...

Introits in the Old Roman Mass retained the versus ad repetendum, a repeat of the verse, which had disappeared in Gregorian chant by the 11th century. Musically, Old Roman Introits resembled their Gregorian counterparts, although the neumatic passages were more ornate and the syllabic passages were simpler. The introit (Latin: introitus, entrance) is part of the opening of the celebration of the Mass. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ...

Some Old Roman Offertories used a repeating neume called the torculus, such as a repeating pattern of the notes D-E-C. This formula is one of the most distinctive musical formulae in the repertory. Some Offertories also include extended melismas of a style not found in any other chant or chant tradition. 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. ... Neumes are the basic elements of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of staff notation. ...

Old Roman Graduals fall into the same centonization families as their Gregorian counterparts, although with variations. For example, there is a family of Old Roman Graduals related to the Iustus ut palma family of Gregorian Graduals, which is named after one of the Gregorian Graduals that belongs to this family, but the Old Roman version of Iustus ut palma does not itself belong to this family. 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. ... Centonization refers to the practice of composing melodies based on pre-existing melodic figures and formulas. ...

Old Roman Alleluias have a melodia secunda or alleluia secundus, an elaborate repetition of the opening jubilus, similar to the Alleluia in Ambrosian chant. There are fewer distinct Alleluia melodies than in the Gregorian repertory, and unlike the Gregorian Alleluias, some Old Roman Alleluias have verses in Greek. Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia, is a transliteration of the Hebrew word הַלְלוּיָהּ meaning [Let us] praise (הַלְלוּ) God (יָהּ) (or Praise (הַלְלוּ) [the] Lord (יָהּ)). It is found mainly in the book of Psalms. ... 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. ...

External links

• Hucke, Helmutand Joseph Dyer: Old Roman Chant, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 12 May 2006), Grove Music - Access by subscription only

References

• Apel, Willi (1990). Gregorian Chant. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-20601-4.
• Hiley, David (1995). Western Plainchant: A Handbook. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-816572-2.
• Hoppin, Richard (1978). Medieval Music. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-09090-6.
• Snow, Robert (1990). The Old-Roman Chant. In Willi Apel, Gregorian Chant, pp. 484-505. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-20601-4
• Wilson, David (1990). Music of the Middle Ages. Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-02-872951-X.