A Word That Means Praise to the Lord - Essay Example

Teacher Plainchant One word jumped out from the stiff, old paper tucked in the pages of the book in hand. "Alleluia." A word that means "praise to the Lord" and a word used countless times in hymns of praise. The other words, written in old style calligraphy, were foreign, possibly Latin, and didn't have any close English resemblance. Following the one significant word, "Alleluia" and the idea of praise to God, the manuscript could be an example of the recorded music of its time. Considering the language (Latin) and the strange marks surrounding the words, the "time" would be way before music documentation as we know it today. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Alleluia was introduced into Western churches around the fourth century and sung in response to the reading of the psalms (Bewerunge, Henry. "Plain Chant."). However, it is generally believed that the official recording occurred in the eighth century when St. Gregory made the effort to compile his beloved church music. It is at this time that the neum, the name of the strange characters, came into existence. (Bewerunge, Henry. "Neum"). The Alleluia was a melismatic composition which means that there were complex notes and melodies carried out on one syllable. The manuscript shows the squiggles streaming after the "a" in "Alleluia" which would suggest that the sound of the "a" is prolonged in the melody. The marks indicate how the sounds are sung or modulated, that is, whether there are glides or trills for example. Accent signs such as the acutus (/) written from left to right over a syllable would indicate a rise in the melody and the gravis, drawn downwards () would be the opposite, to lower the note. The gravis was abbreviated over time to only a dot, or punctum, and as a result was used in combination with (Last Name) 2 other marks to determine the melody. For example, in the group scandicus it shows an ascending group of three or more notes, drawn from left to right, and in the group climacus (), a descending group of notes (Bewerunge, Henry. "Neum"). The Alleluia chant was first used at Easter Sunday, then extended for the entire Easter period, then, courtesy of St. Gregory, again extended for use during the entire year with the exception of the period before Lent (Bewerunge, Henry. "Plain Chant."). As a praise to God, it seems appropriate that it should be used more than one or two times a year. The Agnus Dei is another example of plainchant or Gregorian chant as it is commonly called. However, the neums have evolved into another form in order to further convey the musical meaning. The Catholic Encyclopedia translates the Latin words ""Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis" to "Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us" (Henry, Hugh. "Agnus Dei (in Liturgy)"). In Henry Hugh's same article, he states that the Agnus Dei is generally used toward the end of the service before the giving of the Holy Communion. He also mentions that it is also found at the end of litanies, with a slightly different wording and in Requiem Masses. Early Agnus Dei plainsongs were mostly syllabic, where each syllable was given its own note and were mostly sung during days of "penitential character" such as during Lent or Advent, except Good Friday and Holy Saturday (Henry, Hugh. "Agnus Dei (in Liturgy)"). This example of the Agnus Dei is more embellished, and it falls into the neumatic category, where two or more notes, are applied to one syllable. Sometimes up to a dozen notes are used in the neumatic form and it differs from the melismatic compositions where one will find a syllable carried for dozens of different notes. At the beginning of each four-line staff, there is a notation on the upper line and this tells what mode or key the piece will be in. In this case, it is the mode of C. The other popular mode was the key of F and later, the key of G was introduced. Bewerunge notes in his article in the (Last Name) 3 Catholic Encyclopedia, "Neum", that the neumatic notation "merely marked the rise and fall of the melody" but not how high or low. This created an issue for someone who did not know the melody to duplicate the sound of the original music. The introduction of the four-line staff, thanks to the Benedictine monk, Guido of Arezzo, enabled a better reproduction of the music. For modern day singers, it will be difficult to read this music as a time signature is absent. Plainchant is about rhythm, but how long is each note Each singer will have his or her own interpretation of a note's length. Because plainchant is sung without instruments, each singer must have a good "ear" or know what the musical intervals are. For example, the syllable "tol" carries two notes at a third interval and without practice, a singer could hit the wrong upper note and make the sound of the chorus seem out of tune. Although it is known to be in the key of C, it is still difficult to determine the pitch of the first note as the four-line staff doesn't have the current letter names of the today's five-line staff. Henry Hugh mentions in his article, "Agnus Dei (in Liturgy)", that the three line Agnus Dei is very symmetrical in nature. There are different versions of the music that follow various forms, for example a, b, c or a, b, a forms. This sample seems to fall into three different melodies for each line thus being an a, b, c form. There are similarities to be found in each line, however, where there is repetition of the descending notes. The descending notes for "lis" from "tollis" and the first "a" from "peccata" are repeated throughout, though not for the same words. This gives the verse variety and at the same time keeps it together. The "i" in "Dei" is always held over and so is the last note of each phrase, creating symmetry. Also interesting to note is that the note held is always before a change in singer. The chorus starts to sing after the "Dei" is held and after the chorus finishes and holds "nobis", the soloist again sings "Agnus Dei". Time passes and music changes, but the message has remained the same. Praise to God for the sacrifice made and for taking away the sins of the world. Work Cited Bewerunge, Henry and Henry Hugh. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 12 Oct. 2008 Read More