The Structure of the Liturgy and the Chant Traditions of the Middle Ages Music - Essay Example

The Structure of the Liturgy and the Chant Traditions of the Middle Ages Music Background Christian music has a rich history that has not been completely documented due to the great scope that it has against little information. Nevertheless, the little available information facilitates the acknowledgement of the richness that the evolution of church music and liturgy have to Christian practices. A fair attempt in revealing the delicate processes that are associated with ancient liturgical evolution can be obtained from different sources related to early Christianity practices on worship. Due to the lack of adequate information discussing the early Christian practices, other reliable sources such as Christian literature from which inferences can be drawn are of value. From the biblical literature on the early church, little information is presented on the nature of music that the apostles and early disciples took part in. Perhaps the most important literature containing a little more information on the kind of music and worship practices engaged by the early church is presented by church documents. Common literatures in the church orders include Didache, Apostolic Tradition, Didascalia of the Apostles, Apostolic Church Order, Apostolic Constitutions, Canons of Hippolytus and the Testamentum Domini1. Such texts were distributed around the regions where first Christian communities thrived before spreading over to the other regions. Other major Christian centers and cities have histories closely related to Christian practices including religious music and liturgical practices. From the general worship activities such as reading of the bible verses and prayers, music slowly became part of liturgical activities of the early church and still is today. The Heritage of Rome, Jerusalem and Constantinople The emergence of the Catholic Church in Rome promoted the city of Rome. The city became one of the main centers of the early Christian church. The Apostles established the city as the stronghold of the church with Peter taking charge of the church as Christ had instructed him (Mathew 16:18). Despite many divergent thoughts about the primacy of the city as well as Peter’s position in the church, there is evidence dating back several years ago that illustrates the location of the church. From the practices of the Roman Catholic Church in terms of liturgical activities, it is possible to identify certain characteristics of the music adopted over its history. The origin if the Mass and its liturgical characteristics can be associated with Rome as an important center for the church. Sustaining of the practices of the apostles in the papal stages of the church included upholding liturgical practices such as music. Among the most notable characteristics of the liturgical practices of the church in Rome include the use of Latin in liturgy. The use of spiritual songs in worship in ancient church in Rome included the singing of the Benedictus. This song originated from the practice of greeting the bishop. Entrance singing during Mass and other songs such as the hymn of the angels illustrate the connection that the ancient church in Rome had toward worship music. Receiving the bishops and the pope in Rome and particularly in St. Peter’s basilica is evidence of the introduction of music in liturgy in Rome from the beginning of the Mass. Worship forms inside the Mass grew, with music during the Eucharistic procession initially being a psalm. Linking the Benedictus into the Eucharistic celebration as suggested by Clementine made sense of the position of the pope2. St. James’s contribution in shaping liturgical practices in the Church of Jerusalem is usually remembered in the history of the medieval church. However, the initial liturgical tradition changed by St. James in Jerusalem originated from the church of Antioch. Further additions are associated with St. Cyril of Jerusalem whose alterations of the commonly said prayers can be associated with the role of the Jerusalem church in the development of liturgy. The heritage of Constantinople concerning the early church liturgy is perhaps not complete without mentioning the role of Proclus in the development of Chrysostom’s initial liturgical base. St. Chrysostom is honored as the most influential Archbishops of Constantinople in terms of liturgy and homily delivery during Mass3. The transfer of the church’s attention from Rome to Constantinople and the nurturing of the liturgical practices by St. Chrysostom and early church leaders further placed the church in Constantinople an important liturgy center. Constantinople liturgy was composed largely of psalms and other hymns as they came from Rome. Other characteristics included prayers and sermons that were also included in the Roman version of liturgy before Constantinople became an important religious center. Latin Liturgical Song in the Early Medieval Church, the Mass and Office The characteristic of the early Catholic Church that illustrates the impact of Rome as the origin of catholic liturgy is the use of Latin as the main language. Latin was widely used in the composition of most songs that make up the Mass including Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei. The variety of the songs corresponds to the varying settings of the events of the church in the liturgical calendar. Each of these songs are played during a specific section of the Mass. These sections include the Introit, Gradual, Alleluia or Tract followed by the Offertory, Communion and finally Thanksgiving. Perhaps the most important distinction between Mass and Office rests in the worship practices embraced by the congregation. Whereas the two forms of worship originating from the medieval times are inseparable from each other as integral Christian practices, they have certain features that stand out from how they are conducted. Office is the older version of worship that heavily relied on intensive worship and scripture reading usually conducted at specific times of the day such as in the night and in the morning4. It heavily maintains the Jewish tradition of timed worship with a high intensity scripture perusal. In the Mass, an additional worship element of sacrifice, mainly the breaking of the bread makes it difficult to have a longer session of scripture reading and the time is shared. The Mass is a complete form of worship with additional elements such as offertory and thanksgiving on top of scripture reading and breaking of the bread. Office versions of worship are sometimes possible for a monastery form of life due to the time dedication to worship. It therefore follows that the inclusion of music and other forms of vocal worship have a higher integration level in the Mass than in the Office. Monastic Office incorporates singing chants during specific episodes of the service, particularly during the canonical hours such as in the Psalms and during the great and short Responsories as well as in the Compline. Psalm antiphons involved in the Office chants are generally simplified and shortened to pave way for other practices such as the relatively complex Responsories and Marian antiphons. Other complex chants involved in the monastic chants include Alma Redemptoris Mater, Ave Regina caelorum, Salve and Regina. The Mass on the other hand allows the singing of songs such as Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus as well as Agnus Dei. Among the common features of the performance of these chants is the repetition and recitation of common lectionary lines during worship. The texture and rhythm of the chants during service are important descriptions of the performances inside worship. Certain chants are led by male voices while others are soloed by female voices, a change that appeared later in the history of church worship. Despite the fact that chants can be performed in unison, Gregorian art changed the trajectory of worship music to make a tradition of four part harmonized singing. Rhythm is perhaps a diversity among the chant presentations across various historic times, with a rich mixture of melodic harmonies ranging from simple to complex rhythmical effects as music advanced5. Conductors are sometimes needed to assist in the sustenance of the particular rhythm in certain complex pieces. 2. Religious chant traditions, musical structure, musical trend Liturgical chants in the course of Christian worship particularly during Mass in the catholic church are attributed to Pope Gregory I. Termed as Gregorian chants, church music assigned for certain important celebrations appearing in different periods of the liturgical calendar was identified and characterized6. Initially, the monophonic version of liturgical music dominated the application of Gregorian chant7. From the monophonic versions that were characterized by the single line of liturgical worship, it was possible to include several harmonic lines in liturgy to form the polyphonic music. There was a short transition period between the two melodic discoveries, which included heterophonic lines of melodies from which the polyphonic versions emerged. Alternatively, it increasingly became possible for learners to sharpen their music skills, as it became a new discipline8. Harmonic diversity increment in music paved the way for the thriving of polyphonic music whose origin can therefore traced back from the church liturgical interactions with monophonic plainchants. Secular polyphonic music development is estimated to have originated from the members of the clergy having had the exposure to Gregorian chants of music in the medieval times. Among the most celebrated participants of the transfer of the music knowledge into secular applications are the Goliards9. Major themes that dominated the music in this respect were romantic poetry, morals and other secular topics. Earliest collections of poetry composed by the Goliards include Carmina Burnana that was later adopted in the construction of melodic pieces employing plainchant. The Benedictine monastery is on record to have some of the ancient secular versions of lines that adopted Gregorian chants and principles. Generally, initial compositions included Latin, which was easy to translate from the liturgical pieces onto the secular versions. The spread of the secular version of Gregorian music as illustrated attracted entertainers of different kinds across Europe. German secular monophony performers in the secular scenes include minnesingers and Meistersinger that took the stage at different times between the 12th and 14th centuries. This spread of previously liturgical music into secular vernacular compositions perhaps led to the general acceptance of Gregorian chants by other users and its survival in other versions witnessed today apart from the religious uses. The departure from application of Latin in composition of music increased diversity in the vocabulary since learning music was possible as it spread across European communities. Secular applications were also applied elsewhere as the spread of Gregorian music principles continued across European cultures. Secular monophony was applied in France, particularly the Occitan people from the south. The famous Albigensian Crusaders were singing canso for males while the male singers had trobairitz10. Iberian Peninsula had the tomb of James and the liturgical music played there had a direct impact on the surrounding communities to generate the Cosmopolitanism effect on secular music. Joglars in Iberia cosmopolitan area adopted the Gregorian music into entertainment pieces that they prepared in their lower social class setting. Instruments in General Repertories Some of the commonly employed instruments in medieval music fall under the wind and string categories including the flute and the organ among others. Simple forms of the instruments that were in existence during the medieval ages, when the changes in music occurred have since been replaced by forms that are more complicated. However, there are still instruments that have maintained their original forms, yet others have been rendered obsolete by time changes. As an illustration, the original form of the flute used during early music times was wooden as compared to the modern day metallic version of the flute. Alternatively, the pan flute became extinct due to the improvements of the instrument over the ages. Some of the other instruments in use during the medieval time include harps, lyra, dulcimers, lute, psaltery, gemshorn, bagpipe among many others11. Instruments as accompaniments of the plainchants added flavor and flair to the melodies as characterized in the classical music pieces. Despite the fact that the human voice remained central to the music genres emerging from the liturgical versions and later to secular forms, instruments brought in a different perspective to music. Harmony enhancement and complete instrumental music was later possible to be designed from the instruments without acting as accompaniments to human voices. Among the most instrumental accompaniments during the development of the Gregorian chants is the frame drum. Despite the fact that the actual genre of music for which the frame drums were designed is unknown, their introduction into Christian worship is recognized. According to earliest literature on the usage of the frame drum, dancing and singing accompanied the beats made from the performance in which the accompaniment was used. Other instruments commonly accounted for in the medieval Christian repertoires include horns and several bow-shaped stringed instruments including Rebec and Vielle, which are seen in various artifacts of carvings in ancient religious centers12. Conclusion Liturgical advancement from the spoken sermon and reading of scriptures to the complicated musical worship demonstrates the importance of music to sacred practices. Liturgical conversion of worship words into son began in simple forms of monophonic lines, which preceded heretophonic melodies and later the complex polyphonic versions including many lines. The Catholic Church contribution to the development of the harmonized melody is undisputed, owing to the origin of liturgical contributions to the Gregorian decree acting as the origin of modern choir music. The spread of the Gregorian chant from pure religious applications to include secular entertainment melodies marked the beginning of diversity for the application of choir music across different genres. Vernacular uses of previously liturgical versions of music for various uses such as entertainment further opened the scope of Gregorian chants across many languages. Music development as a discipline attracted huge interest from various stakeholders and followers making it among the most celebrated art disciplines of all times. Inclusion of instruments in choir music pieces adds flair and flavor to music production. 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