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GREGORIAN MUSIC 
 
GREGORIAN MUSIC 
 
 AN OUTLINE 
 
 OF 
 
 MUSICAL PALEOGRAPHY 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY FAC-SIMILES OF ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS 
 
 THE BENEDICTINES OF STANBROOK 
 
 LONDON AND LEAMINGTON 
 
 ART AND BOOK COMPANY 
 
 NEW-YORK, BENZIGER BROTHERS 
 1897 
 
 {All rights reserved) 
 
TO 
 
 SAINT GREGORY AND SAINT AUGUSTINE 
 
 OUR APOSTLES 
 
 TO WHOM WE OWE THE FAITH AND THE SONGS 
 
 OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH 
 
 THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED 
 
 ON OCCASION OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTENARY 
 
 OF England's conversion 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following pages are an attempt to bring under the notice of English 
 readers some results of recent researches in musical archaeology. The subjeft 
 is one of many-sided interest and offers to the musical specialist abundant 
 matter for fascinating study. But we venture to think that this work will ap- 
 peal to even the general reader, as giving, at least in outline, the main fea- 
 tures of early Christian music, and of its development into what we know 
 as Gregorian Chant. 
 
 We are mere gleaners, and have endeavoured to present only a resume 
 of the " Paleographie Musicale, '' humble, it is true, yet sufficient, we 
 hope, to convey a fair idea of the scope of that remarkable work. We 
 have made use also of Dom J. Pothier's " Melodies Gregoriennes, " a work 
 which has opened up a vast field for the study of Plain-Chant, by placing it 
 on a scientific basis. 
 
 We are glad to express our thanks to Dom A. Mocquereau, the able 
 editor of the " Paleographie Musicale, " for much kind encouragement and 
 assistance, and especially for putting at our disposal his two admirable papers, ^ 
 from which we have drawn freely. 
 
 We are aware that the principles of Plain-Chant have recently been put 
 forth in a very able publication of the Plain-Song and Mediaeval Music So- 
 
 ' " La Psalmodie Romaine & I'accent tonique latin. " — " L'art gregorien, son but, ses 
 precedes, ses carafteres. " 
 
VIII PREFACE. 
 
 ciety. 1 The work is based, like ours, on the " Melodies Gregoriennes " and 
 the " Paleographie Musicale, ' ' and it abounds with praftical instructions which 
 may be advantageously consulted by all Plain-Chant choirs. But, apart from 
 the faft that its adaptation of English words to the ancient melodies is a tour 
 de force scarcely likely to satisfy all critics, the " Elements of Plain-Song " 
 does not profess to give the general coup d'ceil of the Paleographie which has 
 been our aim. 
 
 It is hoped that the perusal of the following pages may awaken an inte- 
 rest in the Church's Chant for its own sake — as an ecclesiastical art — even 
 among those who are not called upon to co-operate in its praflical restoration. 
 The subjeft has, so far, received very little attention amongst us, and it is 
 rare to meet with persons who take an intelligent interest in the matter. This 
 lack of appreciation, to call it by a mild name, is no doubt largely due to 
 the very faulty rendering of Plain-Chant, to which most of us are accustomed. 
 But is it fair to condemn, merely on this evidence, an art hallowed by so 
 many venerable associations, the chant of Canterbury, of Westminster, and 
 of Sarum ! How fitting on the contrary that England, so conspicuous in the 
 past for her love of the Liturgy, and still so true to the liturgical spirit, 
 should be foremost in doing justice to that music which came to her with 
 the faith, and which has been the delight of generations of her Saints and 
 faithful children. 
 
 It was the Apostle of England, St. Gregory the Great, who organised and 
 perfected the ecclesiastical chants, and the holy Pope, sending St. Augustine 
 to his dear Angles, charged him to teach them the sacred songs of the Roman 
 Church. Later on, St. Theodore, in his celebrated school at Canterbury, paid 
 special attention to sacred music, and strove to spread its use ; for, up to that 
 time, as Ven. Bede tells us, it was known only in Kent. At the same date, 
 St. Benet Biscop's zeal had provided the Northern Monasteries with an illus- 
 trious master, in the person of Abbot John, Arch-Cantor of the Roman Church. 
 St. Wilfrid, with his devotedness to Roman customs, was not likely to 
 negleft the chant, and in fadt we know that he introduced it wherever he 
 
 ' " Elements of Plain-Song. " H. B. Biiggs, London, 1895. 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 was able, chiefly by the help of two monks of Canterbury, one of whom 
 was Eddi, the Saint's biographer. 
 
 The Synod of Clovesho, A.D. 747, showed great zeal for the preservation 
 of the chant as received from Rome,* and prescribed its use in the whole King- 
 dom. To St. Dunstan we owe the well-known Kyrie " Rex splendens, " 
 which he composed after hearing in ecstasy the songs of the Angelic choirs. 
 
 In later times we find several writers on Music, chiefly among the Monks, 
 — Tunstede, for instance, and Walter de Odington, the latter a monk of 
 Evesham and author of a remarkable work which presents a very complete 
 account of the musical science of^the 13th. century. 
 
 Emulating the example of our countrymen in all generations, let us show 
 that we appreciate our treasures ; the songs of the primitive and medieval 
 Church are ours, they were inspired by the faith which we cherish, they were 
 composed for a liturgical text which we still use, they are part of the glori- 
 ous inheritance handed down to us by the Ages of Faith. 
 
 STANBROOK ABBEY. 
 
 Feast of St. Gregory the Great. i8g6. 
 
 1 " Ut uno eodemque modo dominicas in carne sacrosanftse festivitates in omnibus ad eas 
 rite competentibus, ... in cantilenas modo celebrentur, juxta exemplar quod scriptum de romana 
 habemus Ecclesia. Itemque ut per gyium totius anni natalitia sanftorum uno eodemque die, juxta 
 Martyrologiuni ejusdem romanas Hcclesiae, cum sua sibi convenienti psalmodia seu cantilena ve- 
 nerentur. " (Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents. Haddan and Stubbs. Vol. iii. 367.) 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. The Aim of Church Music 
 
 CHAPTER II. " La Paleographie Musicale. " . 
 
 CHAPTER III. The Origin of Neumatic Writing 
 
 CHAPTER IV. Diastematic Notation 
 
 CHAPTER V. Liquescent Neums. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. Romanian Signs and Letters . 
 
 CHAPTER VII. Rhythm 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. The " Cursus. " 
 
 CHAPTER IX. Adaptation of Texts 
 
 CHAPTER X. Execution 
 
 Page 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 13 
 
 19 
 28 
 
 36 
 45 
 
 5' 
 61 
 
 70 
 
 Modes . 
 Psalmody 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 83 
 86 
 
 PLATES. (See next page). 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 1 . Einsiedeln. MS. 121. 
 
 2. C. C. C. Cambridge. No. 473. 
 
 3. Montpellier. BibL de I'Ecole de Medecine. No. IS9. 
 
 4. Monza. Chapter. F. 3. 104. 
 
 5. Verona. Chapter. No. 105. F° 206. 
 
 6. Brit. Museum. HarL 4951. 
 
 7. La Cava. (Choir-Gradual). 
 
Plate 1, 
 
 9 
 
 c -r 
 
 
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 'I 'k 
 
 
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 /. 
 
 
 
 
 
 me- inimiu men etr Snirn ^tii\ 
 
 
 fur^^efI^^lr 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 i.-:^'- 
 
 EINSIEDELN. ms. 121. abbot Gregory's gradual, ioth. century. 
 
 NEUM-ACCENT5, LIQUESCENT NEUMS, AND ROMANIAN SIGNS AND IJ-.TTERS. 
 
Plate 2. 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 H 
 Z 
 
 a: 
 
 O 
 
 Z 3 
 
 
 UJ 
 
 a 
 
 Q 
 
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 u 
 
 l3 
 
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Plate 3. 
 
 ^•- ^- 
 
 ;*i(iiF;-.'**.''«w-. • 
 
 
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 >^:«ss 
 
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 ,/ /» 
 
 J ,/•. y 
 
 
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 ^■,/^''"' ^ ' ,. 
 
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 MONTPELLIER. ms. iith. century, bibl. de l'ecole de medecine. 159. 
 
 TEXT IN RED. ALPHABETIC NOTATION AND FRENCH NEUM-ACCENTS. 
 
Plate 4. 
 
 tnnlK tnetf. S^nnbolntct 
 
 71 »^:vr 
 
 
 < .*• ' ^ \^Cuf rmc uf fviic jiLft tic n> 
 
 
 f* aem ucn ,n 
 
 .■ommo 
 
 ** "J^ ii /I » *« »m»»^ ■* cm bijH 7a?» 
 
 -Tir^&i4i:''ii^'^^^ ^a ''^ Aa A ^ ^^ 
 
 arcttf "■ "■ ' fir It 
 
 * 
 
 ***■ 
 
 MONZA. CHAPTER LIBRARY. F. 3, IO4. I2TH. CENTURY GRADUAL. 
 
 ACCENTS AND I'OINTS MlXtD. 
 
Plate 5. 
 
 4 
 
 a ucnxanf./b /''-ca^ "" 
 
 d''nuaiiirc Ci. " t dn mi oil > feliuIrE: 
 
 mil " f c'<- L- \T ' mu T 
 
 • me a. 
 
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 7/« 
 
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 iiiiT/jiiX) mam i;i (7- 
 
 lA^.n 
 
 CAlAll 't.1 
 
 A 7 
 
 J T 
 
 
 
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 A .-J 
 
 7 AH 
 
 A J! 
 
 1 .17 
 
 7* 1/1 o '"I nu fCtiLCA ;'i ,,> ii/ 
 
 
 iT iu» ri-ta n 
 
 
 i»j 
 
 VERONA. CHAPTER LIBRARY. N° IO5. F° 2o6. I 2TH. CENTURY MISSAL. 
 
 POINTS SPACED NO LINES. 
 
Plate 6. 
 
 "iuC L, 
 
 ^'^^'"'"'-'■'V-^^^ j,.^., . _^_ ^_^^ ^^_ ^- ^ ^ ^ ^^ 
 
 AO .V VT.-.r-__<i;,-i.ol,,i,, I 
 
 ^'■•Ht..?/t,[^,tn>..v-."-Wr 
 
 f-.Af; ^,„^ ."irM.-_.W,^. f^.,,^, „„,,„.^4^^ 
 
 i C<^'-^ y^ n^rrtmai tim. ,„iu<M,inTn kmmn 
 
 
 inJi?™»_mj3 .ityrtiir 
 
 \ A.-^Ad nuturtatictuti 
 
 Ti — J-m^.miii 
 
 ^..lun X'ltti-rcrcrrm 
 
 ,^ Or. 
 
 A 
 
 ■f- 
 
 1,1.6. 
 
 ■ ( 
 
 V JtlJ^r-.-i^ him,fr-ynjiif J- If iycmifi,f^ ^J-'antttfjuI /u mTi oc/iii/'JiS— 
 
 HARLEIAN MSS. n° 4951. iith. century gradual (from st. Stephen's, toulouse). 
 
 AQ.UITANIAN NOTATION ON ONI-. DRY LINi:. 
 
Plate 7. 
 
 < 
 3 
 
 < 
 
 O 
 
 3 
 
 H 
 Z 
 
 ■X. 
 H 
 
 < 
 > 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 o 
 > 
 
 CD 
 CQ 
 
 < 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 Music, I imagine, ought to end 
 in the love of the Beautiful. 
 
 (Plato, Repuh. iii.) 
 
 " The movement of sound, so as to reach the soul for the educa- 
 tion of it in virtue (we know not how), we call music. " Such was 
 Plato's ideal. Mr. Ruskin remarks on this passage that " the Greeks 
 only called Music the kind of sound which induced right moral feeling 
 (they knew not how, but they knew it did), and any other kind of 
 sound than that, however beautiful to the ear or scientific in composi- 
 tion, they did not call Music (exercise under the Muses), but Amusia, 
 — the denial or desolation for want of the Muses "A The ancients 
 indeed considered music, not as a mere pastime, but as the necessary 
 basis of civilization and of all true education, and their youth were 
 brought under its influence that they might acquire from it a certain 
 balance and sweetness of character. Plato requires that the instructors 
 of youth " be able to choose out of imitative melody what is well and 
 ill-represented of the soul in its passion, and well discerning the picture 
 
 1 " Fors Clavigera, " No. Ixxxiii. 
 
2 I. THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 of the evil spirit from the pifture of the good, they may cast away that 
 which has in it the lil<eness of evil and bring forward that which has 
 the likeness of good ; and hymn and sing that into the souls of the 
 young, calling them forth to pursue the possession of virtue, by means 
 of likenesses ".^ 
 
 These dodrines point to the great simplicity of all true art ; in 
 such simplicity, such self-restraint, lies much of that marvellous power, 
 which is able, by simple means, to produce the noblest results. By 
 simplicity we do not mean that which characterises the expression of 
 an art in its infancy, but simplicity in ideal, simplicity in choice of ma- 
 terials, simplicity in the manner of obtaining wonderful efifefts. 
 
 Holy Church, having appropriated all that was good, beautiful 
 and true in the ancient world, became the depository of the arts, and 
 enlisted their services in her cause. As to music, it became a consti- 
 tuent part of her worship. St. Paul had given the formal advice : 
 " Teach and admonish one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual can- 
 ticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, " and 
 the testimony of the earliest Christian writers shows that the precept 
 was literally carried out. 
 
 But what will be the Christian ideal of music ? Will it be less 
 noble than that of pagan antiquity ? May we not rather expedt that the 
 great truths of the Christian creed will inspire a still higher appreciation 
 of the beauty of harmony? Let us hear the Author of the " Ecclesias- 
 tical Hierarchy ", the sublime interpreter of sacred rites : " The sacred 
 chants produce, in those who recite them in holy dispositions, an apti- 
 tude for either receiving or conferring the different Sacraments of the 
 Church. The soul is prepared, by these sacred canticles, for the imme- 
 
 1 Ruskin's translation, loc. cit. 
 
I. THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC. } 
 
 diate celebration of the divine mysteries, and is brought into harmony 
 with God, with her neighbour, and with herself "J 
 
 This conception of the funftion of music is worthy of the Church 
 and of the Divine Art. But where are we to find a musical system capable 
 of realizing so lofty an ideal ? And firstly, can our modern music reach 
 such heights? It is not intended to renew here an oft-fought contest; 
 we think, however, that few will claim for the average Church-music 
 of the day, that peaceful, elevating influence so commended in ancient 
 chant both sacred and profane. 
 
 Of Palestrina nothing need now be said. His work has been often 
 and ably treated, and the growing interest in his compositions is a 
 happy sign. High, however, as is its character, Palestrinian music is 
 not the original song of the Church ; unless we agree that the honour 
 of furnishing a form of chant worthy of celebrating divine mysteries and 
 capable of raising the heart to God, was reserved for the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 What then of the earliest known music of the Roman Church ? 
 Does it rise to the high ideal expressed above ? It is hoped that the follow- 
 ing simple pages will give some answer to this question. 
 
 In this study, the raison d'etre of religious music must ever be 
 kept in view. The Church's life is centred in her Liturgy, — that won- 
 derful cycle of prayer and praise. The text of this Liturgy, borrowed in 
 great part from Sacred Scripture, is in itself sufficiently beautiful to 
 dispense with all borrowed ornament. But the Church is not satisfied 
 with merely saying her praise ; her loving enthusiasm urges her to song : 
 " La raison ne peut que parler, c'est I'amour qui chante ". ^ 
 
 The Church sings too for another reason : knowing how much 
 
 1 Migne, Gr. Patrol., 0pp. S. Dion. Areop., Eccles. Hier., iii. 
 
 2 J. de Maistre. 
 
4 I. THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 the soul of man is influenced by all that strikes his senses, she appeals 
 to music, the subtlest and most spiritual of the arts, as an auxiliary in 
 the great work of human regeneration. " IVlusic appeals primarily to the 
 senses, but does not tarry within their bounds ; forcing a passage 
 through them, it hurries onward to the soul, bearing on its strain the 
 ' burden of the mystery ' of those fads of life and of living, which ' lie 
 deeper down than any reasons that are to be found. ' " The great spiritual 
 realities of life are indeed too deep, too far-reaching to be expressed in 
 mere words. It has been beautifully said by the writer just quoted that 
 while " Speech is but broken light on the depth of the unspoken, 
 music is a mystical illumination of those depths, which the rays of 
 language are too feeble to reach. While the achievement of language is 
 to chisel into articulate permanence a clearly-defined thought, the mis- 
 sion of music is to give vent to such passions or inspirations, such 
 imaginings or such realities, as are too subtle or too mighty, too dreamy 
 or too spiritual, to be imprisoned within the thinkable terms of logic. 
 Though necessarily less precise than speech, this is not by reason of 
 the vagueness, but by reason of the vastness of its meaning, which 
 thereby becomes proportionately overwhelming. While language is the 
 crystallization of emotions from which the vital essence has escaped, 
 and words, by defining, limit, — music is a revelation of the illimitable 
 which lies behind all the barriers of time. " i 
 
 The Church then must sing. But whence will she derive her songs? 
 Having been brought into touch with two civilizations and two forms 
 of art, — the Hebrew and the Greco-Roman, — with exquisite tad 
 she borrowed from each what best suited her ends. To the Hebrew 
 Liturgy we owe the form of our psalmody ; the Church to this added 
 
 1 Tablet, Feb. i6th. 1896. " On the verbal music of Blank Verse. " 
 
I. THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC. 5 
 
 her own songs and the first elements of these melodies she drew from 
 Greco-Roman sources. The earliest Church chants, written in the dia- 
 tonic form, were probably adapted, in at least a general way, to the 
 scales and modes of the Greeks ; but there is no foundation for the 
 statement of certain authors , that the very airs were borrowed from 
 pagan songs. 
 
 Church music has not only its distinft aim ; it has also its proper 
 charafteristics. A is scarcely necessary to remark that this ancient art 
 must not be judged by the rules of modern music. It is the growth of 
 a civilization differing widely from ours ; its principles, unlike those of 
 our mvrSic, are one with those of the classic melody of Greece and 
 Rome. The beauties of such a system will never appear to a superficial 
 observer, but any one who lays aside the prejudices of education and 
 habit, and gives himself to the study, will be repaid by initiation into 
 an exquisite art. To the musician, Plain-Chant is a revelation; it 
 leads him into a new sphere, where his ideas become enlarged and 
 ennobled by the discovery of melodic riches undreamed of before. 
 
 Ancient Church music is all song, that is to say, it is always set to 
 words. Here again we have the classic ideal; music is the auxiliary of 
 poetry, a development of speech, — or rather it is speech intensified 
 to its fullest power. " All perfectly rhythmic poetry is meant to be 
 sung to music, and all entirely noble music to the illustration of noble 
 words. " — " Songs without words " would not indeed answer the 
 end of sacred music. The Church's melody is not intended merely 
 to suggest vague, pious thoughts or feelings, but to express deep 
 theological truths, formal a£ts of faith, of hope, of love, and of praise. 
 
 Again, Plain-Chant is all in unison, hence it can have none of 
 those dissonances on which modern music depends for many of its 
 finest efifefts. On the contrary, it is ever simple and natural, and one 
 
6 I. THE AIM OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 would look in vain for sudden modulations, or in fa£t for any startling 
 device. Herein lies much of the power and of the purifying influence of 
 this music. 
 
 Gregorian Tonality, moreover, is totally unlike its modern name- 
 sake, one of the most striking differences being that it has no Lea- 
 ding-note, that " joy for ever " to the modern musical ear. ^ When 
 once the ear has become accustomed to the frank, clear Tonality of the 
 Gregorian modes, it feels a certain distaste for the softer progressions 
 of Chromatic intervals. 
 
 But perhaps absence of Time is the problem which most perplexes 
 the modern musician in his study of Plain-Chant. Of this all-important 
 question of Gregorian Rhythm, there will be more to say in a subse- 
 quent chapter. 
 
 These leading charafteristics give to Plain-Song a certain dignity, 
 a simplicity, a convenance (always supposing of course that the Chant 
 is properly rendered), which produce that indescribable something 
 which may be called unftion. The influence it exercises on the heart of 
 man is always elevating and purifying, and thus the Church finds this 
 her song a powerful auxiliary in her mission of leading men to Him 
 Who is infinite Beauty and Holiness. 
 
 The theme of this song is the vastest that may be ; it unites in 
 one harmonious chorus the celebration of God's most mighty works and 
 the yearnings and hopes of the human soul, blending both in a sweet 
 hymn of adoration and thanksgiving. 
 
 1 The subjed of Tonality has been admirably handled in the Elements of Plain- 
 Song, and the reader is referred to that work. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 " LA PALEOGRAPHIE MUSICALE. " 
 
 It would be superfluous to call attention to the influence exerted 
 on History and Archaeology by the study of the first sources of those 
 sciences. This method is not indeed the growth of our age, having 
 produced many finished works as far back as the i6th. century; but 
 its principles are now much more generally adopted, and, thanks to the 
 produftion of fac-similes, almost every branch of Archaeology is amply 
 provided with coUeftions reproducing its most ancient and reliable mo- 
 numents. 
 
 Ecclesiastical music has shared, to some extent, in this movement. 
 The attention of students once turned to the ancient notations, fac- 
 similes of the MSS. followed almost necessarily. These publications, 
 however, which date from the 17th. century, are not only few and far 
 between, they are moreover short and inexaft. In the present century 
 there have been numerous reproductions of MSS. chants ; but these, 
 besides being imperfect representations of the originals, are, with the 
 exception of a Gradual published by the Jesuit Pere Lambillotte, too 
 fragmentary to serve as foundation to any serious study of the ancient 
 musical notations. 
 
 Since the appearance of Dom Pothier's "Melodies Gregoriennes ", 
 
8 "la PALEOGRAPHIE musicale. " 
 
 (1880), the study of the nenms (v£u[xa = a sign) ^ from being merely 
 speculative has found its way into even the humblest methods of Plain- 
 Chant. It is indeed impossible to teach the first principles of Gregorian 
 music, without giving the pupil some idea of the origin, the nature, 
 and the value of these neums. But students desirous of pursuing such 
 studies have been hindered hitherto by the insufficiency of the published 
 materials. To supply this want the learned Benediftines of Solesmes 
 have undertaken the monumental work, which now enjoys an universal 
 and well-earned reputation, " La Paleographie Musicale ". This publica- 
 tion, the fruit of much patient and persevering labour, includes the repro- 
 duction by phototypography of two entire Graduals (or, as they were 
 formerly called, " Antiphonalia Missarum "), as well as of numerous 
 specimens of notation ranging from the 9th. to the 17th. century and 
 embracing all the countries of Europe. The soundness of the principles 
 deduced from a conscientious and enlightened study of these MSS. is 
 admitted by competent authorities, who do no hesitate to believe that 
 we now possess, at least in great measure, the true rules for the inter- 
 pretation, and, as we shall see, even for the practical rendering of the 
 venerable Gregorian melodies. These rules, be it remembered, were 
 lost — it was thought irretrievably lost — and have been reclaimed 
 only at the cost of an indefatigable perseverance which is beyond all 
 praise, and to which we are happy to pay here a humble tribute of 
 admiration. 
 
 Let us then see what materials the musical archaeologist has at his 
 disposal, for the restoration of the Church's Chant, both in its form 
 and in its execution. These materials are of three kinds, and are found 
 
 1 Neums are certain signs, used in all ancient MSS. for tlie notation of ecclesiastical 
 chant. These signs have nothing in common with the alphabetical charaders of any 
 language. 
 
II. " LA PALEOGRAPHIE MUSICALE. " 9 
 
 — I St. In the works of the Fathers, Liturgists, and Latin Grammarians, 
 as well as in the Chronicles of Churches and Monasteries ; — and. In the 
 musical treatises belonging to the Middle Ages ; — and 3rd. In the 
 musical texts themselves, i. e. MSS. with musical notation. 
 
 The value of these three sources is by no means equal. With regard 
 to the first class, it furnishes only indireft information on musical sub- 
 jeds. The documents of the second class are, it is true, more impor- 
 tant ; yet, though their authors have undeniable intrinsic merit, they 
 give us only here and there, and as it were by chance, those practical 
 rules by which we set such store. There is nothing surprising in this 
 when we remember the character of musical studies in the Middle Ages. 
 Music was then rather a science than an art, being one of the branches 
 of the Quadrivium, which, as is well known, consisted of Arithmetic, 
 Music, Geometry, and Astronomy. To us this seems somewhat strange 
 company for the divine art, and we naturally feel suspicious of theorists 
 whose musical doftrines, borrowed from the Greeks and Romans, con- 
 sist chiefly of speculations on the relation of sounds to numbers, or 
 better still, on the harmony produced by the motions of the stars. • 
 
 Add to this peculiar view of Music the faft, that in the 9th. cen- 
 tury (which is just the period at which such theorists as Aurelian, 
 Hucbald, and the pseudo-Hucbald wrote), a methodical exposition of 
 Gregorian chant was far from easy. The difficulty arose from the co- 
 existence of two distinct elements : on the one hand, there was the 
 Liturgical Music, which was already several centuries old, was connected 
 
 1 No man, however proficient in execution, could be called a musician, unless 
 thoroughly versed in this transcendental science. One text out of a thousand : 
 Musicorum & cantorum magna est distantia, 
 Isti dicunt, illi sciunt quae componit musica : 
 Nam qui facit quod non sapit, diffinitur bestia. 
 
 (Musicae Regute Guidonis. Cf. Gerbert Script.) 
 
 b 
 
lO " LA PALEOGRAPHIE MUSICALE. 
 
 with classical times only by the general charafter of its tonality, and 
 was preserved by tradition without any written theory. On the other 
 hand, there were the principles of greco-roman music, which had survived 
 the fall of pagan art, and which were still taught in the schools, at 
 least theoretically. Here was a snare for our authors who failed to 
 distinguish the two musical theories with sufficient clearness, and were 
 inclined to apply the modal and rhythmical system of greco-roman art 
 to ecclesiastical chant. Whatever useful information is gathered from 
 these mediaeval treatises, is the fruit of their authors' simple study of 
 the liturgical melodies, without any admixture of greco-roman theories. 
 
 But, just when the science of Church Music was beginning to throw 
 off the yoke of mathematics, a new difficulty arose in the increasing 
 influence of Time and Harmony. Up to the loth. century, these ele- 
 ments had been merely popular and practical, but from that time they 
 aimed at obtaining a place in the schools of chant. The theoretical 
 writers of the time, carried away by this new current, turned their 
 attention to the mysteries of Time and of counterpoint, to the almost 
 total negleft of Church Music. Henceforth there are two distinft kinds 
 of music, plain or unmeasured {immensurabilis), and measured {men- 
 surabilis) music, — and consequently, two distinft theories. 
 
 It is therefore evident, that in studying the musical treatises 
 bequeathed to us by the Middle Ages, we must be careful to distinguish 
 three currents : viz. greco-roman doftrine, Gregorian principles, and 
 the rules of the Mensuralists. 
 
 To come now to the third class of monuments, the Texts of the 
 music itself These documents are, beyond comparison, the most 
 reliable foundations for the study of sacred chant. In them we find all 
 the desired information regarding the version, the rhythm, the tonality, 
 and the notation of ecclesiastical music. True, they furnish no formal 
 
" LA PALEOGRAPHIE MUSICALE. " II 
 
 principles ; but they are the substantial expression of both theory and 
 practice, they are the translation into writing of the teaching and of the 
 execution of the old masters. Hence their importance, and their superio- 
 rity to theoretical treatises. 
 
 Fifty years ago the neums of these MSS. were a closed letter. Many 
 systems of interpretation have since been ventilated, but these, though 
 containing some true principles, have proved to be, on the whole, in 
 contradiction with the MSS. themselves and with history. Patient study 
 has however overcome all obstacles, and it is now universally acknow- 
 ledged that these neums may be read and analysed, and, (if we may 
 use the expression) translated, by the help of three distinft classes of 
 documents, in which the melody is represented either by (i) points 
 written one above another, or by (2) letters of the Alphabet, or lastly, 
 by notes written on lines. 
 
 The Chant of the Western Church alone offers a wide field for 
 interesting study, but we shall here confine ourselves to the songs of 
 the Church of Rome. We may however notice in passing that the 
 chants known as Ambrosian, Galilean and Mozarabic are in their chief 
 features identical with the Roman, from which indeed they seem to be 
 derived, so that the four classes may be likened to so many dialefts of 
 one and the same language. The notation, too, is the same in all, i. e. 
 neumatic writing, characterised of course by the peculiarities of each 
 country's caligraphy. 
 
 Let us then, taking advantage of the labour of previous students, 
 learn some of the precious secrets hidden in the dusty parchments of 
 neumatic MSS. We shall gain from the study a deeper and more rea- 
 sonable appreciation of the songs of our Mother, the Holy Roman 
 Church, — songs to which their association with St. Gregory the Great 
 adds fresh interest. For it was he whose master-hand brought into 
 
12 II. " LA PALEOGRAPHIE MUSICALE. 
 
 unity, developed and enriched the already-existing Church Music, and 
 who bequeathed to us among the many blessings of his fruitful Ponti- 
 ficate, a coUeftion of sacred chants, the fruit of a civilisation which had 
 its roots in the classic age, and which availed itself of the happiest in- 
 ventions of human genius for the adornment of the Divine Truths of 
 Christianity. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING. 
 
 Let us for the moment lay aside whatever knowledge we may 
 have of modern music, with its inseparable associates, Staves, Leger 
 lines, Clefs, Keys, etc., etc., and let us try to trace the notation of Litur- 
 gical Chant from its beginning. The subjeft is not without interest to 
 even the modern musician, since the system of notation with which he 
 is familiar is the outcome of the Roman Church's earliest attempts at 
 music-writing. 
 
 The connection between speech and chant is obvious, the essential 
 difference being that in speech the modulations of the voice are unde- 
 termined, whilst in chant the melody advances by fixed intervals, which 
 the ear can assign to a definite position in the scale of sounds. It is 
 therefore not surprising to find the primitive signs of a musical notation 
 in the accents which regulate the inflexions of the voice in speaking. 
 These accents (acute, grave, circumflex and anticircumflex) from which 
 all the neumatic and modern systems of notation are derived, are figures 
 originating naturally in oratorical modulations of voice, and as we shall 
 see, wonderfully fitted for their purpose. 
 
 It is plain that sounds, by their very nature, are incapable of repre- 
 sentation : " Soni, nisi memoria retineantur, pereunt. "^ If they are 
 to be preserved, it must be by means of some expressive symbol. In 
 
 1 S. Isid., EtymoL, iii, 15. 
 
14 ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING. 
 
 the case of oratorical notation, such a symbol was soon found, being 
 borrowed from the gesture of the speaker. We know how intimate is 
 the connection between voice and hand ; both are ruled simultaneously 
 by movements of the soul : " Gestus & ipse voci consentit, & animo 
 cum eo simul paret. "^ So true is this and so natural, that the very 
 accents are merely graphic representations of those gestures, and take 
 their form from the motion of the speaker's hand. Quintilian's descrip- 
 tion of gestures applies with equal fitness to accents : " Optime autem 
 manus a sinistra incipit, " — is not this the acute accent (/) traced 
 upward from left to right ? " In dextra parte deponitur ' ' — here is the 
 grave accent, also drawn from left to right, but downward (\). 
 
 Let us now follow these accents in their application to diatonic 
 melodies. With regard to the acute accent, (Virga), we find it entire in 
 the six groups or neums which are the foundation of all the rest, and 
 we notice that, whether alone or in composition, it invariably denotes 
 an elevation of voice. - 
 
 In the Clivis, first stroke A fm 
 
 Podatus, second stroke J J >■ 
 
 Torculus, middle stroke S ■■■ 
 
 Porre£lus, ist. and 3rd. strokes l\l V ^ 
 Scandicus, highest note / j^ 
 
 Climacus, first note /• ^♦^ 
 
 The grave accent preserves its normal shape in the Clivis (2nd. 
 stroke) and Porre£tus (middle stroke) — but becomes slightly altered 
 in the other groups, being either made horizontally or reduced to a mere 
 point — hence its name " PunStum ". The inverse of the Virga or acute 
 accent, the Punftum or grave accent always represents a fall of the 
 voice. 
 
 ^ Quintil., Inst. Orat., xi, 3. 2 See Plates i et 2. 
 
ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING. I 5 
 
 The Circumflex and Anticircumflex, which praftically are mere 
 combinations of the acute and grave accents, figure respeftively in the 
 Clivis and Podatus. 
 
 The chief features of this Chironomic Notation (xdp = hand, 
 vop; = rule) — in its application to both oratory and music, may be 
 summed up as follows : 
 
 (i) The respe&We position of the accents is of no consequence; the 
 musical value, the pitch of a note, depends on the direction in which 
 the sign is traced. Thus, the acute accent invariably marks an eleva- 
 tion of voice, whether it be written higher or lower in any given series 
 of accents. (2) From this it follows that it is the whole sign which 
 expresses the note, not the beginning nor the end of the stroke. (3) The 
 accents indicate an indefinite rise or fall, as the case may be. (4) The 
 accents have no value as expressions of time or force. 
 
 These then are the forms of notation in Liturgical music. But how 
 did they give the melody, the air as we should say? To understand 
 this we must go back to the period when the oratorical accents were 
 transferred to the domain of music, for it is clear that this primitive 
 notation would not have been originally suited to express the elaborate 
 compositions of later ages. The very use of such signs, for notation, 
 presupposes extreme simplicity in the chants of the early Roman 
 Church , and as a matter of fad, nothing could be simpler than those 
 melodies which were nearly allied to the natural modulations of speech. 
 Such pieces being easily learned and remembered, the oratorical accents 
 were considered quite sufficient to express them. It must not be forgot- 
 ten that the only notation available at that time was the alphabetic 
 system of the Greeks, and this was unnecessarily complicated for appli- 
 cation to such simple types. 
 
 As the Chants developed, the neum-accents easily lent themselves 
 
i6 
 
 III. ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING. 
 
 to the growth, and groups of four, five or more notes were formed by 
 combining the simple neums given above. 
 
 TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL NEUMS. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 1 Punctum 
 
 2 Virga 
 
 FORM. ELEMENTS. 
 
 MODERN NOTES. 
 
 5 Scandicus 
 
 6 Climacus 
 
 7 Torculus 
 
 Porrectus 
 
 Grave ace. (g.) 
 
 I Acute ace. (a.) 
 
 3 Pes or Podatus J g- a. 
 
 Clivis 
 
 yi 
 
 /I/ 
 
 g- g- a. 
 
 '^- g- g- 
 
 g- «• ^■ 
 
 9 Porrectus flexus /H <^- g- «• g- 
 
 10 Scandicus flexus 
 
 g- g- ^- g- 
 
 B_^ — 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 
 
 ■ ' ■ 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 ^ ■ ^ 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 ^ ■ \ % 
 
 ■ V 
 
 
 
 
 ■' ■' I 
 
 ■ ■ ■ 
 
 
 LI. 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 A ■ n_ 
 
 1 A* 
 
 
 k ■ 
 
 S V.1 
 
 ^ v 
 
 
 • ». ^ 
 
 Vi » 
 
 ^Ti 
 
 
 '' ■ ■! 
 
 , '■ ■■V 
 
 
III. ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING. 1 7 
 
 NAME. FORM. ELEMENTS. MODERN NOTES. 
 
 s — 
 
 11. Torculus resupinus J^ g. a. g. a. ^^ 
 
 r.S: 
 
 12. Climacus resupinus /-. / a. g. g. a. ~_Ia^_ 
 
 H 
 
 iii 
 
 13. Pes subWpunctis j-_ g- a. g. g. *♦ ♦ 
 
 33: 
 
 But how did tliese groups express the various intervals of the 
 scale? How could one tell, e. g. what distance was marked by a Poda- 
 tus (J) or Clivis (/i), since the neum might represent, according to the 
 ancients, any one of thirteen intervals? The enigma may be solved by 
 considering a parallel example in speech. In English, the word ward has 
 six meanings. Yet, meeting it in reading, we see at a glance what it 
 means, because we know our language and are quite sure that in such 
 a context the word has such a meaning. This is exaftly the process by 
 which the neum-accents were interpreted ; the Cantor knew his melo- 
 dies by heart, an indispensable qualification, and he saw at a glance 
 that a Podatus for instance in such a connexion must represent such 
 an interval. We are not prepared to maintain that the system was re- 
 markable for its simplicity, for indeed it severely taxed the memory of 
 the poor Cantor ^. The realisation of its difficulties prepares us for the 
 
 ' " Mirabiles autem cantores & cantorum discipuli, etiamsi per centum annos 
 cantent, numquam per se sine magistro unam vel saltern parvulam antiphonam canta- 
 bunt ; tantum tempus in cantando perdentes, in quanto & divinam & ssecularem scri- 
 pturam potuissent plene cognoscere. " (Guido Aretinus, De ignoto cantu.) 
 
 " Sed cantus adhuc per hjec signa (i. e. neumata) minus perfedta cognoscitur, nee 
 per se quisquam eum potest addiscere, sed oportet ut aliunde audiatur & longo usu dis- 
 catur, & propter hoc hujus cantus nomen usus accepit. " (Joan, de iVluris, Suimna Mu- 
 stcce, cap. vi.) 
 
 c 
 
1 8 III. ON THE ORIGIN OF NEUMATIC WRITING. 
 
 otherwise astonishing fafl; — that ten years was the modicum of train- 
 ing required for a singer, who was absolutely obliged to possess all 
 the Liturgical chants " in theca cordis. " 
 
 As a matter of faft, then, the neum-accents served, especially in 
 .elaborate pieces, merely as guides and reminders, showing clearly the 
 number of notes to be sung and the manner o^ grouping them, but in- 
 dicating only indefinitely a rise or fall of pitch. ^ 
 
 The insufficiency of this notation must have been felt early, for 
 from the 9th. century we find attempts at reform, and the beginnings 
 of a new and really musical system, in which the notes are written on 
 a graduated scale according to the respeftive distances of the musical 
 intervals. 
 
 The transition to this new system affords matter for interesting 
 study and will be the subjeft of the next chapter. 
 
 1 See Plate 1 . 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 
 
 We saw in the last chapter how the oratorical accents came to be 
 adopted as signs of musical notation, and we hinted at the insufficiency 
 of a system which indicated only indefinitely the intervals of sound. We 
 are thus prepared to find masters seeking some means of supplying the 
 deficiencies of their notation. 
 
 One of the first attempts in this direction was the use of the let- 
 ters of the Alphabet to express the different notes. These letters were 
 generally used with the neum-accents, to which they were added by 
 way of translation. We are told that St. Odo of Cluny noted a complete 
 Antiphonary in this way. His work has unfortunately perished, but 
 we have a complete Codex (Montpellier MS.) ^ as well as various 
 fragments of this notation. From these it seems that the system was 
 intended almost exclusively for teaching purposes. At least it was never 
 widely used in liturgical books, for by its side there was forming a new 
 kind of notation, which aimed at showing the pitch of notes by wri- 
 ting the neums either higher or lower according to their position in the 
 scale of sounds. 
 
 Since " The human mind seems to have an innate tendency to 
 represent sounds as if contained in a vertical straight line ", (M. Ge- 
 vaert.) one might suppose that some graphic system corresponding to 
 
 1 See Plate 3. 
 
20 IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 
 
 this idea would early have been invented. Yet centuries passed before 
 anything of the kind was attempted. The Greeks with their Alphabetic 
 notation seem never to have dreamed of such a thing ; oratorical accents 
 
 i' 
 
 gave no idea of the various intervals, and perhaps Diastematic (Si.acrcr,[ji.a 
 = interval) notation would never have been invented, had not the neum- 
 accents existed as the materials out of which a perfeft representation 
 of the musical scale has been produced. 
 
 Yet, Diastematic notation differs widely from Chironomic. In the 
 latter, as we have seen, a rise or fall of pitch is expressed by the form 
 of the sign, by the direction in which the sign is traced ; for instance, 
 the acute accent (/) always marks a rise. In the former, the musical 
 value of a sign depends on its position on the staff. 
 
 The first signs of the new system appear about the 9th. century, 
 in the neum-points gradually spaced according to intervals , long even 
 before the invention of lines. This is already a great advance from the 
 neum-accents written over the text, either high or low, without other 
 rule it seems than the copyist's caprice. For the origin of these neum- 
 points, we must look to the neumatic accents of which they are the 
 natural development and the perfeftion. 
 
 It will perhaps be well to give at once a Table showing the pro- 
 gressive transformations of the neum-accents. 
 
 NEUM-ACCENT. ALTERATIONS. MODERN NOTES. 
 
 Virga 
 
 / 
 
 ;yr/; 
 
 1 
 
 Clivis 
 Porreftus 
 
 
 A/V/U N 
 
 
 Podatus 
 
 7 
 
 yVJJ J 
 
 1 
 ■ 
 
 Torculus 
 
 J- 
 
 ^^^c/^J 
 
 ."• 
 
 Climacus 
 
 /• 
 
 f\ i^ /■- V- 
 
 1% 
 
IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 21 
 
 The changes visible in each group are due primarily to the inclina- 
 tion of writers to facilitate their work by giving the neums a more 
 cursive form. Copyists of all ages have been ingenious in finding expe- 
 dients for saving time and trouble. In the musical scribe this instinft 
 first shows itself in a tendency to shorten the strokes of the neum- 
 accents; points next appear at the extremities of the accents, whilst the 
 accents often disappear completely and give place to points. 
 
 It seems that these transformations of the neums first suggested 
 the idea of spacing the notes according to intervals ; at first the groups 
 are spaced, then the notes of each group begin to be written according 
 to the desired intervals. These first attempts were not to be unproduc- 
 tive. At first, the intervals were shown, more or less, but they still 
 remained rather indefinite, and the transcription of the notes thus spaced 
 called for a scrupulously careful copyist. '^ But now a bright idea 
 occurs to some anxious scribe : why not utilise the blind line drawn 
 for the text and make it the starting point of the notation? Why not, 
 for instance, call the line Fa and thus give some guide for the rest of 
 the notes? Here we have notation on one line, which may be seen in 
 many MSS. ^ 
 
 la 
 sol 
 
 Fa 
 
 mi 
 
 re re 
 
 The method is a vast improvement, but it does not remove all 
 difficulties, for the further the notes are from this line, the more doubt- 
 ful their pitch becomes. This suggests a second line, representing Ut : 
 
 1 See Plate 5 . 
 
 2 See Plate 6. 
 
22 IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 
 
 c 
 
 mi 
 re 
 
 SI 
 
 la 
 sol 
 
 mi 
 re 
 
 Lit 
 
 Having got so far, additional lines were soon adopted, until the staff of 
 four was found to be sufficient. 
 
 The invention of this system is commonly ascribed to Guy of 
 Arezzo, but a study of the MSS. proves that the method, which had 
 been forming for two centuries before his time, is the work of the theo- 
 rists and copyists of those ages. What Guy did was to perfeft the sys- 
 tem by fixing the Clefs and the number of lines. It is important to bear 
 this in mind, as the fa£t is one of the strongest guarantees for the au- 
 thenticity of the Gregorian melodies. Had the chants been translated 
 by Guy or any other individual into a notation entirely of his own in- 
 vention, the tradition would be open to doubt, as we should have no 
 assurance that he had always interpreted the neums aright. But when 
 we find that " the transition from neums without lines to diastematic 
 neums has come slowly, progressively, simultaneously in all parts of 
 Europe, and by means which vary with MSS. and places, — circum- 
 stances which prove that the neumists in their attempts at improving 
 notation worked independently of one another, — we have every 
 reason to believe in the identity of the melodies, whether noted chiro- 
 nomically or diastematically. " ^ 
 
 The introdudion of lines had considerable influence on the form 
 
 1 Pal.Mus., t. ii, p. 160. 
 
IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 2} 
 
 of the neums, by requiring them to be written very exaftly on the 
 desired degree of the staff. A Virga (/), for example, placed on lines 
 would be almost as vague as if written in campo aperto. 
 
 :/: 
 
 In this case the note might be either on the first or second space, or 
 on the second or the third line. To remove all ambiguity the copyist 
 adds a point representing the note : 
 
 -X 
 
 By this means the point becomes the essential part of the sign, and the 
 accent remaining as a relic of the original neum serves as a connefling 
 line for the notes of each group, which thus preserves almost its pri- 
 mitive form. (See Table, p. 20.) — As to those groups in which the 
 notes are sometimes diamonds, sometimes squares, sometimes again 
 points, these peculiarities are merely material, depending solely on the 
 shape of each writer's pen and on his manner of handling it. 
 
 Side by side with the Neum-points, in which the original accents 
 are preserved as ligatures, we have another class of neumatic figures, 
 i. e. Detached-points. We saw an indication of this system even in Chi- 
 ronomic notation, where the grave accents of Climacus and Scandicus 
 were replaced by mere points, on account of the inconvenience of ma- 
 king several consecutive accents in the same direftion. Thus Clima- 
 cus /"' became /•., Scandicus J became /. The same process was soon 
 applied to other neumatic groups. ^ Some copyists set to work boldly 
 and transform all the neums past recognition. Others proceeding more 
 timidly change only a few of the signs, and thus we sometimes finp 
 
 1 See Plate 4. 
 
24 IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 
 
 both detached and connedled points in the same MS. A glance at the 
 following Table will satisfy us that these detached points are derived, 
 like neum-points, from the primitive neum-accents. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 NEUM-ACCT. 
 
 TRANSITION. 
 
 DETACHED-POINTS. 
 
 Climacus 
 
 r^ 
 
 1: 
 
 r /-. 
 
 • 
 
 
 Scandicus 
 
 s) 
 
 1 
 
 J 1 
 
 • 
 
 
 • 
 
 • 
 • 
 
 Podatus 
 
 J 
 
 
 / 
 
 • 
 
 • 
 • 
 
 Torculus 
 
 s 
 
 
 .1 
 
 A 
 
 A 
 
 Clivis 
 
 A 
 
 
 1 
 
 • 
 ■ 
 
 1 
 
 Porreftus 
 
 /\l 
 
 
 V 
 
 :• 
 
 \r 
 
 The system of detached-points prevailed in nearly the whole of 
 Spain and in Aquitaine, and became quite a distinft kind of notation. * 
 In other parts it seems to have been fused with the system of connefted- 
 points, so that both forms of notation arrive at the same result by 
 different means. In the connefted-points, points are added to the accents ; 
 while in the detached-points, accents are added to the points. 
 Conne£led-points . Detached-points . 
 
 >-^ became «^ »•» became •^ 
 
 ! In both systems we remark the care of copyists to preserve the 
 traditional manner of grouping the notes, which is an essential point. 
 A Porreftus, e. g. may assume a dozen different shapes, but it remains 
 a Porreftus still, a group, that is, of three notes /\I (acute, grave, acute). 
 It is to be regretted that our modern chant books, completely ignoring 
 or at least disregarding this important point, reduce the succession of 
 groups, each with its own accent and character, to an incoherent string 
 
 1 See Plate 6. 
 
IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 
 
 25 
 
 of notes, which " drag their slow length along " in unrelieved heavi- 
 
 ness. 
 
 Compare the following : 
 
 a — ^,-^^^-g-; 
 
 ♦.. i». 
 
 =^ 
 
 in mu-li- e- 
 
 ri- bus 
 
 
 ^iSt 
 
 May we be allowed a word on the praftical bearing of some of the 
 fafts mentioned in this paper ? Firstly with regard to the Virga, known 
 as the tailed and therefore (why therefore?) the long note. 
 
 We have seen that in the system of neum-accents it originally con- 
 sisted of a tail only (/) and that its head was added to specify the note ; 
 whilst in the neum-point system, by the irony of fate, it consisted of 
 only a head and became possessed of a tail by evolution. So much for 
 fafts. After the introduction of the staff, the virga had no longer the 
 same raison d'Hre as before (the notes being then determined not by 
 the form of the sign, but by its position on the staff), and it became a 
 mere matter of choice whether a Virga or a Punftum (i. e. a tailed note 
 or a square) should be used for a single note. In most MSS. the Virga 
 is employed arbitrarily, but in some it is pretty regularly used for the 
 first syllable of each word, in others for the last, while in others it is 
 invariably employed for every note standing alone. It is plain then that 
 to the minds of those who used the Virga in such varied ways, the 
 tailed note had no value as to time. 
 
 Another proof of this faft is found in a very interesting MS. of 
 
 1 See Plate 7, where the groups are preserved. 
 
I St Part. / J 
 
 ^ <J 
 
 S 
 
 J^J 
 
 /• 
 
 2nd Part. . J 
 
 J :J 
 
 f\i 
 
 J- J 
 
 / 
 
 2(> IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 
 
 the I ith. century^. The last page of this volume gives several Alleluiatic 
 verses, noted with a double line of neums, or, as v/e should say, in 
 two parts. The ordinary melody is written immediately over the text, 
 and the second part over that. The second voice corresponds, note for 
 note, to the first, and generally proceeds by contrary motion. Now in 
 these two parts a pun£tum in one voice corresponds to a l/irga in the 
 other — a clivis to podatus, tor cuius to porre£luSj, scandicus to climacus . 
 If the Virga be a long note, the corresponding groups must be transla- 
 ted thus : 
 
 I 
 
 This is obviously impracticable and we are forced to believe that 
 a virga or a punftum has of itself no value as an expression of time. 
 
 The same is to be said of diamond notes. Their form is due simply 
 to their being made with a broad pen held obliquely. 
 
 How surprised the good old Monastic scribes would be, could 
 they hear the theories evolved from the accidental squares, tails, or 
 diamonds traced by their unwitting pens. They would learn the impor- 
 tance of a tailed note, the respectable mediocrity of a square, and the 
 insignificance of a diamond. No doubt their first practical lesson would 
 be that in singing for instance a Climacus T% they should duly hold 
 on the tailed note and dispatch the diamonds with the least possible 
 delay. 
 
 We do not, however, mean to say that in Plain Chant all the notes 
 are of absolutely equal length, for this is far from the truth. The prin- 
 ciple which we would insist on is this — that one must not seek 
 
 1 Biblioth. de la Ville de Chartres, No. 130. 
 
IV. DIASTEMATIC NOTATION. 27 
 
 indications of the time-value of a note in its shape, for tliis value depends, 
 not on the shape of the note, but, if we may say so, on circumstances, 
 and chiefly on the v^ords to which the music is set. This is especially 
 the case with syllabic chant, for then each note has simply the value of 
 the syllable which it accompanies, the accent of each word being well 
 marked, and the weak syllables sung softly, but not hurriedly. As a 
 matter of faft, it is more a question of loud and soft, than of long and 
 short. It is unnecessary to remark that a pause must be prepared for by 
 a ritardando in the notes which precede it. 
 
 In more elaborate pieces the value of notes is fixed by several rules. 
 We shall see farther on that the Romanian Letters and Signs are freely 
 used to mark the relative duration of sounds. 'Xht position too of a note 
 will often determine its time-value. 
 
 We here mention these few fafts, lest what we have previously said 
 should lead to the conclusion that the Church's Chant is devoid of 
 artistic feeling, which would assuredly be the case, did it require an 
 absolutely equal value for every sound. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 LIQUESCENT or SEMIVOCAL NEUMS. 
 
 Having now made acquaintance with the neums in their primitive 
 form, and having sketched their subsequent history, let us return to 
 the early MSS., and try to get some insight into the art of the Grego- 
 rian melodies. 
 
 The neum-accents are derived, as we have seen, from the accents 
 used in oratory ; this fa£t gives us the first hint of the close connection 
 which exists between text and melody in these venerable compositions. 
 This connection will be made more evident the farther we advance in 
 our study, for we shall see how words and music are fused, and how 
 in faft the melody is simply a development of the accent of the text. 
 
 We purpose to consider now certain details of notation, which 
 prove plainly the influence of the words on the music, and show how 
 exaftly the liturgical musicians appreciated the fusion of these two ele- 
 ments, and how ingeniously they represented this fusion in their no- 
 tation. 
 
 " In singing, and indeed in reading also, the passage from one 
 syllable to another requires special attention ; at the moment of such 
 transition the singer or reader must be most vigilant, so that, amidst 
 the evolutions of the voice, he may ensure a harmonious flow of the 
 
V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS. 29 
 
 syllables, and preserve not only the unity of the word, but the finish ■ 
 and completeness of the smallest details of pronunciation. These con- 
 ditions are essential to the flow of the rhythm and the clearness of the 
 text. "1 For this end, Gregorian composers and Cantors employed 
 various means, all which show that the liturgical music, in its best 
 days, was composed and rendered with consummate art and true 
 esthetic sense. We will confine ourselves here to one of these methods, 
 the use of Liquescent or Semivocal Neums. 
 
 Musical Liquescence is thus defined by Guy of Arezzo : " Lique- 
 scunt in multis voces, more litterarum, ita ut inceptus modus unius 
 ad alterum limpide transiens nee finiri videatur. " Which may be thus 
 paraphrased : " As in the Alphabet there are liquids (1, m, n, r,), so 
 there are liquid sounds. These occur at the passage from one syllable 
 to another, when a note which began full and entire expires, as it were, 
 and is fused with the next note. " 
 
 Liquescence is in fafl: a delicate shade of pronunciation reflected 
 in the melody and consequently marked in neumatic notation. This 
 half-sounded (semivocalis) note which thus dies away (liquescit, deficit) 
 at the transition to a new syllable, is consequent on certain combina- 
 tions of consonants or of vowels. Before entering on the study of these 
 combinations, an introductory remark will not be out of place. 
 
 Musical Liquescence originated at a time when Latin was pro- 
 nounced with all the purity and correctness of a living language, and 
 it may be illustrated by a similar fa£t in grammar. In Greek and in 
 Latin a short vowel becomes long by position before two consonants. 
 The cause of this seems to be the difficulty which the ancients had in 
 pronouncing several consonants consecutively. To a short vowel ot 
 
 ■• Paleog. Musicale, t. ii. 
 
30 V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS. 
 
 one beat they added a pause equal to a fraftion of another beat. This 
 pause is defined as " a momentary interruption between two conso- 
 nants, in pronouncing the syllables of a word. "^ Yet this interruption 
 is not a silence ; it consists rather in the insertion of an indistinft vowel, 
 an arriere-son, which is not part of the preceding consonant, but which 
 results from the suspension of the effort required for pronouncing that 
 consonant. "- This may be seen by pronouncing quickly and distinctly 
 a word like su¥-dat^. The exaft articulation of each group of syllables 
 explains the kind of resonance which seems to separate them, v. g., 
 con^-fun^-dan^-tur . saP-ve. 
 
 Now this grammatical principle applies exactly to semi-vocalisa- 
 tion ; it is precisely this arriere-son, this delicate shade of pronunciation, 
 that influences the melody and even the material form of the neums. 
 This half-vowel used, through ignorance, to be written in many words ; 
 in MSS. and inscriptions of all ages such examples as the following 
 frequently appear : Pet(e)ro, uber(i)tas, aug(i)mentum, ur(e)bem, and 
 it is just in such words that liquescent or semivocal notes are found. 
 In words, this insertion is a blemish, because a full vowel is added ; 
 in chant, it is an ornament, introducing only a feeble note, naturally 
 called for by an exaft pronunciation. In practice, Liquescence may be 
 likened to portamento di voce, which, when judiciously employed, adds 
 so much to a melody. 
 
 We may now notice the principles which regulate the use of semi- 
 vocal notes : 
 
 I. Liquescents are never found in the course of a vocalise, a faft 
 which proves that they result from the influence of the text. 
 
 II. Every Liquescent comes at the end of a group and serves as 
 
 1 M. Edon. " Ecriture & prononciation du latin savant & du latin populaire, " p. 213. 
 
 2 Paleog. Mus., t. ii, p. 43. 
 
V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS. 
 
 31 
 
 transition to a new syllable. This does- not however imply that the 
 final of every group before a new syllable is liquescent ; because, 
 
 III. In order to produce semivocalisation the notes must be in con- 
 tact with syllables the letters of which call for such treatment. 
 
 IV. Paradoxical as it may seem, semivocal sounds are not always 
 employed when such combinations of letters occur. 
 
 Let us examine these fafts more closely. I and II require no com- 
 ment, but we must pause at III. We have said that in order to produce 
 Liquescence, the notes must be in contafl: with syllables the letters of 
 which call for such treatment. The phonetic concurrences which require 
 Liquescence are mainly : — ist. At the meeting of two consonants, 
 the first of which is a liquid, v. g. palma, super ccelos, tempus, scientia. 
 This is the commonest kind of Liquescence. The musical effeft may be 
 seen in the following example : 
 
 =3 
 
 Qu6-ni- am ae-di- fi- 
 
 ca- 
 
 vit 
 
 The notes susceptible of Liquescence here are the last note of the Clivis 
 (col. I .) and the last of the Podatus (col. 2.) ; but with the word csdi- 
 ficavit there is no call for semivocalisation. Sing to the same notes 
 the word inventus : 
 
 8 
 
 Non est 
 
 1 ri- 
 
 ven- tus 
 
 Here the sol of the Clivis and the ut of the Podatus have become 
 liquescent, because of their contaft with the letter n, the exaft pronun- 
 
32 V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS. 
 
 ciation of which calls for a kind of half-vowel. The semivocal notes 
 might be thus translated : 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 « 
 
 
 
 — ■ — ■ — J 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 Non est in- =- ve- n=- tus 
 
 — 2nd. At the meeting of two consonants, the first of which is a den- 
 tal (t, d) : V. g. ut iiscam, ad tt. These letters produce Liquescence 
 only when they come at the end of a word, for it is only then that they 
 have a resonance. (Cf. ta and at). — 3rd. At the meeting of two con- 
 sonants, the first of which is s : " sactxdos magnus ". — 4th. When the 
 consonants gn come together in the body of a word : " magnus ". — 
 5th. When certain consonants (d, m, n, r, t, b, s, 1), are followed by/. 
 
 — 6th. Semivocal notes are very frequently used with the diphthong 
 au " autem ". — 7th. There are also examples of Liquescence caused 
 by single consonants, for instance m and ^ .• " sewitas, re^i. " 
 
 Other instances are so rare that they are mere exceptions. 
 
 IV. We have yet to examine our last principle. It seems very 
 contradifliory to state that, in spite of the truth of what has been said 
 above, semivocal sounds are not always employed when such combi- 
 nations of letters occur. We must bear in mind that in Liquescence there 
 are two things to consider, viz. text and melody. The text must con- 
 tain letters susceptible of Liquescence and the rhythm and melody must 
 be in a condition to allow of its application. As a rule the music easily 
 lends itself to the requirements and even to the caprices of the words, 
 yet as music it has inalienable rights, which it cannot sacrifice without 
 endangering the harmony of its parts. The result of Liquescence is to 
 make the sounds which it affefts almost imperceptible, semivocal, and 
 therefore it cannot be admitted in certain notes the fulness of which 
 
V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS. }} 
 
 is essential to tiie purity and perfection of thie musical phrase. Moreo- 
 ver, liquescence sometimes takes the form of an additional note, and 
 in many instances such an addition would injure both the rhythm and 
 melody. 
 
 NOTATION OF LIQUESCENTS. (1st. CLASS). 
 
 Let us now turn to the MSS. and learn what efifedt this Liques- 
 cence has on the form of neums. 
 
 The semivocal signs vary somewhat in form, as do the neums 
 themselves, in each country, but in most cases the Liquescence is ex- 
 pressed by shortening the last stroke of a neum. In England, however, 
 and in France, a contrary system prevails, and groups afifefted by Liques- 
 cence generally lengthen their last stroke. 
 
 Coming then to examine the semivocal Neums of the first class, 
 we find that they are derived from the neum-accents by a simple mo- 
 dification of the last stroke of the sign. ^ (All neums may become 
 semi-vocal, the last note being always the one afifefted.) 
 
 Neums ending in an acute accent are thus modified ; 
 
 ORDINARY NEUM. 
 
 
 LiaUESCENT 
 
 NEUM. 
 
 J 3 
 
 becomes 
 
 u 
 
 J 
 
 /v h>B 
 
 >> 
 
 A 
 
 rj 
 
 :' .a 
 
 » 
 
 \j 
 
 ^ 
 
 /■•/ >♦! 
 
 » 
 
 /■o 
 
 V3 
 
 Liquescent neums ending in a grave accent take the following 
 form : 
 
 1 See Plate i. 
 
34 V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS. 
 
 ORDINARY NEUM. 
 
 
 LIQUESCENT NEUM. 
 
 /I f- 
 
 becomes 
 
 / 
 
 ! 
 
 ^ 
 
 s> 
 
 /= 
 
 *^ 
 
 r^i- >♦ 
 
 )» 
 
 /= 
 
 ft 1% 
 
 J- 3 s 
 
 » 
 
 c/^ 
 
 as 
 
 With regard to the Climacus, we must remember that the original 
 form of the neum was A"-, and that /■ is a derived figure, though 
 very ancient. The Liquescent tal<es its shape from the original, uniting 
 in a curve the last two notes, both of which are semivocal f°. The 
 group thus changed is called Climacus Sinuosus, or Ancus, (ayxwv = 
 curve). The Podatus when afifefted by Liquescence is called Epiphonus, 
 a corruption ofEmiphonus, (ti^aicpuvo? = semivocal), and the Clivis be- 
 comes Cephalicus, the shortening of the second stroke of the neum 
 making a kind of little head (xEBa).-/]). The other groups retain their or- 
 dinary name and are called, for instance, semivocal Torculus, Porre- 
 ftus, etc. 
 
 II 
 
 We have already remarked that Liquescence is produced at times 
 by the addition of a note to the ordinary neum. In this case the semi- 
 vocal note does not belong to the original melody, and it might be, 
 and indeed very often is, retrenched, without injuring the phrase. Neums 
 ending in an acute accent are more frequently affefted by this kind of 
 Liquescence than those ending in a grave. 
 
V. LIQUESCENT OR SEMIVOCAL NEUMS. 35 
 
 NOTATION OF LIQJJESCENTS. (2nd. CLASS). 
 
 ORDINARY 
 
 NEUM. 
 
 
 
 LIQUESCENT NEUM. 
 
 
 Virga 
 
 / 
 
 ■ 
 
 becomes 
 
 Cepbalicus 
 
 f 
 
 B 
 
 Podatus 
 
 J 
 
 a 
 
 » 
 
 Liq. Tor cuius 
 
 / 
 
 •: 
 
 Scandicus 
 
 1 
 
 .a 
 
 » 
 
 
 f 
 
 .-: 
 
 Porre£tus 
 
 N 
 
 S 
 
 » 
 
 
 If 
 
 ^: 
 
 TorculHs 
 
 J\ 
 
 •"> 
 
 » 
 
 Pes sinuosus 
 
 J" 
 
 3% 
 
 CUmacus 
 
 /• 
 
 >♦ 
 
 » 
 
 
 A, 
 
 ^ 
 
 Pes subpunSlis 
 
 J- 
 
 3s 
 
 » 
 
 
 J: 
 
 \ 
 
 These additional notes, whicii are produced under the influence of 
 the text, give a curious insight into Gregorian rhythm, showing both 
 the freedom of its movements and its close union with the words. In 
 faft the rules of this rhythm are strikingly portrayed in neumatic nota- 
 tion, and the liquescent neums furnish fresh proofs of the faft, and 
 show that this notation is really a phonographic representation of the 
 smallest details of Latin pronunciation. When taste had become deprav- 
 ed and execution heavy, these delicate shades were negleded and 
 liquescent notes became a fruitful source of mistakes, and of serious 
 alterations in the melody. The added liquescent note was sometimes 
 taken for an essential note of the phrase, and itself received a liquescent 
 addition. But in the best days of Gregorian Chant liquescent additions 
 were made with exquisite taste and care, and served to embellish both 
 rhythm and melody. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 
 
 The 4th. Vol. of the " Paleographie musicale " reproduces in 
 facsimile a precious MS. belonging to the great Abbey of Einsiedein 
 (No. 121). It is a Gradual, noted throughout in neum-accents, and 
 written at the end of the loth. or the beginning of the i ith. century. 
 The tradition of the Monastery, supported by a German inscription pre- 
 fixed to the volume in 1599, assures us that it belonged to the Blessed 
 Abbot Gregory. 1 (A. D. 945.) 
 
 The peculiar interest of this document lies in the Romanian Signs 
 and Letters, which are added to the ordinary neumatic notation. In this 
 particular, the MS. is the richest of its kind. 
 
 But what are these Romanian Signs and Letters? They have a 
 history of their own which takes us back to the days of Charlemagne, 
 and may here be told in a few words. The great King being at Rome 
 for the Easter of 787, was called on to decide a dispute which had 
 arisen between the royal and the papal singers. The King's cantors 
 
 1 Mentioned in " Menology of England and Wales, " Nov. 13111. He is said to have 
 been son of Edward the Elder, but however this may be, he was at least of the Royal 
 family of England. Having left his country, he became a Monk in St. Gregory's Mona- 
 stery in Rome, whence he passed to Einsiedein, where he eventually became Abbot. 
 
VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 37 
 
 declared their preference for their own chants, while the Romans rested 
 their claims to superiority on the authority of St. Gregory, whose 
 teaching had been carefully preserved at Rome. The debate becoming 
 animated, both parties referred the matter to the King. Having heard 
 the arguments on each side, Charlemagne asked his followers : " Tell 
 me, where is the stream the purest, at its source or in its channel? " 
 " In its source, " was the unanimous reply. " Then ", rejoined the 
 King, " do you return to the source, for by your own argument you 
 are proved to be in the wrong. " The praftical result of the dispute 
 was, that Charlemagne resolved to reform the Church Music in his 
 dominions, and for this end obtained from Pope Adrian two cantors of 
 the Gregorian School, each of them provided with an authentic copy of 
 the Antiphonary. The cantors chosen for this mission were Peter and 
 Romanus, who seem to have set out for Germany about the year 789. 
 They travelled together as far as the great Monastery of St. Gall, where 
 Romanus falling sick, Peter was obliged to continue his journey alone. 
 He settled at Metz and founded there a school of sacred chant which 
 flourished for many centuries. 
 
 On Romanus' recovery, the Monks, appreciating the treasure which 
 Providence had entrusted to them, begged Charlemagne to leave the 
 great cantor among them. The King consented, and Romanus spent 
 the remainder of his life at St. Gall, forming a Gregorian Schola, and 
 at his death he bequeathed his priceless Antiphonary to the Abbey. His 
 experience as a teacher has happily left its mark. He must have had his 
 full share of the difficulties inseparable from the training of a choir, and 
 no doubt he found Northern voices more rebellious than the refined 
 organs of his native land. In order to remedy the insufficiency of Neu- 
 matic Notation, as well as to mark various shades of expression, he 
 added to the neums certain Signs and Letters, called after him " Roma- 
 nian ". 
 
38 VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 
 
 There can be no doubt that Romanus himself was the originator of 
 the system ; we have the word of Ekkhard the Younger, Chronicler of 
 the Abbey (1036) : " Primus ille (Romanus) in ipso Antiphonario lit- 
 teras alphabeti significativas notulis, quibus visum est aut sursum, aut 
 iusum, aut ante, aut retro, assignari excogitavit, quas postea cuidam 
 amico qu^renti Notker Balbulus dilucidavit ". 
 
 This letter of Notker's has happily been preserved, and has been 
 published several times of late years, though so incorrectly as to be 
 unintelligible in some parts. Fortunately there is an abridged form of 
 the letter extant in a MS. of the 13th. century (St. Thomas', Leipzig.), 
 which clears up the obscurities of the original. Notker's authority as 
 interpreter of the Romanian Letters is unimpeachable, since the poet- 
 monk was almost a cotemporary of the Roman master, if he had not 
 aftually found his way to St. Gall's in Romanus' lifetime. If he was 
 not so fortunate as to hear the great cantor's lessons, he was at least 
 instructed by his immediate disciples. As to its form, B'^ Notker's letter 
 does him no credit, being written in the worst style of that time. 
 Instead of giving in simple terms the meaning of each letter, he goes 
 out of his way and aims at beginning each word of his explanation 
 with the letter under consideration. He succeeds in a few instances; 
 but where he fails, he insists on getting at least the last word into his 
 plan. This contrivance seriously endangers the clearness of his explana- 
 tions, ^ but by the help of the Leipzig MS. the meaning of the most 
 important letters has been ascertained. 
 
 1 The following may give some idea of the perplexing effed of Notker's alliteration : 
 g — Ut in o'utture ^radatim ^arruletur genuine ^ratulatur. 
 m — Mediocriter melodiaw woderari mendicando memorat. 
 n — A'btare, hoc est woscitare wotificat. 
 S — 5usum, vel sur5um scandere sibilat. 
 
VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 39 
 
 ROMANIAN LETTERS. 
 
 In order to appreciate the usefulness of these Letters we must 
 remember that the Chironomic Notation to which they were applied 
 was an imperfeft system and had two serious deficiencies : it did not 
 fix the intervals of the sounds, and it gave only scant indications as to 
 rhythm and expression. Hence we find two principal classes of Letters, 
 I St. those relating to intonation ; 2nd. those relating to rhythm. 
 
 1st. class, 
 letters relating to intonation. (7 letters). 
 
 Of these, four indicate an elevation of voice, viz : — 
 
 a — Ut altius elevetur admonet. 
 
 1 — Levare. 
 
 s — Sursum. 
 
 g — Gradatim. 
 Two denote a lowering of pitch, viz : — 
 
 d — Deprimatur. 
 
 i — lusuin or inferius. 
 One marks unison, viz : — 
 
 e — equaliter. 
 
 2nd. class, 
 letters relating to rhythm. (7 letters). 
 
 One marks accelerando, viz : — 
 
 c — celeriier or cito. 
 Three express ritardando, viz : — 
 
 t — trahere or tenere. 
 
 X — exspeftare. 
 
 m — mediocriter. 
 
40 VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 
 
 Three denote force or intensity, viz : — 
 p — pressionem significat. 
 f — cum fragore. 
 k — clange or Klenke. 
 
 But Romanus' ingenuity goes still further, and we have another 
 class of letters. 
 
 3rd. class. 
 LETTERS MODIFYING THE PRECEDING. (3 LETTERS). 
 
 b — bene. 
 V — valde. 
 m — mediocriter. 
 
 b and v are very frequently used to modify t, i, and other letters. 
 m is found by itself, as in the 2nd. class, or with another letter, as 
 tm — teneatur mediocriter. 
 
 Of all the letters c and t are the most frequently used, being 
 found at almost every word in the MSS. 
 
 The remaining seven Letters are seldom or never used, though 
 Notker takes the trouble to explain each of them. 
 
 As a rule the Romanian Letters, when added to a neumatic group, 
 afifeft only one note ; for instance, in the following clivis 1\ the first 
 note is long, while in this podatus J it is the second. When a letter 
 is to be applied to more than one note, it is drawn out over the group 
 or groups, thus /v\/\- ^ 
 
 ROMANIAN SIGNS. 
 
 There are two classes of these Signs : 
 
 The first is formed by various changes in the form of the neum- 
 
 ^ For both Signs and Letters, see Plate i . 
 
VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 4I 
 
 accents, the lines being made longer or tliicker, or being turned in 
 different directions. 
 
 The PunBum ( . ) becomes . _ 
 
 The first strol^e of the Podatus {J) is lengthened and makes V or s/ 
 
 The Torculus (c/) becomes ../i or J" 
 
 The Porred-us (flf) becomes /V 
 
 The Climacus (/•.) changes its points into strokes and becomes 
 /•- /•-. /--. according to the number of notes affefted. 
 
 The mark of the second class of Romanian Signs is the addition 
 of a little stroke to the ordinary neum, or even to groups already 
 changed as in the first class. Since this stroke may occupy various 
 places in the groups, it is often obliged to change its form, so that we 
 find it sometimes horizontal, sometimes curved, sometimes vertical ; 
 but, whatever its shape, it has always the same signification and de- 
 notes a lengthening of the note to which it is added. Unlike the signs 
 of the first class, which mark the whole group as ritardando, this 
 little stroke affeds only one note, being repeated if applied to more 
 than one. 
 
 The Romanian Sign is found in the following forms : 
 
 
 ORDINARY NEUM. 
 
 NEUM WITH 
 ROMANIAN SIGN. 
 
 Virga 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 Podatus 
 
 J 
 
 J 
 
 Clivis 
 
 A 
 
 A A 
 
 Torculus 
 
 y> 
 
 c/f 
 
 Porredtus 
 
 /!/ 
 
 /^ 
 
 Climacus 
 
 /• 
 
 /• 
 
 Scandicus 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
42 VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 
 
 The importance of Romanian Signs and Letters can scarcely be 
 exaggerated. Their authority is of the highest, since they are derived 
 direftly from Rome, through one of the most proficient Gregorian 
 cantors of the 8th. century. They throw much light too on the praftical 
 execution of the chant, showing the manner of phrasing passages? 
 marking ritardando, accelerando, crescendo, &c., with an attention to 
 detail scarcely surpassed by our modern expression-marks. 
 
 We may remark in conclusion that these Romanian Signs and 
 Letters, though originating at St. Gall's, are not confined to the MSS. 
 of that house. They appear in the choir-books not only of the neigh- 
 bouring Monasteries, but of distant places, and are found even in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Having now some idea of the notation of the Gregorian melodies, 
 we are prepared for the study of those melodies themselves. In seeking 
 for the principle on which they are construfted, we must take the chants, 
 not as they are in many modern editions , but as they appear in the 
 most authentic MSS. ; just as the student of an ancient language turns 
 to its most reliable monuments and reads its purest writers. 
 
 Our enquiry will therefore be concerned with the chants of the litur- 
 gical books in their ancient form, — (the Liber Antiphonarius, Liber 
 Gradualis and Liber Responsorialis.) 
 
 The pieces contained in these books may be roughly classified as 
 follows : ist. Antipbons with psalm verses; i. e. Antiphons of the 
 Office (Vespers, &c.), and of the Mass (Introit, Offertory, Communion.) 
 — 2nd. Responsories of the Office (Matins), and of the Mass (Gradual), 
 also followed by verses. (The Alleluia-verse belongs to this class.) — 
 3rd. Traits, \. e. verses without Antiphons or Responsories. 
 
VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 
 
 43 
 
 There are then two distinft parts in liturgical pieces : ( i ) Antiphons 
 and Responsories which open and close the chant of Psalms, — and 
 (2) yerses. 
 
 Leaving aside Antiphons and Responsories, let us look at the 
 melody oi Verses, i. e. Psalms of the Office, and Verses of the Gra- 
 dual of the Mass, and of the Responsories of Matins. 
 
 The first thing to strike us in psalm-tones is their simplicity. All 
 Psalmody may be described as consisting of three parts. {\) An intona- 
 tion ; — (2) a reciting-note (dominant) ; — (3) cadences, either medial 
 or final. These forms serve to punctuate the phrase. 
 
 Intonation 
 
 Dominant 
 
 Medial 
 Cadence Dominant 
 
 Final Cadence 
 
 II 
 
 . 
 
 
 ■ a 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 V. Mode a _ " 
 
 ■ ■ - - - 
 
 " " " 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 — ■ 1 
 
 
 
 
 "^ 
 
 Di-xit Do- mi-nus D6mi-no me- : Se-de a dextris me- is 
 
 The melody is more developed in the Psalms of the Introit, in the 
 Psalm " Venite exsultemus, " and in the Verses of the Matins' 
 Responsories ; yet we find the same component parts, — intonation, 
 dominant and final. This we may call ornate psalmody, (e. g. Ps. I. M.) 
 
 Inton. 
 
 Medial 
 Dominant Cadence Inton. 
 
 Dominant 
 
 Final Cadence 
 
 ::a: 
 
 f- 
 
 ■ ■■■ 
 
 Lae-ti- fi-ca... servi tu- i:qu6-ni- am ad te D6mi-ne... me- am le-va- vi 
 
 Analysing Tra£ts and Verses of Graduals we find the same struc- 
 ture, though hidden under a greater number of notes and neums. This 
 third style we may call neumatic psalmody. ^ 
 
 1 See Table at the end of this volume. 
 
44 VI. ROMANIAN SIGNS AND LETTERS. 
 
 Intonation Dominant Cadence 
 
 5 
 
 VIII. Mode- 
 
 III- Mnrtp ■ 1 
 
 Adjii-tor... fadus est mi-hi in sa- lii- tem 
 
 Psalmodic structure has, therefore, three parts, and each part, ac- 
 cording as it is more or less developed, may belong to simple, ornate, 
 or neumatic style. As far as construftion goes, a verse of a Traft, Gra- 
 dual, or Alleluia may conceal under its florid neums a stru£lure identical 
 with that of a simple psalm-tone. 
 
 We may now enquire what is the origin of this Psalmody. — It 
 is scarcely satisfactory to be told that Psalmody comes from the Greeks, 
 the Jews, or the Syrians. What we want to know is the^r^^, the natural 
 source of this musical declamation which we call Psalmody. This origin 
 is not far to seek. 
 
 A little observation will discover that in the most natural and com- 
 mon form of speech a sentence begins on the lower notes of the voice, 
 rises by degrees to a recitative, which varies according to the speaker's 
 sentiments, and falls at the close, by well-prepared and pleasant caden- 
 ces, to a final low note. These inflections may be inverted under the 
 influence of passion or great emotion, or for efifedt, but the faft remains 
 that a spoken phrase, in its normal state, consists of an intonation, a 
 recitative (more or less varied), and a cadence, — three parts which we 
 have already distinguished in psalmodic structure. May it not be found 
 that Psalmody owes its origin to speech, and is really the musical ex- 
 pression of that speech? — And, to carry out the principle to the full, 
 if the general form of a psalmodic phrase is borrowed from speech, 
 may not Psalmody have likewise taken from language, (i. e. from the 
 text of the Liturgy) its strong and weak notes, its accents, its divisions, 
 its pauses, — in a word, all the details of its rhythm? 
 
 But, having advanced this supposition, we must, before trying to 
 make it good, examine the characteristics of Gregorian rhythm. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 RHYTHM. 
 
 Rhythm (psw, puQ^xo?), i. e. the flow of sound or language, " con- 
 sists in the recurrence of accent or stress of voice ^ at regulated inter- 
 vals. " " This regularity is made appreciable by a more or less symme- 
 trical division, into certain small portions, of the time occupied by a 
 musical or poetical work of art. Hence the word rhythm is applied to 
 the proportion, balance and symmetry between the various portions of 
 the composition. The Romans also applied the word to rhetorical com- 
 positions, having regard to the balance and symmetry of the sentences 
 and periods ; and this is the sense in which we have to apply it to Gre- 
 gorian music. "- 
 
 There are two kinds of proportion and consequently two kinds of 
 rhythm. 
 
 " First there is stridl rhythm, (poetry and modern music) in which 
 the proportion is based on fixed and unchangeable rules. 
 
 " Then there \s free rhythm, (prose) in which the proportion is 
 regulated by the natural instinft of the ear. " ^ 
 
 1 This stress of voice is called arsis, and the unaccented syllable thesis. 
 
 2 Elements of Plain-Song, p. 31- 
 
 3 Melodies Gregoriennes, ch. xiii. 
 
46 VII. RHYTHM. 
 
 Of this free rhythm, the oratorical '' numerus, " Cicero says : 
 " Esse ergo in oratione numerum quemdam non est difficile cognos- 
 cere ; judicat enim sensus. Qtiod qui non sentiunt, quas aures habeant, 
 vel quid in his hominibus simile sit nescio. "i 
 
 In free, therefore, as in strift rhythm, there is a certain proportion, 
 consisting in the " balance and symmetry between certain portions of 
 the composition. " Such is Gregorian rhythm, — free, taking its form 
 from the text of the Liturgy and founded on principles of balance and 
 proportion and on the use of the ccBSura. ^ This balance, says Guy of 
 Arezzo, consists primarily in the number of sounds and in the propor- 
 tion of the pauses. 
 
 It would be beyond our present purpose to enter into a detailed 
 examination of these proportions ; the reader is referred to Dom Joseph 
 Pothier's exhaustive treatment of the subjeft, ^ and to the " Elements 
 of Plain-Song " in which the same principles are presented in an English 
 form. 
 
 Since the words of the Liturgical text are the " prima materies " 
 of Gregorian rhythm, and since the life of a word is its accent, " ac- 
 centus anima vocis, " we may say that the tonic or acute accent is 
 the chief faftor in this rhythm. 
 
 The first thing to remark about the tonic accent is its essentially 
 musical charafter. The syllable of each word which it afifefts was mark- 
 ed, with the ancients, by an elevation of voice, while the other sylla- 
 bles were in a lower pitch. The accent is really a melody, the expres- 
 sion of all that is most musical in language. 
 
 It seems however that this musical character belonged more to the 
 
 1 Or. Iv. 
 
 2 Elements, p. 30. 
 
 3 Melodies Gresoriennes, ch. xiii. 
 
VII. RHYTHM. 4y 
 
 Greek accent. Quintilian tells us that the Latin accent, though musical, 
 had a certain force unknown to the Greek. In the Augustan Age, des- 
 pite the efforts of literary purists, the accent gained in intensity, and by 
 the third century it had obtained pre-eminence over the other syllables. 
 It is important to observe that the accent by becoming strong became 
 an element of rhythm in a word or a phrase, since rhythm consists in 
 the alternation of strong and of weak beats. 
 
 This is not the place to write the history of the accent, but we 
 may note that on the formation of the Romance languages, it further 
 became long; indeed this lengthening of the accented syllable was one 
 of the chief causes of the transformation and decadence of Latin. As a 
 matter of faft, the long accent is not Latin at all- but a Romance, a 
 modern accent. However, at the time in which we are interested, i. e. 
 in the 3rd. and 4th. centuries, the accent was still musical and strong, 
 and had not yet become long. 
 
 The position of the accent in Latin words is well known ; suffice 
 it here to say that : i st. in dissyllables the penultimate is accented : 
 '' mitis, fortis , " 2nd. that in words of more than two syllables the 
 accent falls on the penultimate if prosodically long, and on the antepen- 
 ultimate if the penultimate is short : '' Redtmptor, Dominus. " 
 
 These rules for the position of the accent bring out two important 
 fads regarding the melody and the rhythm of Latin words. With regard 
 to the first we remark that the musical elevation of the tonic accent on 
 the penultimate or antepenultimate, occasions a fall of pitch on the fol- 
 lowing syllable or syllables of the word, so that the effeft might be 
 represented thus 
 
 r_ !_ /_ 
 
 e 
 
 -■— • — -= — ■— — -■- 
 
 Red-emptor Red-emptor Domi-nus 
 
48 VII. RHYTHM. 
 
 As to the second faft, that which refers to the rhythm of words, — the 
 force of the tonic accent falling always on the penultimate or antepenul- 
 timate, there is a consequent weakening of the subsequent syllable or 
 syllables. 
 
 It follows from these indications that if, as we suppose, the tonic 
 accent has had a real influence on the structure of Roman Psalmody, 
 we should, as a general rule, find notes of higher pitch on the accented 
 syllables and lower notes on the final syllables of words. Let us see 
 whether the supposition is supported by the ancient MSS. 
 
 With a view to greater clearness, we purpose to confine ourselves 
 to the finals of psalmodic phrases; these cadences are, moreover, the 
 most important parts of the phrase, — since it is at the end of a sen- 
 tence or a period, whether musical or otherwise, that the rhythm is 
 most strongly marked : " Cum aures extremum exspeftent, in eoque 
 acquiescant, id vacare numero non oportet. "^ 
 
 But a word first on the text to which the melodies had to be fitted. 
 The old Roman masters had no choice of words or phrases ; they had 
 to take them as they found them in the prose-psalter, in which the 
 cadences are very varied. 
 
 Let us see how the early composers set to work. Nothing could 
 exceed the simplicity of their first expedient. This consisted in keeping 
 to one reciting note until the last accent of the phrase inclusively, and 
 then lowering the last syllable or syllables. This, the simplest inflexion 
 possible, occurs frequently in the Ambrosian Chant and occasionally in 
 the Roman. - 
 
 1 Cicero. 
 
 2 See Table at end of this volume. 
 
VII. RHYTHM. 
 
 49 
 
 Ambrosian 
 
 in excelsis De- o ... bona; volun-ta-tis 
 
 r f 
 
 Di-xit Dnus Dno me- o : Se-de a dextris me- is 
 
 Or again, — and here the musical charafter of the accent is still 
 further emphasized, — the melody rises on the acute syllable of the 
 last word in a phrase, and falls again on the final syllable or syllables. 
 
 F 
 
 D6mi-nus Domi-no me-o 
 
 The above examples are cadences of one accent. They give small 
 enough scope to the music, and it is not surprising to find composers 
 claiming more consideration for their art. 
 
 Afting always under the influence of the accent they begin their 
 inflexions on the last accent but one ; examples may be found in the 
 following final of 5th. mode, and in the mediant of the Introit psalms. 
 
 / / 
 
 i _ _ _ _ _ 
 V, Mode 
 
 I. Mode 
 Psalm at Int. 
 
 i ■ ■ ■ ■— ■-^-j ■— 
 
 . se-de a dextris me- is 
 
 / 
 
 -■— •- 
 
 a-nimam servi tu- 1 
 
 This is the cadence of two accents. 
 
50 VII. RHYTHM. 
 
 The melody still further asserts its rights in such pieces as the 
 following which belongs to neumatic psalmody. The plain psalmodic 
 construftion is kept up until the last accent of the phrase, when the 
 music, taking advantage of this accent, goes off into a long and joyous 
 neum. 
 
 g 
 
 ■ — ■ — ■ — ■- N b " » ^^ -i-«- 
 
 . . . ut palma flo-re- bit 
 
 These few examples, which might be multiplied ad infinitum, may 
 suffice to show the influence of the tonic accent on the rhythm of psal- 
 mody. 
 
 So far we have traced that influence only in cadences of two or 
 three notes. These forms are the most natural, the most akin to ordi- 
 nary speech ; but our Gregorian composers did not overlook the Cursus, 
 i. e. more studied combinations of accents and syllables. We shall see 
 the masters making use of these forms, and composing more perfeft 
 melodies for these more perfeft syllabic types. We must therefore recal 
 the rules of the Cursus. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE " CURSUS. " 
 
 A " Cursus " is a certain harmonious succession of words and 
 syllables, much used by prose-writers both Greek and Latin, with a 
 view to procuring measured and pleasant cadences. When this combi- 
 nation of syllables is based on quantity, the Cursus is metrical; when 
 on the tonic accent and the number of syllables, the Cursus is rhyth- 
 mical or tonic. ^ It is with the latter that we are here concerned, since 
 the text of the Liturgy is prose, and its rhythm, as we have seen, founded 
 on the tonic accent. 
 
 There are four forms of the Rhythmical Cursus or Cadence. The 
 first three are found in the prayer of the Angelus, with which we are 
 all familiar : 
 
 / / 
 
 1. Gratiam tuam, quaesumus... nostris infunde Cursus planus. 
 
 / / 
 
 2. Ut qui Angelo . . incarnati- onem cognovimus Cursus tardus. 
 
 r / 
 
 3. per passionem .... glortam perducamur Cursus velox. 
 
 The fourth is exemplified in the following : 
 
 / f 
 
 4. Deus qui corda . . illustrati- one docuisti Trispondiac Cursus. 
 
 1 It is only since the 12th. century that the word " Cursus" has been used in the 
 sense here attached to it. 
 
52 VIII. THE " CURSUS. " 
 
 These first examples demonstrate the use of the four Cursus in 
 the prayers of the Roman Liturgy, hi fa£t, we may open the Breviary or 
 Missal at hap-hazard, and we shall be sure to find Collects, Secrets, 
 Postcommunions, Prefaces, etc., ending in one of the four forms. 
 
 It will not be out of place to sum up the charafteristics of these 
 
 Cursus. 
 
 1st. Cursus Planus. It consists of Jive syllables so disposed — a 
 paroxyton ^ of three syllables preceded by another paroxyton : 
 
 , ! . . f . 
 
 \ be- nignus il- lustra 
 
 I cle- menter ex- audi 
 
 i mere- amur in cce- lis 
 
 5 syllables. 
 
 type : 2 + } 
 
 equivalent to type : 2 -\- \ -\- 2 
 
 \ mun- demur in men-te 
 
 This Cursus is C2\\t6. planus , says M. Noel Valois, on account of 
 the monotony caused by the sequence of two words accented on the 
 penultimate. 
 
 2nd. Cursus Tardus. This cadence of six syllables ends in a pro- 
 paroxyton^ of four syllables, preceded by a paroxyton : 
 
 6 syllables. 
 
 / • . f • - 
 
 solemni- ta- te Ice- ti- ficas 
 
 carnis appa-ruit 
 impi- o-rum oc-cu- buit 
 ini- mi-cos di- li-sere 
 
 &"• 
 
 type : 2 
 
 Equivalents 
 
 \ mentis et corpo-ris 2 -\- i -\- } 
 
 I instau- ra-re dignatus es 2 + 3+1 
 
 1 Paroxyton = a word accented on the ^ 
 
 2 Proparoxyton = a word accented on the antepenultimate. 
 
(( 
 
 VIII. THE " CURSUS. 5^ 
 
 This Cursus is in fad. only a Cursus planus lengthened, retarded by one 
 syllable ; hence perhaps its name. 
 
 3rd. Cursus Velox. Seven syllables. It ends like the preceding in 
 a word of four syllables, but the word in this case is a paroxyton and is 
 preceded by a proparoxyton of three or more syllables. Of the three 
 Cursus this is the most solemn ; it owes its name perhaps to the faft 
 that it has more weak than strong syllables : 
 
 7 syllables. 
 
 prce- mi-a proestitisti 
 
 pe- lagi li-beravit type : ) -\- 4 
 
 sanguine de-dicasti 
 
 Equivalents 
 
 / • • . . / . 
 
 Uni- ge-ni-ti tu- i vi-as 3 + 2 + 2 
 
 cernitur et in terra 3 + i + i + 2 
 
 pro- fi- ciant et sa-lu-ti 3 + ' -h 3 
 
 4th. The fourth form of the Cursus remains to be noticed; it is 
 made up of six syllables thus arranged : A paroxyton of four syllables 
 preceded by another paroxyton. This is the Trispondiac Cursus : 
 
 6 syllables. 
 
 a- more roboremur 
 ter- rena modera-ris 2 + 4 
 
 duce revela-sti 
 
 All the above cadences, in spite of their variety, have certain fea- 
 tures in common, as the following table will show. 
 
54 
 
 
 Vlll. THE " CURSUS. " 
 
 
 
 1st. part. 
 
 Coesura. 
 
 2nd. part. 
 
 
 Cursus planus 
 
 r ' 
 
 
 • / . 
 
 5 syllables 
 
 » tardus 
 
 ! ' 
 
 
 • / • • 
 
 6 » 
 
 » trispondiac 
 
 f ■ 
 
 
 • / . 
 
 6 >v 
 
 s^ velox 
 
 r . . 
 
 
 • . r . 
 
 7 » 
 
 " Each of the four Cursus is founded on two principal accents, 
 and is thus cut up into two unequal parts separated by a coesura which 
 is marked by the distinftion of the words. The first half always begins 
 with an arsis or acute accent, and falls at the end of the word, v. g. 
 
 " nosiris, prcemia. " — This is the place of the coesura. In the second 
 half the movement is taken up again and after one or two syllables 
 reaches the second accent, falling again on the final or finals; v. g. 
 
 . / . . /.. . . r . 
 
 " illustra, apparuit, dedicasti. "^ 
 
 Turning to our musical cadences of five notes to which the last 
 chapter had brought us, let us enquire whether they owe anything to 
 the Cursus planus, which consists, as we have just seen, of five syl- 
 lables. 
 
 Not to be rash, we may put the case thus : Is it possible to fit a 
 literary Cursus planus to the musical finals of which we are seeking 
 the origin? Would the result be perfeft harmony between text and 
 melody? Yes, most certainly. Take the following examples from the 
 Preface (ferial tone) ; no one can fail to remark the coincidence of the 
 acute accents of the words with the elevation of pitch in the melody : 
 
 1 PaUographie Musicale. 
 
VIII. THE 
 
 CURSUS. 
 
 55 
 
 '^-M-' J=.-==i=:i 
 
 Sine 
 
 Una 
 
 ha- 
 
 jucun- 
 
 fi- 
 
 ne 
 
 di- 
 
 cen- 
 
 vo- 
 
 ce 
 
 di- 
 
 cen- 
 
 ben- 
 
 da 
 
 per- 
 
 du- 
 
 ca- 
 
 sta 
 
 li- 
 
 ber- 
 
 dan- 
 
 ter 
 
 oc- 
 
 cur- 
 
 tes 
 tes 
 cas 
 tas 
 rant 
 
 Is then the origin of these and similar musical phrases to be traced 
 to the Cursus planus? One is inclined to think so, from the relatively 
 large number of mediants and finals of five syllables to which the 
 Cursus planus lends itself so perfectly. These cadences occur at every 
 line in Sacramentaries, Graduals, and Responsorials, both Roman and 
 Ambrosian, and the pieces in which they are found belong to the three 
 classes of chant which we have already noticed (simple, ornate and 
 neumatic). The Pater, Preface, Exsultet, supply examples in simple 
 style, see the following : 
 
 5 4 3 2 1 
 
 From the 
 
 introdnMion to the 
 
 Pater noster. 
 
 Pater noster 
 
 Ferial tone. 
 
 Exsultet. 
 
 .p 
 
 % 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 
 ■ a 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 
 instituti- 6- 
 
 ne 
 
 for-ma- ti 
 
 .f 
 
 % 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 ■ a 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 
 ... qui 
 
 es 
 
 in cffi-iis 
 
 ■!■ - - 
 
 % 
 
 " 
 
 ■ 
 
 - i - 
 
 M M 
 
 . . . turba cae- io-rum 
 
 For pieces in ornate style we may refer to the Introit Ps. of all the 
 modes except the 5th., v. g. : 
 
56 VIII. THE " CURSUS. " 
 
 5432 
 
 -■ Wl-B- 
 
 . . . animam me- am le- va- vi 
 
 For neumatic chants founded on the Cursus planus we may take 
 the Verses of the Matins' Responsories, in all the eight modes. ^ 
 
 :Ki=P. 
 
 ti- bi so- li pec- ca- vi 
 
 The strufture is the same throughout. Adapt a Cursus planus to 
 any of the above cited cadences, and it will be seen that the melody 
 always rises to a higher note on the tonic accent and falls again on 
 weak syllables. Can this be accidental? It would indeed be strange, 
 were it so. A more reasonable conclusion is, that these innumerable 
 musical cadences were modelled by ancient composers on the literary 
 Cursus planus, just as the cadences of one or two accents, which we 
 have already studied, were formed on simpler types of speech. The 
 influence of the tonic accent on the structure of the Church's chant, 
 both in its melody and in its rhythm, is therefore evident. 
 
 Yet, when all this has been said and insisted upon, and we turn 
 to the MSS. for justification of our theory, we find that the musical 
 cadences of five notes, which we have just been analysing, are not in- 
 variably so happy as to be fitted to the Cursus planus. We notice that 
 often enough, especially in florid cadences, the tonic accent of a word 
 is set to a lower note than are the unaccented syllables. Not only so, 
 
 1 See Table at end. 
 
1 1 
 
 VIII. THE " CURSUS. 57 
 
 but we find, horribile diSlu! short, yes aftually short penultimates en- 
 dowed with two, three, four, six or even more notes ! What then is to 
 become of our fine theory ? 
 
 Our authorities give several, and to our mind satisfaftory, solu- 
 tions of this contradiftion. We need not here dwell on the power of 
 the phrasing or logical accent ; this accent is freer than the tonic accent, 
 which indeed it often overrules. Even in ordinary speech a word may 
 lose its usual accentuation under the influence of the logical or of the 
 pathetic accent. It is not surprising therefore that in Music, under the 
 same pressure, the tonic should lose its relatively higher pitch, or its 
 force, or even both. 
 
 A further explanation of our present difficulty may be found in the 
 consideration that a perfeft agreement between text and melody, desir- 
 able as it is, admits of lawful exceptions, whenever the melody's form 
 or rhythm is so fixed as to give it a right to overrule the text. But of 
 this more presently. 
 
 These reasons might suffice, but there is another consideration 
 which is still more important and which goes to the root of the ques- 
 tion. In studying our Gregorian melodies, we must be careful to dis- 
 criminate between the original stru£lure of any given melody and the 
 adaptation of various texts to that same melody. The two questions 
 are quite distinft, and, in a certain sense, independent of each other. We 
 have already spoken of the Origin of a melodic structure, and may turn 
 in the next chapter to the question of adaptation. 
 
 But, before leaving the Cursus, we must say a word on its im- 
 portance as a guide to fixing the date of our melodies. We are accus- 
 tomed to hear that the restoration of St. Gregory's chant is impossible, 
 since we have no noted MSS. earlier than the 9th. century. True ; but 
 
 is it fair to conclude that therefore the Chant itself cannot boast of any 
 
 h 
 
58 VIU. THE " CURSUS. " 
 
 greater antiquity? Is the time at wliich a MS. is written sufficient to fix 
 the date of the composition of its contents ? The logical conclusion of 
 such reasoning would be that we must rejeft as spurious some of the 
 greatest of St. Gregory's literary works, which come to us from the 
 same century that gives us his chants. The famous " Peregrinatio Syl- 
 vicp " which is now interesting liturgical students, and which belongs 
 to the 4th. century, has been recovered from an i ith. century MS. 
 — This seems to show that there is some possibility of proving our 
 chants to be authentic Gregorian ; but happily we have stronger argu- 
 ments, furnished in part by the history of the Cursus. 
 
 The study of this literary formula has led to the conclusion that 
 the Cursus was in use chiefly from the end of the 4th. to the middle 
 of the 7th. century, from which time " rhythm seemed banished from 
 prose for four centuries, ' ' being restored only under B. Urban II 
 (1088-99). This Pope's Chancellor, John Gaetani, was anxious o im- 
 prove the style of the Roman Chancery and his efforts were not 
 without success. The 12th. century welcomed several treatises, laying 
 down the rules for this literary renaissance. Albert of Morra, who be- 
 came Pope under the name Gregory Vlll, (^ 1 187) wrote the '''■ Forma 
 diBandi, " a work which had so wide an influence that rhythmical prose 
 began to be called " stylus gregorianus ".It was at this time that the 
 terms " Cursus velox, tardus, and planus " came into use. ^ (The 
 trispondaic Cursus was not then acknowledged). We will leave a learn- 
 ed writer in the ' '' Correspondant " - to bring out the significance of 
 these fatts in their bearing on the Liturgical Chant. He remarks first — 
 that a knowledge of the laws of the Cursus and of the date at which it 
 
 1 See Paleographie Mus., t. iv, p. 34. 
 
 2 Decembre 1894. " Le Plain-Chant & le Pape S. Gregoire le Grand, " par M. Jules 
 Combarieu . 
 
( I 
 
 VIII. THE CURSUS. 59 
 
 fell into disuse makes this form a precious criterion for correcting a 
 doubtful reading of a MS., and for proving the date or authenticity of 
 certain charts; just as a detail of dress, etc., may determine the period 
 to which a statue belongs, or as the use of obsolete words may fix, at 
 least approximately, the date of a literary work. 
 
 He then points out that the careful study of the Cursus has ren- 
 dered an analogous service to Gregorian Chant, by throwing light on 
 the vexed question of its authenticity. He says : 
 
 " There is a musical Cursus ; that is to say — there are in phrases 
 certain cadences, in which the accented syllables are represented by 
 higher notes, the unaccented syllables by lower notes. " He then sums 
 up the reasoning of the " Paleographie Musicale, " as follows : 
 
 " In the Liturgical books of the three chief dialefts of Plain-Chant 
 (Ambrosian, Gregorian, and Mozarabic), we find more than a hundred 
 cadences (repeated thousands of times) which follow the rhythmical 
 rise and fall of the literary Cursus planus on which they have evidently 
 been framed. 
 
 " Now we know that from the 8th. to the 12th. century there 
 was a general disregard of the Cursus. This is the conclusion arrived at 
 by M. W. Meyer, after studying numerous authors of all countries. 
 M. Noel Valois, in his " Etude sur le rhythme des bulles pontificales, " 
 shows that from the middle of the 7th. century the Cursus was 
 scarcely observed, and often completely misunderstood. 
 
 " The Abbe L. Couture, on his side, bears witness that " from 
 the time of St. Gregory the Great rhythm seems to have been banished 
 for four centuries from literary prose. " 
 
 " The Gregorian Melodies may therefore be considered as contem- 
 poraneous with the literary formula on which they are built ; that is to 
 say — their composition dates from before the middle of the 7th. cen- 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ADAPTATION OF TEXTS. 
 
 We have already hinted at the difficulties in the task of organising 
 Liturgical psalmody. Perhaps the most embarrassing question was how 
 to secure perfeft harmony between the text and the melody, and how 
 to fit the various prose cadences of the Psalter to musical mediants and 
 finals. There were only two ways out of the difficulty : one was to 
 compose in each mode as many " motifs " or airs as there were syl- 
 labic combinations ; one, for example, for Dens, one for Dominus, one 
 for genui te, etc., etc. This plan however entailed endless inconvenien- 
 ces ; if it would have procured perfeft agreement between the words 
 and the music, it would at the same time have destroyed the very cha- 
 racter of psalmody, which ought to be, above all things, simple and 
 popular. For we should have had a new musical formula, a new tune, 
 or at least a change in the model-tune, at every verse of the Psalm. 
 This was obviously impraflicable. 
 
 The alternative which suggested itself and which was adopted, 
 was — to choose among the endings of verses some simple and fami- 
 liar types which might serve as models for all the cadence-melodies of 
 the Psalter. All the syllabic endings, even when their accents did not 
 
62 IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS. 
 
 agree with the type, would have to be adapted to the form chosen, on 
 condition, however, of having the essential laws of their rhythm res- 
 pected. This was the wiser and more practical plan. 
 
 The first syllabic types selefted were naturally the simplest, as we 
 have seen elsewhere : words of two syllables : Dtus, — or of four : 
 Dius mtus, — and after these the Cursus planus : mtam levAvi. 
 
 It will be remarked that these three forms all end in a paroxyton. 
 What then was to be done with a verse ending in a proparoxyton, 
 e. g. Dominus ? What was to become of the additional short syllable 
 which had to be fitted to the musical cadence, without altering its 
 rhythm ? 
 
 In the case of simple cadences of one or of two accents (see p. 49) 
 a solution was soon found by introducing an additional note for this 
 short penultimate. The melody in these cadences is very light, we 
 might say elastic, easily yields to the text, and can even receive addi- 
 tional notes without prejudice to its structure. ^ 
 
 
 
 
 Orig. Form 
 
 
 
 
 Insertion 
 
 « 
 
 
 
 ■ " ■ 
 
 
 
 
 ■ □ ■ 
 
 k 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 D6-mi-no me- o ... pu- e- ri D6-mi-num 
 
 With regard to cadences in ornate and neumatic style, the problem 
 was more complicated. True, even in these the music is modelled on 
 the accents of the text, and faithfully reflefts the natural undulations of 
 the voice ; but at the same time the melody is more developed, more 
 impatient of the influence of the text; it tends to fall back on its own 
 great and varied resources, and to assert its inherent power. It is well 
 to remember, in this connection, that the rhythm of a melody depends 
 
 1 See Table at end. 
 
IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS. 6} 
 
 not only on the words to which it is set, but also on the number of 
 notes, on their varied arrangement, on a proportion between the groups 
 of sounds. When therefore the music finds itself so hampered by the 
 text that it cannot freely express itself, it has no hesitation in asserting 
 its claims ; yet, even when it seems most independent, it has a thou- 
 sand little ways of softening its demands, so as to leave as much in- 
 fluence as possible to the text and to preserve the unity of the words. 
 Let us look at one of the ingenious devices by which the melody 
 strives to keep on good terms with its neighbour, the text ; the first 
 example is from an Introit Psalm, ornate style. 
 
 ist. Mode 
 
 S — — — r =3zr 
 
 ^-a: 
 
 . . . a-ni-mam ser-vi tu- i 
 
 con-fi- te- ri Do- mi- no 
 
 Here both tonic accent and musical rhythm are secured. The melody 
 insists on preserving the rhythm of this medial cadence and refuses to 
 insert a note for the penultimate between the last two groups, for such 
 an insertion would destroy the symmetry of the phrase. Cf with above : 
 
 6==3: 
 
 ; 
 
 con-fi- te- ri Do- mi- no 
 
 On the other hand, wishing to show some deference to the accent, 
 the melody doubles the first note of the clivis and draws the energy 
 of the accent on to that new note, which, by the force of its attack, 
 throws the following group on the short penultimate into the shade, 
 and causes it to be sung lightly and quickly. This is no arbitrary expla- 
 nation, for the efifedl just described is marked in the Romanian MSS. 
 
64 IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS. 
 
 by the letter c (celeriter), placed over the clivis. — More could not be 
 done to ensure the predominance of the accent ; and as a matter of 
 fa6l, the pre-eminence of the melody in the above and similar exam- 
 ples is merely material and by a good execution would be rendered 
 unobservable. In spite of the two notes on the short penultimate the 
 whole form and rhythm of the melody come from the accent of the text. 
 Here is a second example of the same process, belonging also to 
 ornate psalmody, the verse of a Matins' Responsory. 
 
 ist. Mode - ■ a— g — ^-g— a — g^— ■— 
 
 . . . me- am e- go a- gno- sco 
 Pa- tri & Fi- ii- o 
 
 This cadence brings before us a curious point in Gregorian rhythm, 
 and one which is closely connefted with the question of short penul- 
 timates, — we mean musical rhymes. In the Gregorian and Ambrosian 
 chants there are real musical rhymes recurring frequently at the end of 
 phrases. When once the ear has become familiar with these forms, it 
 demands them in all their fulness, just as it requires the recurrence of 
 a rhyme or of a certain ' ' foot ' ' in poetry, or of a " cursus ' ' in rhyth- 
 mical prose. A beat more or less wounds the ear by producing a change 
 or hitch in the final. 
 
 Composers of old recognised the importance of these rhymes and 
 carefully respefted them, shielding them, when needful, from the text's 
 encroachments. The process most generally adopted was the addition 
 of a note for the accented syllable, as we have seen in the two prece- 
 ding examples. 
 
 We may examine another instance. Take the Introit : " Populus 
 Sion " for 2nd. Sunday in Advent, and that of the 0£tave-Day of 
 St. Laurence : " Probasti me ". 
 
Introit 
 
 Populiis Sion. 
 
 Introit 
 
 Probasti me. 
 
 \ 
 
 IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS. 
 
 Mus, rhyme 
 
 5 1-^ 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 ad sal- van- das 
 
 \ 
 
 ^=-^ 
 
 VO- CIS 
 
 ^-P-^a 
 
 cor- dis 
 
 rj^i-F-fyi- 
 
 vi- si- ta- sti 
 
 ^8: 
 
 in- 
 
 
 
 ■V 
 
 ■ 
 
 gen- 
 
 tes 
 
 ■"■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 su- 
 
 ae 
 
 
 
 ■%" 
 
 ■ 
 
 ve- stri 
 
 
 
 ■V' 
 
 ■ 
 
 no- 
 
 ae 
 
 
 
 a ■"■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 i-qui- tas 
 
 65 
 
 All the phrases of these two Introits end, in MSS., with the same 
 musical rhyme on different degrees of the scale. With the words gentes, 
 suce, vestri, no£le, there is no difficulty, the Torculus fitting in perfeft- 
 ly with the accent. But lo ! the last word in the last line is a propa- 
 roxyton. Well, let it be; the Gregorian refuses to dislocate his rhyme 
 and merely adds a note, before the Torculus, for the accented syllable. 
 This form of cadence (,■« ■) recurs at almost every line of chant and is 
 a real rhyme. No ear, however slightly cultivated, or familiarised with 
 the natural flow of this final, could bear the insertion of a note between 
 the Torculus and the last note. 
 
 Faulty j r«Hfl-^ 
 
 Cadence 
 
 ■ ■ D ■ 
 
 in- i-qui-tas 
 
66 IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS. 
 
 To put it in a modern form, would not such an insertion be equivalent 
 to a fourth quaver in a bar of 3 ? 
 
 It is in order to avoid this unbearable dislocation, that composers 
 employ the forms which we have noticed. 
 
 In the above cited examples we see the struggle between text and 
 melody settled as it were by compromise, each yielding as much as 
 possible to the other. But there are cases in which the music cannot 
 but be inflexible and must overrule the words. This happens when a 
 melody contains in itself all the formal elements of its own rhythm ; or 
 again, when it has taken its form so definitely from the original text 
 for which it was made, that it can change neither the order nor the 
 relative force of its notes and groups. 
 
 Take the following, from a Traft, 8th. Mode. 
 
 Tract. 
 VIII. Mode 
 
 5=jmiSz^l3;^ 
 
 . . . sa- lii- tem 
 ju- di- ci- um 
 
 This cadence has evidently been framed on " salutem, " or on a simi- 
 lar word ; when a word ending in a daftyl presents itself at the cadence, 
 it is fitted in just as it comes (see ^'judicium "), the last three groups 
 to the last three syllables, whatever these may be. 
 
 Ornate cadences, formed on the Cursus planus, are treated in the 
 same manner, the rule here being : the last five groups to the last five 
 syllables. 
 
IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS. 
 
 67 
 
 Resp. 
 1st. M. 
 
 I 
 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 E 
 
 « — ■ — 1— 
 
 -fifm- 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 
 
 P. 
 
 ,a 
 
 ♦* S 
 
 P. 
 
 
 
 r> 
 
 
 ♦♦ 
 
 F" 
 
 
 animam 
 & te- 
 
 me- 
 
 ti- 
 
 am 
 git 
 
 le- 
 
 os 
 
 va- 
 me- 
 
 vi 
 um 
 
 We are aware that these combinations are the horror of certain 
 moderns, who do not hesitate to stigmatise our composers as ignorant 
 barbarians. For our part, we agree with Dom Mocquereau in his reply 
 to such objeftors : " Without hesitation I take the side of these 
 ' ignorant barbarians ' ; their names are St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, 
 St. Leo, St. Gregory. I throw in my cause with the greatest literary 
 men, rhetoricians, and grammarians of Greece and Rome, — with Dio- 
 nysius of Halicarnassus, Longinus, Cicero, Varro, Quintilian, Marius 
 Viftorinus. Strange barbarians these men of talent, not to say genius! 
 Yes, they were keen connoisseurs in matters of style, of prose, and of 
 poetry, but that did not prevent them from recognising in theory and 
 in practice, that as often as a melody and its text are at variance, the 
 music must take the precedence. " 
 
 Their teaching on the subjeft is too clear to allow of misunder- 
 standing. Let us take first a Greek, Dionysiusof Halicarnassus. He says : 
 " In music, whether vocal or instrumental, the words are subordinate 
 to the chant and not the chant to the words. " He gives as example a 
 passage from a chorus in " Orestes, " in which the music disregards 
 the Greek accentuation. 
 
 Quintilian must speak for the Latins : " One is not allowed (in 
 ordinary speech) to lengthen or to shorten words ; it is only Music 
 that is thus free to make syllables either long or short at will. "^ 
 
 1 Inst., Or. ix, 4. 
 
68 IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS. 
 
 Turning to Mediaeval tlieorists, we find the same principle insisted 
 on. The author of the " Instituta Patrum, " after recommending atten- 
 tion to the proper pronunciation of words, adds this significant reserve : 
 " as far as possible. "^ The same writer says elsewhere that the fall 
 of pitch in final cadences (when text and melody are at variance) is 
 regulated not by the accent of the word but by the melody of the tone; 
 and he adds, quoting Priscian : " Musica non subjacet regulis Donati, 
 sicut nee divina Scriptura. " 
 
 Bernon of Reichnau is still more explicit and tells us that we are 
 no more free to change a musical cadence fixed by tradition, than to 
 accent the words " docHe ct ligite " thus : docete et leg'xte ; or to end 
 an hexameter with a spondee and daftyl. He adds that if, for the sake 
 of preserving the character of a melody, we change the usual value of 
 a syllable, we must let grammarians grumble, and, with St. Augustine, 
 follow the music which has a right to fix the rhythmical value of words. 
 
 There is then something to be said for the occasional pre-eminence 
 of a melody over its text, for the use, v.g. of several notes on a short 
 syllable. In faft, our composers, barbarians as they were ! showed much 
 taste and esthetic sense in fully recognising not only the nature of 
 musical rhythm, but also its demands, — its incontestable superiority, 
 under certain circumstances, over the rhythm of language. 
 
 This need not surprise us. Music is employed for the sake of 
 adding force to the words ; this implies that there is in it a power not 
 to be found in mere speech. Why then should the text not yield occa- 
 sionally to a melody from which it derives an increase of strength and 
 beauty ? 
 
 1 " In omni textu leftionis, psalmodias, vel cantus, accentus sive concentus verborum, 
 in quantum suppetit facultas, non negligatur, quia exinde maxime redolet intelleftus. " 
 (Gerbert, Scriptores, t. i, p. 6-7.) 
 
IX. ADAPTATION OF TEXTS. 69 
 
 We willingly acknowledge that the perfeftion of the art is to secure 
 absolute harmony between words and music. When, for example, a 
 Cursus planus is fitted to a musical cadence formed on that syllabic 
 type, nothing more perfeft could be desired. 
 
 Yet, there are between text and melody relations which, though 
 falling short of this desirable perfection, are full of charm. The musical 
 cadences are so artistic in themselves, and appeal so strongly to the 
 ear, that a change in any one of their parts would, in many cases, des- 
 troy the unity and beauty of the whole. 
 
 Generally, however, a melody is made to humour the varied texts 
 to which it is fitted ; it is spread out, contracted or divided with won- 
 derful facility, always with regard to the accent. The composers of 
 these melodies considered accentuation the rule of rules. When therefore 
 they seemed to disregard this rule, they adted thus not from ignorance 
 or negligence, but from a true appreciation of their art and of its power. 
 In faft, they resolved a question which is still a problem to musicians 
 — the union of words and music. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 The reader who has followed this little work so far may be inclin- 
 ed to enquire : What is the praftical outcome of such a study ? What 
 is its bearing on the execution of the chant? Has it anything to do with 
 bettering the condition of our Plain-Chant choirs? Such questions are 
 very natural, but to answer them fully would lead us far beyond the 
 scope of the present work. We cannot, however, completely pass over 
 this matter of execution, for it is all-important, and on it depends the 
 reputation of the whole Gregorian system of song. 
 
 We give farther on the titles of a few practical works which every 
 choir-master should study. Unfortunately there is little to be had in 
 English, but we hope that this want may soon be supplied. For the 
 present we shall confine ourselves to a rough sketch of the principles 
 on which a Plain-Song choir should be trained. 
 
 What kind of execution is fitting for such melodies ? Each style of 
 music has its own style of execution and can have its full effefl: only 
 when interpreted in that style. This is emphatically true with regard to 
 Plain-Chant. We have tried to show that this venerable music is at once 
 artistic and simple : artistic in its forms and principles, simple in the 
 
X. EXECUTION. 71 
 
 elements of which it is composed. Its execution must therefore be both 
 simple and artistic ; and the two qualities are not so difficult to recon- 
 cile as might at first appear. 
 
 By artistic we do not mean that all who attempt Plain-Chant must 
 be artistes, nor do we say that a faultless voice is required ; no, for 
 experience proves that, with a moderate amount of training, very ordi- 
 nary voices may attain to a most satisfactory rendering of Plain-Song. 
 It must be owned that art of any kind has come to be an unknown 
 quantity in most Gregorian services, and a more strange anomaly is 
 scarcely to be found. There seems to be an idea not only that any 
 kind of unprepared voice is good enough for Plain-Chant, but even 
 that a cultivated singer should beware of " wasting his sweetness on 
 such desert air. ' ' There are people who will sing a song with careful 
 attention to the rules of good taste, and who, on taking up a piece of 
 Gregorian music, will perform it in the most unnatural manner, mak- 
 ing it into a staccato exercise, or drawling out every note to an inor- 
 dinate length, or again breaking up groups of notes in the most dis- 
 tressing manner. Surely a little art would be a boon here. 
 
 Firstly, the voice must be trained by exercises, in order to obtain 
 both a sufficient volume of sound, and a true and precise " attack. " 
 When this has been secured, the pupil should be practised in vocalise 
 exercises, paying special attention to smoothness of execution and to 
 purity of the vowel-sounds. (The vocalise should be sung to each 
 vowel in turn). This attention to the mechanism of the voice is indispen- 
 sable for acquiring a free and flowing movement in elaborate passages, 
 as well as for accustoming the voice to the legato style, which is equally 
 required in syllabic chant. Any approach to staccato must be carefully 
 and constantly avoided, for nothing can be more painful than to hear 
 the beautiful neums of a melody mercilessly jolted, with a new impulse 
 of voice at each note. 
 
72 X. EXECUTION. 
 
 These preliminaries may appear elaborate, and perhaps discour- 
 aging ; but we repeat, they imply only a fair amount of training under 
 an intelligent teacher, the sine qua non of advance in any art. Let the 
 attempt but be made, and the result will surprise. It has been tried with 
 complete success in not a few places, where simple choirs composed 
 of men and of boys, trained generally by their Priest, succeed in ren- 
 dering the Gregorian melodies in a satisfactory manner. What then 
 might not be done with more artistic elements ? It is not too much 
 to ask for some cultivation of a voice which is to sing God's praise, 
 for surely that, if anything, should be done to the best of one's power. 
 The Holy Scripture praises David not merely for " setting singers 
 before the Altar, " but for " making sweet melody in their voices. " 
 The long, persevering practice of the world's singers may well shame 
 us into doing the little that is needed to fit ourselves for so holy a 
 work. Moreover, when once the chant with its rhythm has been fully 
 grasped, a great amount of practice is unnecessary ; the airs are very 
 " catching, " and even children soon learn to sing them by heart. 
 
 As to the simplicity which we have said is the second charafter- 
 istic of a good execution, it follows from the very nature of Plain-Song. 
 This musical system owes its existence to the Liturgical text ; " Its 
 role is to unite itself with the words of the Church's prayer, so as to 
 give them their full expression. " The words are the soul of this me- 
 lodic body ; they give it life. This is the chief axiom which we have 
 tried to develop in the preceding pages. 
 
 Praftically, the important point to remember is that in Plain-Chant 
 the notes have no value of their own, but only that of the syllables to 
 which they are sung. This is the fundamental rule : " Cantabis sylla- 
 bas sicut promintiaveris, " that is to say : " Sing as you would speak. " 
 This rule is easiest of application in syllabic pieces, in those, i.e. in 
 
X. EXECUTION. 73 
 
 which generally one note corresponds to each syllable. An excellent plan 
 for teaching such pieces is to make the pupils read the text, taking 
 care to give the proper accentuation, not only to each word, but to 
 the piece as a whole ; the places of the pauses, whether longer or 
 shorter, should also be pointed out. When the pupils have succeeded 
 in reading the text satisfactorily, they should be made to sing it, keep- 
 ing in singing exa£tly the same movement as in reading, for such por- 
 tions of the chant are really gems of modulated reading. 
 
 The whole execution of syllabic chant may be summed up in two 
 rules : ist. Mark well the accents of words and phrases, and 2nd. Ob- 
 serve the various pauses according to the sense of the text. ^ 
 
 Elaborate, or what we call neumatic chants, are treated on the same 
 principles as simpler melodies. Here again the greatest care must be 
 taken to give the words their full force by bringing out the accented 
 syllable. This is the less easy on account of there being on each sylla- 
 ble a number of notes, and a certain amount of skill is required for pre- 
 serving the unity of the words. 
 
 When, as sometimes happens, an unaccented syllable bears a 
 number of notes, and the tonic syllable only one, the full power of the 
 accent must be given on that one note and the rest of the word sung 
 lightly. It cannot be too strongly impressed on the reader that the force 
 of accentuation depends not on the number of notes, nor on the length 
 of a note, but on the stress laid on the syllable which is to be accented. 
 
 We saw in a previous chapter (Chap, iv, p. 24) how carefully the 
 traditional manner of grouping the notes was preserved, even up to a 
 late date. Attention to this grouping is essential for an intelligent ren- 
 dering of Plain-Chant. The rhythm of a passage may be completely 
 
 1 The Antiphons of the Office are in syllabic style, as is also the Credo, and some- 
 times the Gloria in excelsis. 
 
 k 
 
74 X. EXECUTION. 
 
 disfigured by ignorance or carelessness in this matter ; if, for example, 
 groups written apart be joined in singing, or vice versa; or again, if an 
 insignificant note be so sung as to make it important, or if an impor- 
 tant note be put in the shade. Those who are unfortunately obliged to 
 make use of choir-books in which the grouping of the sounds has 
 been disregarded, cannot do better than compare their books with one 
 printed in traditional notation, and follow as far as possible with their 
 mutilated melodies the rhythmical indications there given. These de- 
 tails may appear to be mere minutiae, but they are some of the little 
 things on which perfeftion depends. 
 
 With regard to these groups, the chief rule to be observed is, that 
 all notes printed closely together ai^e to be united in singing. Each group 
 is considered in some sort as one note, and must be sung with one 
 impulse of voice. Again, the^f5^ note of each group should be accent- 
 ed (but not lengthened), and the other notes of the group should 
 flow from this initial impulse. Tailed notes generally have an accent, 
 not because they are tailed, but because their position usually requires 
 that they should be well marked. On the other hand, diamonds are 
 not to be hurried over, since they are equal in value to the tailed notes, 
 but they should be sung lightly, and should be dependent on the accent 
 given to the tailed note which precedes them. 
 
 The neums of the florid pieces of chant are extremely graceful and 
 beautiful ; they require a light, easy, flexible execution, without which 
 their grace and beauty are as though they were not. To do them jus- 
 tice it is important that the singer should know how to control his 
 breath, and one aim of the preliminary exercises is to strengthen the 
 lungs and to gain full command in this respefl;. The power of sustain- 
 ing is a great advantage, but sometimes even the longest breath may 
 require a new impulse in singing a word. When this occurs, strift atten- 
 
X. EXECUTION. 75 
 
 tion must be paid to what a mediaeval musician calls " The Golden 
 Rule, " — an elementary and most natural rule, but one which is sadly 
 neglefted : breath must never be taken immediately before a new syl- 
 lable in a word. " Non debet fieri pausa, quando debet exprimi syllaba 
 inchoates didionis. " So that in a vocalise such as the following, one 
 may take breath at i or 2 but on no account at 3. 
 
 ^^m 
 
 Si^z'zt^i^^ttt'K^fiy!: 
 
 E-le-va- ti- o 
 
 As to the speed at which the chant should be sung, the extremes 
 of drawling and of hurrying are to be avoided. Some authorities give 
 132 Metronome as a guide, but much depends on the spirit of the 
 piece and on the size of the Church. — In the course of each piece 
 good taste will suggest changes of speed. Every pause should be pre- 
 pared by a ritardando, and this slackening of speed must be in propor- 
 tion with the length of the pause which is to follow ; a short pause 
 will require only the last of the preceding notes to be slightly prolonged, 
 a medium pause will suggest a fuller preparation, while the final of a 
 piece will demand a considerable ritardando. It is almost unnecessary to 
 say that attention must be paid to shades of expression ; it is not human 
 to sing a piece through at an uniform loudness. As a rule the accented 
 syllables, in both neumatic and syllabic chant, should be louder than 
 the other syllables of a word ; — all final phrases should be sung softly. 
 
 Attention to the above-cited rules will secure a proper expression. 
 This expression, that it may be in keeping with the Gregorian style 
 of music, must be simple and natural, without even a suspicion of 
 affeftation or self-seeking. Plain-Chant does not depend for its expres- 
 
76 X. EXECUTION. 
 
 sion on far-fetched effe£ts ; the sacred text has within itself the elements 
 of this expression. Above all there must be nothing suggestive of athea- 
 trical manner of singing. The Fathers of the Church, and Saints, and 
 Bishops, up to the present day, have been severe in banishing all such 
 worldly reminiscences from the Sanftuary. In England, as early as the 
 8th. century, we have a Synod speaking strongly on abuses of this 
 kind.i 
 
 Such exaggerations have however nothing to do with the cultiva- 
 tion of the voice which we have been advocating. Art is necessary here, 
 " not to supply resources to artificial sentiment, but to prepare a docile 
 instrument which will give facility of expression to real sentiment. " 
 
 To sum up^ let us remember that, to secure a proper execution and 
 expression, it is absolutely necessary ( i ) that the words of the text be cor- 
 reftly pronounced and grouped ; (2) that the rhythm be regularly kept 
 up ; and, though last not least, that the singers fulfil their task with 
 piety. 
 
 If, together with the preparation of which we have spoken, the 
 singer's whole soul be thrown into the chant, then Plain-Song will 
 infallibly have its full expression. 
 
 We may add that the accompanist is to a large extent responsible 
 for the execution of Plain-Song, for although accompaniment is merely 
 an accessory, it exercises considerable influence on the chant, for either 
 better or worse. 
 
 A great deal has been said and written on the proper manner of 
 accompanying Gregorian Chant, but much discussion may be dispensed 
 
 ■• " Ut presbyteri saecularium poetarum more in ecclesia non garriant, ne tragico sono 
 sacrorum verborum compositionem ac distin6lionem corrumpant vel confundant, sed 
 simplicem sandamque melodiam secundum morem ecclesiae seftentur. " 
 
 (Synod of Clovesho, A.D. 747. Canon xii.) 
 
X. EXECUTION. 77 
 
 with, when once it is agreed, that the perfeftion of any accompaniment 
 is, to be in strift agreement with the melody which it is to support. 
 The best accompaniment, that which fully bears out its name, does 
 not aim at leading the voices, in an obtrusive manner ; still less at drown- 
 ing them in its magnificence. It is content to give a sympathetic sup- 
 port to the singers, and to suggest more than it expresses. 
 
 It is generally agreed that in accompanying Plain-Song the har- 
 monies should be founded on the Diatonic Scale. Chromatic progres- 
 sions are absolutely foreign to the Gregorian melody, and rob it of 
 many of its strongest and most beautiful effects. Strift attention should 
 be paid to the modality of each piece. The accompaniment should 
 moreover " be small in volume and very simple in texture, the parts 
 moving as little as possible and as small intervals as may be ; for every 
 large interval (more especially in the bass) tends to make it sound heavy, 
 and actually makes it difficult to avoid playing heavily, thereby hamper- 
 ing the freedom of the rhythm. " i 
 
 A loud accompaniment is to be strongly deprecated, as most pre- 
 judicial to a choir, since it obliges the singers to exert themselves, pro- 
 bably beyond the strength of their voices, and thus causes a strained 
 effeft which is both disagreeable to the audience and hurtful to the per- 
 formers. 
 
 The stillness of the parts noted above should be observed in ac- 
 companying Psalmody as well as elaborate pieces. Some organists seem 
 to look on the Psalms as a delightful opportunity of escaping from 
 the exigencies of the choir, and of exhibiting their proficiency in scale- 
 passages. Yet experience proves that a calm accompaniment, varied by 
 a judicious change of chords, affords the most satisfaftory setting for 
 Psalm-tones. 
 
 1 Elements of Plain-Song. p. 90. 
 
78 X. EXECUTION. 
 
 The organist must be thoroughly conversant with the theory of 
 the Chant which he is to accompany. If he be himself accustomed to 
 sing it, so much the better, for he will then have regard to details 
 which only practical experience can appreciate. He must, moreover, be 
 careful to mark the rhythm of each piece, bringing out its accents, and 
 passing lightly over unaccented notes and phrases. 
 
 But besides correctness of harmony and of execution there is in 
 good accompaniment a something, difficult indeed to define, but easy 
 to feel, the absence of which is often fatal to the performances of even 
 the best-trained choirs : — this is that sympathy, without which 
 accompaniment can be only a hindrance. The organist must be in touch 
 with his choir ; he must feel for its weaknesses and be ready to give 
 support, he must know its strong points and give them scope, and 
 he must be willing to restrain those gorgeous harmonies which too 
 often seduce the accompanist of Plain-Song. 
 
 In conclusion, we venture to express a hope that these simple pages 
 may induce some of our readers to apply seriously to the study of 
 Gregorian Music, or may be of service to those whose duty and privi- 
 lege it is to spend their life in choral praise. We should consider ourselves 
 happy if we might contribute in any degree to furthering the intelligent 
 celebration of the holy Liturgy, or to increasing an appreciation of the 
 artistic and devotional merits of Plain-Song, so that our choirs might 
 realise that word of the great Patriarch St. Benedift : " Mens nostra 
 concordet voci nostrce. " 
 
MUSICAL EXAMPLES. 
 
 Introit. 
 
 o 
 
 iCt^ 
 
 .J-.-. -Zj:^_,_a- 
 
 S ju- sti me-di- ta- bi-tur sa-pi- en-ti- am, & 
 
 «-=-§> 
 
 fi==S 
 
 ♦ r« 
 
 rS 
 
 ^-2-1' J\ , j V -L 
 
 -■— ■- 
 
 lingua e- jus loque-tur ju-di- ci- um : lex De- i e- jus in 
 
 z^r 
 
 3i 
 
 -■=■—■- 
 
 m—m=iS=m- 
 
 -«— B-H^ 
 
 a-% 
 
 corde 
 
 ipsi- us. T. P. Alle-lii- ia, al-Ie- lu- ia. Ps. No-li 
 
 ^-1 
 
 t 
 
 -■— ■- 
 
 -■— ■- 
 
 ■5— ■ — ■— ■— ■ — ■ — — 
 
 fi::^ 
 
 aemu-la-ri in ma-lignanti-bus : neque ze-ia-ve-ris fa-ci- entes in-iqui- 
 
 -■— ■ — ■ — ■ ■ ■ 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 4-^ 
 
 ta-tem. G16-ri- a Patri, & Fi-li- o, & Spi-ri-tu- i Sanfto. Sic-ut 
 
 e 
 
 ■^ 
 
 3: 
 
 HI — ■—■—■- 
 
 Hi ■- 
 
 e-rat in princi-pi- o, & nunc, & semper, & in saecu-la saecu-lo-rum. 
 
 Amen. 
 
8o 
 
 MUSICAL EXAMPLES. 
 
 Grad. 
 
 H 
 
 Ik—i 5— ■■■"I H ■ ■ ■■ 'l ii^ N^-^"—" 
 
 JEC di- es, quam fe- cit 
 
 Do- mi- 
 
 l=tt^^^z.=^^?V:^i±^^;=3^=to 
 
 ^-p^ 
 
 nus : 
 
 exsul-te- 
 
 mus, 
 
 & lae- 
 
 ^a5;Tft!3: 
 
 fc-i^: 
 
 l:ft*:':"z?^:±i:n,: 
 
 a-p. 
 
 ^-d-/^=^^- 
 
 te- mur in e- a. 1 
 
 A 
 
 ■ ^ --V-S- "'Mi 
 
 L-le- lu- 
 
 la. ij. 
 
 :^±^^±^^-i 
 
 ^: 
 
 Ci±z^:Xji:-=.SFr 
 
 ^5^3^=.: 
 
 — a 
 
 ^. Te Marty-rum 
 
 ■ ■ ■ 
 
 can- di- da- tus lau- 
 
 a 
 
 dat ex-er- 
 
 ^t^^=R-a^4 
 
 ■ '> ■ 
 
 e!iVrjst 
 
 ^fd-^ 
 
 mn 
 
 ci- tus, Do- mi- ne. 
 
 a' -Mi 
 
 ' For the melody of this Gradual see Plate 5. 
 
We give a list of works in which the statements of the preceding 
 pages may be verified : 
 
 " Paleographie Musicale. " Les principaux manuscrits de chant 
 Gregorien, Ambrosien, Mozarabe et Galiican, publics en fac-similes 
 phototypiques par les RR. PP. Benediftins de Solesmes. Recueil tri- 
 mestriel, 25 fr. par an. 
 
 " GradualeSarisburiense. " Fac-simileof a 13th. century Gradual, 
 published by the " Plain-Song and Mediaeval Music Society. " (B. 
 Quaritch, London). 
 
 " Liber Gradualis " juxta antiquorum codicum fidem restitutus. 
 — Editio altera. (Solesmes, 1895.) 
 
 " Liber Usualis Miss/e et Officii cum cantu gregoriano. "(So- 
 lesmes, 1896). This is an invaluable little volume, serving the pur- 
 pose of Missal, Gradual, and Vesperal. It contains, besides all the 
 prayers and chants of the Ordinary of the Mass, the complete proper 
 (Mass and Vespers) for all Sundays and Double feasts, the whole office 
 of Christmas-Day and Holy Week, and the Office of the Dead. All this 
 is comprised in a volume of convenient dimensions and of an equally 
 
 convenient price. 
 
 1 
 
For praftical purposes, the following will be found useful. 
 
 " Elements of Plain-Song. " H. B. Briggs. (Quaritch, London. 
 1895.) 
 
 " Methode pratique du Chant Gregorien, " par Dom A. Schmitt. 
 (Solesmes.) 
 
 " Grammaire elementaire de Chant Gregorien, " par le Chan. 
 Cartaud. 2nd. Edition. (Solesmes, 1896.) 
 
 " Le Mecanisme vocal dans le Chant Gregorien, " par A. Vi- 
 gourel, Pretre de S. Sulpice. o fr. 20. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 1. THE MODES. 
 
 The question of gregorian modality being so important, some surprise may 
 be felt at our having merely alluded to it. The omission is, however, volun- 
 tary, for the matter still awaits further study. As it is now engaging the 
 attention of musical students, we trust that their labours may result in 
 elucidating a subjeft as important as it is at present obscure. In the mean- 
 time, we give here, for the convenience of our readers, the current theory of 
 gregorian modes, though it is doubtful whether the system will prove ulti- 
 mately tenable. 
 
 Eight modes are recognised in gregorian chant. These eight modes are 
 comprised in four scales of an oflave each, beginning respectively on the 
 notes, re, mi, fa, sol. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that in Plain-Chant only the diatonic scale is 
 admitted, hence the four scales of which we speak do not correspond to the 
 modern scales of the same tonic. All the notes of our four scales are natural, 
 and the distinguishing feature of each oflave is the position occupied in it by 
 the semitones. 
 
84 I. THE MODES. 
 
 Each scale consists of two tetrachords, thus arranged : * 
 
 1st. tetrachord. 2nd. tetrachord. 
 
 re mi fa sol la si ut re 
 
 mi fa sol la si ut re mi 
 
 fa sol la si ut re mi fa 
 
 sol la si ut re mi fa sol 
 
 To each of these scales belong two modes which agree as to their final, 
 but differ as to their dominant.'^ The first of each pair of modes is called au- 
 thentic or primitive ; the second, plagal or derived. In the plagal modes the 
 order of the two tetrachords is reversed, so that the scales of those modes are 
 sometimes said to be, la, si, ut, re. 
 
 TABLE OF MODES. 
 
 N° 
 
 Name 
 
 Final 
 
 Dominant 
 
 Character 
 
 I. 
 
 Authentic 
 
 re 
 
 la 
 
 Gravis 
 
 11. 
 
 Plagal 
 
 re 
 
 fa 
 
 Tristis 
 
 111. 
 
 Authentic 
 
 mi 
 
 ut 
 
 Mysticus 
 
 IV. 
 
 Plagal 
 
 mi 
 
 la 
 
 Harmonicus 
 
 V. 
 
 Authentic 
 
 fa 
 
 ut 
 
 Lastus 
 
 VI. 
 
 Plagal 
 
 fa 
 
 la 
 
 Devotus 
 
 VII. 
 
 Authentic 
 
 sol 
 
 re 
 
 Angelicus 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Plagal 
 
 sol 
 
 ut 
 
 Perfedus 
 
 ^ The place of the semitones is marked by a slur. 
 ^ Not to be confounded with the dominant of the modern scale. In Plain-Song the dominant 
 is really the predominant note in each mode. 
 
I. THE MODES. 85 
 
 In the authentic modes the melody often embraces the higher notes of 
 the scale, and hardly ever falls below the final. In the plagal modes, on the 
 contrary, the melody seldom rises above the dominant, and a great part of it 
 may be below the final. 
 
 These remarks cannot, however, be rigidly applied, for some pieces par- 
 take of two different modes, and these two modes need not be the relative 
 authentic and plagal. The melody, again, often passes from one mode to an- 
 other in a manner very much akin to modulation from key to key. ^ 
 
 ^ See " The Winchester Troper, " edited by R. W. Howard Frere for the Henry Bradshaw 
 Society. 1894. Introduftion, p. xxxvii. — Plate 1 of our volume reproduces a page of this Troper. 
 
II. PSALMODY. 
 
 Psalmody comprises the chant of the psalms and of the canticles of the 
 Liturgy. * 
 
 Psalms are divided into verses, and each verse consists of two distinct 
 parts marked in the liturgical books by an asterisk (*). 
 
 There are eight regular psalm-tones, one for each mode, and one irregular 
 tone called Tonus peregrinus. 
 
 THE EIGHT PSALM-TONES. 
 
 First Tone. 
 
 Recit. 
 
 Final. 
 
 Int. Recit. Hediant. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 -,-*-*- 
 
 -■- 
 
 
 _,_ 
 
 -:- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 -^ 
 
 ■ ■ ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 a 
 ■ 
 
 
 ■ ■ ■ 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 1 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 -*-.-.- 
 
 -•- 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ «- 
 
 -■- 
 
 — j— 
 
 -^ 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 ^: 
 
 ■■ The following pages are taken from the " Petit Traite de Psalmodie " just completed by 
 the Solesmes Fathers, and kindly put by them at our disposal. The treatise is a preface to the 
 noted Psalter which is to appear shortly. In this work the purest traditions of psalmody have 
 been restored, and several unwarranted exceptions, formerly in vogue, have been suppressed. We 
 hope to translate the " Traite " in full, together with a iVlethod of chant now in preparation. 
 
II. PSALMODY. 
 
 87 
 
 Int. Recit. Bled. 
 
 Second Tone. 
 
 Recit. 
 
 Final. 
 
 f 
 
 !____, 
 
 Third Tone. 
 
 Recit. 
 
 Int. Recit. Mediant. 
 
 final. 
 
 T 
 
 -■ ■— 
 
 ■ — ^' -i 
 
 _!_ g 
 
 Fourth Tone. 
 
 Recit. 
 
 Final. 
 
 Int. Recit. Blediant. 
 
 -«-p- HI-IHI- -•- -j- -•--*- -•- 
 
 
 . / 
 
 f_ 
 
 -"— -j- -— — - -g- 
 
 -*** -J- — -^ -T- 
 
 JL. 3 
 
 rj 
 
 For another position of this tone, 
 with Jinals E and a, see p. 88. 
 
 Fifth Tone. 
 
 Inton. Recit. Mediant. Recit. Final. 
 
 __ __, ^^ ,^_^^ ^ 
 
 
 1 T"" ^' ■ ■ 
 
 
 ^I^^Z^^Z. 
 
88 
 
 II. PSALMODY. 
 
 Sixth Tone. 
 
 IntoB. Recit. Mediant. Rec. 
 
 T 
 
 Final. 
 
 i 1 1 r — 1 r 
 
 J ■ ■ ■ , ■ 
 
 
 •-•- -• J- -J 
 
 Seventh Tone. 
 
 Recit. Final. 
 
 Int. Recit. Illediant. 
 
 t^ 
 
 Eighth Tone. 
 
 Recit. 
 
 Final. 
 
 Intonation Recit. mediant. 
 
 i .■ 1 ■■■ I'l'l 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 
 ■ ■-< ■ ^5 • 
 
 -«-.-.- -. ^ _i_ _,_ 
 
 ■ 
 
 Tonus Peregrinus. 
 
 Intonation Recit. Illediant. Recit. Final. 
 
 El 
 
 E% 
 
 Fourth Tone transposed. 
 
 Recit. Final. 
 
 Int. Recit. Hediant. 
 
 7 
 
 E "S 
 
 ■ ■ ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 i ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ox: zr: HZ z^ z; 
 
 :;^A. 
 
II. PSALMODY. 
 
 89 
 
 It will be seen from the above tables that every complete Psalm-tone 
 consists of : (i) Intonation, (2) Recitative, (3) Cadences, either medial or final. 
 
 I. INTONATION. 
 
 The Intonation is a musical formula connecting the final phrase of an anti- 
 phon with the dominant of the psalm-tone which follows. It is used for only 
 the first verse of every psalm, and for each verse of the Gospel-Canticles 
 {Magnificat, BenediStus, and Nunc dimittis). 
 
 The intonation consists of two or three notes or groups, which are adapt- 
 ed to as many syllables. There is no exception to this rule. The syllables 
 must be fitted in just as they come, and the groups of notes may not be 
 disunited. 
 
 1st. and 6th. Modes '_ 
 
 Intonat. of two syllables. 
 
 8 
 
 3rd. 
 
 4th. 
 
 Peregrinua 
 
 5=3: 
 
 liX?: 
 
 fe 
 
 Di- xit 
 Cre-di- 
 Be- 4- 
 Con-fi- 
 
 Diminus 
 dl propter 
 tus vir 
 t^bor tibi 
 
 Intonat. of three syllables. 
 
 2nd. Mode 
 
 8th. 
 
 Di- xit D6- 
 Cr^-di- di 
 Be- 4- tus 
 Confi- te- 
 In conver- 
 
 mmus 
 propter 
 vir qui 
 bor tibi 
 t^ndo 
 
 The intonation of the Magnificat follows the ordinary form in the ist., 
 3rd., 4th., 5th. and 6th. modes; in the other modes it is as shown below. 
 
 2nd. Mode. 8th. Mode. 
 
 7th. Mode. 
 
 =f 
 
 ^ 
 
 =f 
 
 ■i- 
 
 Magni-ii-cat Magni- fi-cat 
 
 IMa-gm- fi- cat 
 Et exsul-tdvit 
 Qui- a resp^xit 
 G16- ri- a 
 
 m 
 
90 II. PSALMODY. 
 
 In the 2nd. and 8th. modes, the usual form of intonation is used for all 
 the verses except the first. 
 
 ±t 
 
 Et exsul-tdvlt 
 Quia resp^xit 
 
 II. RECITATIVE. 
 
 The recitative comprises ail the notes in unison between the intonation 
 and the mediant, and from the mediant to the final. 
 
 In the eight regular tones the recitative is always the dominant of the 
 mode. The irregular tone (Tonus Peregrinus) has two recitatives ; la for the 
 first half of the verse, and sol for the second. 
 
 In the choir-books of the monastic rite, the recitative of verses of unusual 
 length is broken by the flex, the sign of which is a cross (f ). This flex is 
 made by lowering the syllable or syllables following the last accent. In the 
 ist., 4th., 6th., 7th. and Peregrinus tones, the fall is of a major second; in 
 the other tones, it is of a minor third. 
 
 III. CADENCES, (MEDIANTS AND FINALS). 
 
 NUMBER OF CADENCES. 
 
 Medial cadences end the first half of a verse. There is one such cadence for 
 each mode. (See Table, p. 86). Final cadences end the second half of a 
 verse ; they are more numerous than medial cadences. The reason of this is 
 to be found in the connexion which exists between a psalm and its anti- 
 phon. The ending of the antiphon is conneded, as we have seen, with the 
 intonation of the psalm ; in the same way, the ending of the psalm prepares 
 for the repetition of the antiphon. As, however, there are various manners of 
 beginning antiphons, the endings of the psalm-tones are modified to suit the 
 different forms of intonation. 
 
II. PSALMODY. 
 
 9' 
 
 To mark which of the endings is to be used, letters are prefixed to the 
 antiphon : 
 
 
 la si ut re 
 
 mi 
 
 fa sol 
 
 Capitals 
 
 A B C D 
 
 E 
 
 F G 
 
 Small letters 
 
 abed 
 
 e 
 
 f g 
 
 Modified letters 
 
 a q 
 
 E 
 
 
 A word on the signification of these letters. Capitals are used if the last 
 note of the ending is also the final note of the mode. Small letters are em- 
 ployed when the psalm-tone ends on any note except the final of the mode. If, 
 in any mode, two psalm-tones end on the same note, modified letters are 
 used. 
 
 The melodies of the psalm-cadences being unchangeable, and, at the same 
 time, having to be applied to the most various combinations of syllables, it 
 might seem a thankless task to attempt any classification of these forms. But 
 such is not the case. For praftical purposes it is sufficient to follow the rules 
 of Latin accentuation, modified occasionally by the rules of rhythmical poetry. 
 
 In Latin the accent falls, in dissyllables, on the first syllable, fortis. In 
 words of more than two syllables, the accent occurs on the penultimate if 
 long, and on the antepenultimate if the penultimate is short : manere, discipulus. 
 
 The psalm-tones may be divided into two classes : those founded on one 
 accent, meo, and those founded on two accents, corde meo. ^ 
 
 25 cadences of one accent 
 10 cadences of two accents 
 
 5 mediants 
 20 finals 
 
 4 mediants 
 
 6 finals 
 
 ' See p. 49, and the Table at end. 
 
 m' 
 
92 
 
 II. PSALMODY. 
 
 CADENCES OF ONE ACCENT. 
 
 I. MEDIANTS (Five). 
 
 Passing from recitative to accent 
 
 1 
 
 2 without preparation, /i~ 
 
 4 with one note, of pre- 
 paration. 
 
 5 wun iwo note c 
 paration. 
 
 i-TY- .... 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 • 
 
 
 ' ■ a ■ ■ ■ 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 D6- 
 
 mi- 
 
 pu- 
 
 e- 
 
 D6- 
 
 mi- 
 
 Domi- 
 
 nus 
 
 quae ad pacem 
 
 sunt 
 
 adjiciat D6- 
 
 mi- 
 
 Deus 
 
 me- 
 
 propter 
 
 quod 
 
 di- 
 
 eta 
 
 propiti- 
 
 a- 
 
 n 
 
 ne 
 
 ex 
 
 Je- 
 
 nus 
 
 us 
 
 lo- 
 
 sunt 
 
 ti- 
 
 nodes 
 
 2 
 
 me- 
 
 D6- mi- 
 Da- 
 
 Si- 
 
 rti- sa- 
 
 su- per 
 
 es 
 
 cii- tus 
 
 de 
 
 o 
 
 num 
 vid 
 on 
 lem 
 
 vos 
 
 tu 
 
 sum 
 
 te 
 
 est 
 
II. FINALS (Twenty). 
 
 Passing from recitative to accent 
 
 N"" without £ 
 
 ' — ■—»—•— I 
 
 6 preparation , 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 a. 
 
 a 
 o 
 
 
 
 s- 
 
 e-TT 
 
 s— » 
 
 h- 
 
 ■ ■ ■ 1- 
 
 iHr 
 
 I 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 — 
 
 ■ 
 
 Modes 
 4g 
 
 2 D 
 
 1 f 
 
 1 g 
 
 1 a 
 
 1 D 
 
 1 J 
 
 3 a 
 
 3g 
 
 3 E 
 
 6 t 
 
 8 a 
 
 8 o 
 
 4 ii 
 
 4 a 
 
94 "• PSALMODY. 
 
 We give four of these finals adapted to verses of various lengths. 
 
 Passing from recitative to accent 
 
 N" 
 
 withoutpre- 
 paration, 
 
 with one 
 ■7 note of pre- 
 paration, 
 
 with two 
 21 notes of pre- 
 paration, 
 
 with three 
 25 notes of pre- 
 paration. 
 
 Cad. spond. 
 « dactyl. 
 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -■— B- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1i ' « ■ '^ 
 
 • — « — 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ° 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 ! a ■ ■ ■ 
 
 
 
 i ■ • ■ ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 * 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ B 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 s , , , 
 
 
 
 ~fr- 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 % 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 ■ 
 
 sede 
 
 a 
 
 dex- 
 
 tris 
 
 me- 
 
 is 
 
 in 
 
 s*- 
 
 cu- 
 
 lum 
 
 sefe-cu- 
 
 li 
 
 vo- 
 
 vit 
 
 De- 
 
 
 
 Ja- 
 
 cob 
 
 6r- 
 
 di- 
 
 nem 
 
 Mel- 
 
 chi'-se- 
 
 dech 
 
 
 
 me- 
 
 OS 
 
 su-per 
 
 me 
 
 scab^Uum 
 
 pe- 
 
 dum 
 
 tu- 
 
 0- 
 
 rum 
 
 a 
 
 s*- 
 
 cu- 
 
 lo 
 
 tu 
 
 es 
 
 
 me- 
 
 a 
 
 lau- 
 
 dabunt 
 
 te 
 
 fili- 
 
 is 
 
 tu- 
 
 is 
 
 in 
 
 te 
 
 lucife- 
 
 rum 
 
 ge- 
 
 nu- 
 
 i 
 
 te 
 
 4 g 
 
 2 D 
 
 8 a 
 
 4 E 
 
 RULE. A. The penultimate or antepenultimate syllable of each verse or 
 half-verse, must correspond with the accent of the melody. — B. The notes 
 preceding the accent are set each to one syllable. In these cadences the rhyth- 
 mical formula begins on the accent ; the preceding notes are a graceful prepa- 
 ration leading to the accent, and therefore should not be overladen with syl- 
 lables. (As some cadences of one accent pass direftly from the recitative to 
 the accent, there is no occasion in such cases for applying the second half of 
 the preceding rule). 
 
 Cadences without preparation. Mediants of the 2nd., 5th. and 8th. modes, 
 and final of the 4th. mode, (g). 
 
 Cadences with one note of preparation. Mediant of the 6th. mode, and 
 finals of the 2nd. (D), 3rd. (c, a), and irregular modes. 
 
II. PSALMODY. 
 
 95 
 
 Cadences with two notes of preparation. Mediant of the 4th. mode, and 
 finals of the ist. (f, g, a, a, D, J), 3rd. (a, g, E), 6th. (f), and 8th. (G, c) 
 modes. 
 
 Cadences with three notes of preparation. Finals of the 4th. mode {E, a, E). 
 
 CADENCES OF TWO ACCENTS. 
 
 I. MEDIANTS (Four). 
 
 N" 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 
 » 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 ■ . . . 
 
 ■ ■ ■ « 
 
 ii-n 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ■• 
 
 
 h*-*-*^ 
 
 ■ ■ ■ ■ 
 
 -!— 0- 
 
 — 
 
 — f-O- 
 
 — ■ — 
 
 i...--- 
 
 -I31— 
 
 
 
 
 
 - - - . 
 
 
 ' 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 in toto 
 
 cor- 
 
 de 
 
 me- 
 
 
 
 
 Laud&te 
 
 pii- e- 
 
 ri 
 
 D6- mi- 
 
 num 
 
 
 im- 
 
 pl6- bit 
 
 ru- 
 
 1- 
 
 nas 
 
 
 ex Ba- 
 
 san 
 
 con- 
 
 ver- 
 
 tam 
 
 
 Je- 
 
 rii- sa- 
 
 lem 
 
 D6- mi- 
 
 num 
 
 
 
 co- ram 
 
 te 
 
 fe- 
 
 ci 
 
 
 et 
 
 CO- 
 
 gno- 
 
 vi- sti 
 
 me 
 
 
 con- 
 
 fu- 
 
 si- 
 
 6- 
 
 ne 
 
 confirmatum 
 
 est 
 
 cor 
 
 e- 
 
 jus 
 
 
 
 sol 
 
 non 
 
 u- ret 
 
 te 
 
 
 propter 
 
 quod 
 
 lo- 
 
 cii- tus 
 
 sum 
 
 
 
 dicta 
 
 sunt 
 
 de 
 
 te 
 
 
 clamdvi 
 
 ad 
 
 te 
 
 D6- mi- 
 
 ne 
 
 
 et 
 
 nunc 
 
 et 
 
 sem- 
 
 per 
 
 
 Domi- 
 
 nus 
 
 ex 
 
 Si- 
 
 on 
 
 in 
 
 splendori- 
 
 bus 
 
 f 
 
 san- 
 
 cto- 
 
 rum 
 
 s— •- 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 ' tT'^"^"' 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 ». 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cor- 
 
 de 
 
 me- 
 
 
 
 
 
 pii- e- 
 
 ri 
 
 D6- mi- 
 
 num 
 
 
 
 sol 
 
 non 
 
 u- ret 
 
 te 
 
 
 
 &c. 
 
 
 &c. 
 
 
 Modes 
 1 
 
96 
 
 II. PSALMODY. 
 
 II. FINALS (Six). 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 32 
 
 33 
 
 4321 
 
 / r 
 
 35 
 
 ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 ; 
 
 E 
 
 Q ■ 
 
 □ ■ ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ ■ ■ B 
 
 * a ■■ • 
 
 ; 
 
 
 
 ' ° '■■ r. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 • ■ ■ ■ ■ 
 
 ■ p 1 1 
 
 : 
 
 
 
 'oil 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 
 
 ' n i ■ 
 
 
 
 
 0:3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ ■ ■ B 
 
 " n ■ 
 
 • *! 
 
 
 
 ■ : i 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 • ■ ■ ■ ■ 
 
 ' : • 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 : 
 
 sede a 
 
 in 
 
 seabellum 
 
 Ja- 
 
 Isra- 
 pax 
 
 in- 
 
 justifi- 
 
 confirmatum 
 
 ordi- 
 
 sustinu- 
 
 volu- 
 
 dex- tris 
 sab-cu- lum 
 pe-dum tu- 
 
 0- reb 
 cob et 
 
 1- Isra- 
 el ;in 
 su- ;per 
 us-que iin 
 ad-huc isum 
 se- 1 qui- 
 com- imo- 
 i- Iqui- 
 ca- j ti- 
 est icor 
 qui jcu- 
 et hn 
 nem iMel- 
 i te 
 cres pen- 
 
 me- lis 
 sab-cu- ;li 
 6- irum 
 et iZeb 
 Jo- iseph 
 el ;est 
 D6-mi- :no 
 I-sra- i el 
 sab-ca- ilum 
 te- cum 
 ta- te 
 v^-bi- tur 
 ta- item 
 6-ni- :bus 
 e- ijus 
 st6-dit ite 
 ter- ira 
 chi-se- dech 
 U6-mi- ne 
 na- itfe 
 
 Modes 
 5 a 
 
 7 b 
 
 7 ? 
 
 RULE. The last two accented syllables of the verse or half-verse, must 
 correspond with the two accents of the melody. It is not allowed, however, 
 to seek the first of these two accented syllables beyond a certain limit ; that 
 is to say, one may not go back more than three syllables from the te^ accent 
 of the verse. 
 
II. PSALMODY. 
 
 97 
 
 SOLEMN TONE OF THE MAGNIFICAT. 
 
 (Ornate cadence of one accent.) 
 
 There is a more solemn chant for the Magnificat, in the ist., 2nd. and 
 8th. modes. This is sung ad libitum on greater feasts. 
 
 Mode 1 
 
 Nodes 
 2aiidg 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1. . 
 
 
 
 
 *-T-S- 
 
 -.-^-— - 
 
 ^ 
 
 -H- 
 
 — ■ — 
 
 ~°~rs" 
 
 -1— 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Magni 
 
 Heat 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Et ex- 
 
 sultavit 
 
 spi- 
 
 ri- 
 
 tus 
 
 me- 
 
 us 
 
 Qui- a 
 
 fecit mihi 
 
 ma- 
 
 gna 
 
 qui 
 
 po-tens 
 
 est 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 •!■ • 
 
 
 i 
 
 ■ 
 
 a— o_ 
 
 
 IS* .1 
 
 -f! 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 • * J 
 
 
 
 
 
 Magniti- 
 
 cat 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Et exsul- 
 
 tavit 
 
 spi- 
 
 ri- 
 
 tus 
 
 me- 
 
 us 
 
 Quia fe- 
 
 citmihi 
 
 ma- 
 
 gna 
 
 qui 
 
 po-tens 
 
 est 
 
 Depo 
 
 9U- 
 
 it po- 
 
 tin- 
 
 tes 
 
 de 
 
 se- 
 
 de 
 
 RULE. The last accented syllable of the verse must be sung to the accent 
 of the tone (col. 2.) The groups or notes of col= 3, 4, 5, must be fitted to 
 the three syllables preceding the last accent. 
 
 1430. — Solesmes. Printed at St. Peter's Press. January 1897. 
 
ROMAN PSALMODY AND Tl 
 
 Ambrosian 
 
 
 Simple Preface 
 
 Psalms 
 g \ of the Introit 
 
 R.-G. Justus 
 
 Tract 
 
 Alleluia 
 
 Tract 
 
 Intonation 
 
 ot the RespoDSories f 
 
 H 
 
 Dixit D6- 
 
 creatura libe- 
 
 Lseti 
 Bonum 
 
 :^=^:mfl 
 
 Quoni- am 
 
 Ju- 
 
 Si me- i 
 
 ^^& 
 
 Adjii-tor 
 
 Dominant 
 
 G16-ri- a in exc61sis 
 
 Dixit D6minus Domino 
 
 ~*—m ■ — ■ ■ 
 
 minus Domino 
 
 ra ab omni impugna- 
 
 fi-ca animam 
 est 
 
 confl- 
 
 t6ris in- 
 
 s^rvi 
 t^-ri 
 
 It-a-s- 
 
 in-iqui- ta- tem me- am 
 
 e-go a- 
 Patri et 
 
 stus ut palma tlo- 
 
 non fii- e-rint do- 
 
 :^-r-^ 
 
 -r 
 
 P^ 
 
 et pro- te-ctor fa-ctus est mi- hi in sa- 
 
 ju- di- 
 
 / / 
 
 
 ■! iK*^ 111 
 
 
 
 % . -Sn' 1^ " .■. 
 
 a • ■ a ■ ■ a I 
 
 
 ^•r •-. 
 
 
 J 
 
 Di- es 
 
 sancti- fi- ca- tus il- lii- xit 
 
 
 i( 
 
 
 
 1» 
 
 
 
 
 
 Medial Cil 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 
 * p ■ 
 
 Di- 
 
 ! 
 
 
 ■ p ■ 
 
 
 
 me- o 
 
 / 
 
 
 ■ D • 
 
 
 
 m^- o 
 
 :^=t 
 
 tii- i 
 D6ml-no 
 
 gnosco 
 Fi- li- o 
 
 -^1^ 
 
 ri- 
 
 bit 
 
 -^. 
 
 ^fftr' 
 
 iW-*! 
 
 ^""^viyT 
 
 lu- tem 
 ci- una. 
 
 -"^^ 
 
 "5^^; 
 
 no- 
 
 bi 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
HE LATIN TONIC ACCENT 
 
 dence 
 
 
 Intonation 
 
 Dominant 
 
 
 
 
 Final Cadence 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - - ■ * ■ ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ ' 
 
 
 
 ■ b 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 Et in ter- 
 
 ra pax ho-mi- nlbus bonje vo-lun- 
 
 
 \.k- 
 
 ! 
 
 tis 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 sede a dextris 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 is 
 
 
 
 ■ - - 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 sede a 
 
 dex- 
 
 tris 
 
 
 me- 
 
 is 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 ^-^ 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a ■ 
 
 ■ ■ ■ ' ■ ■ ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 dis- 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 et to- 
 
 ti- us ne- qui- ti-se pur- 
 
 ga- 
 
 ta 
 
 c^s- 
 
 su 
 
 
 _ 
 
 
 -A— 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ft ^ 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 le- 
 
 ■ ■■ 
 
 
 
 qu6-ni- 
 
 am ad te Domine ani- mam 
 
 in6- 
 
 am 
 
 va- 
 
 vi 
 
 
 
 
 _ _ 
 
 
 . 
 
 _ _ 
 
 
 
 fm ' 
 
 
 r.% 
 
 !, 
 
 _,B— 
 
 V. « 
 
 % 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' s 
 
 
 
 et de- 
 
 lictum me- um coram me est semper tibi 
 
 so- 
 
 li 
 
 pec- 
 
 ca- 
 
 vi 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 _ii*«li ■ - 
 
 
 /■ l'«" 
 
 r* 
 
 
 
 
 ♦ '%" 
 
 
 ti 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ~^ - 
 
 ■^ 
 
 
 -^ 
 
 
 _ 
 
 ■%■ 
 
 
 _ 
 
 _ H . i — - 
 
 
 
 • ^ 
 
 1^ 
 
 -■!■- 
 
 F" 
 
 fliTi * » In 
 
 ■ ^ 
 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 ■ n 
 
 
 
 
 de- li- 
 
 cto- 
 
 rum 
 
 me- 
 
 6- 
 
 rum 
 
'^^^.^1:?%