Gregorian chant
The name "Gregorian Chant" is used since the carolingian period (8-9th century). This name is thought to have received after the famous Pope of that name St. Gregory the Great, in order to give it greater authority. This repertory was developed for latin texts in Frankish kingdom, which encompassed modern France, Switzerland and Germany. We know little of the Church singing used in these areas before this time, because no modern system of music writing had yet been invented. Pepin and Charlemagne wished the music of the Church in his kingdom to be sung as in Rome. In the absence of written music, it would have had to be learned orally. Thanks to the important studies by Solesmes Abbey, especially by Dom Jean Claire, we can now understand beter how a great part of theses repertories "melted away" into the "Gregorian" chant. But there survives some repertories of earlier chant : especially the repertory known as " Old Roman ", which is thought to be related to the roman tradition from which frankish cantors learned the Roman Chant. This "Old Roman" version continued to be used in Rome for some centuries before being replaced by the "Frankish-Roman" (Gregorian) version. Similarly the "Ambrosian Chant" and the "Wisigotic Chant" continued to be used in Milan and in Spain for some time. The earlier notations give rhythmic details, but most do not give exact pitches, and were used as an aide-mémoire, in conjunction with the oral tradition. Pitch-defined manuscripts begin to appear in the eleventh century, and are well-established by the twelfth. But in these, the rhythmic details cease to be recorded.
The Gregorian Semiology according to the research of Dom Eugène Cardine ( † 1988) consist in the interpretation of the characteristic signs of the earliest manuscripts : the neumes (neuma). A good knowledge of the Gregorian semiology allow a new and conscious approach for an accessible and adequate interpretation of the Gregorian Chant.
TXT_GREGORIEN_CHANTG_DETAIL_04
TXT_GREGORIEN_CHANTG_DETAIL_05
TXT_GREGORIEN_CHANTG_DETAIL_06
TXT_GREGORIEN_CHANTG_DETAIL_07
TXT_GREGORIEN_CHANTG_DETAIL_08
TXT_GREGORIEN_CHANTG_DETAIL_09
TXT_GREGORIEN_CHANTG_DETAIL_10
Return