music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

centonization (from Latin ''cento'' or patchwork) is a theory about the

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

of a

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

, melodies, or piece based on pre-existing

melodic figure Melody type or type-melody is a set of melodic formulas, figures, and patterns. Term and typical meanings "Melody type" is a fundamental notion for understanding a nature of Western and non-Western musical modes, according to Harold Powers' ...

s and formulas. A piece created using centonization is known as a "centonate". The concept of centonization was borrowed from literary theory, and first applied to

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

in 1934 by Dom Paolo Ferretti. Centonization, according to Ferretti's theory, is a very old and widespread technique. The

musical mode In music theory, the term mode or ''modus'' is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context. Its most common use may be described as a type of musical scale coupled with a set of characteristic melodic and harmonic behaviors. It ...

s used in

are supposed to reflect this use; according to the theory, the modes were more collections of appropriate melodic formulas than a set of pitches. Similar ideas appear in the music theory of other cultures; for example, the

maqam MAQAM is a US-based production company specializing in Arabic and Middle Eastern media. The company was established by a small group of Arabic music and culture lovers, later becoming a division of 3B Media Inc. "MAQAM" is an Arabic word meaning a ...

of Arab music, the

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

of Indian music, or the

pathet Pathet ( jv, ꦥꦛꦼꦠ꧀, translit=Pathet, also patet) is an organizing concept in central Javanese gamelan music in Indonesia. It is a system of tonal hierarchies in which some notes are emphasized more than others. The word means '"to da ...

of Indonesian music. These do not designate merely

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

, but sets of appropriate melodies and specific

ornaments An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...

on certain tones (they are sometimes called "melody types"). The originality of the composer lies in how he or she links these formulas together and elaborates upon them in a new way. Regardless of whether the application of the concept to other branches of Christian chant, or other types of music is valid, its use with respect to Gregorian chant has been severely criticized, and opposing models have been proposed. The term "centonate" is not applied to other categories of composition constructed from pre-existing units, such as ''fricassée'', ''

pasticcio In music, a ''pasticcio'' or ''pastiche'' is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, o ...

'', ''

potpourri Potpourri ( ) is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant materials used to provide a gentle natural scent, commonly in residential settings. It is often placed in a decorative bowl. The word "potpourri" comes into English from the French ...

'', and ''

quodlibet A quodlibet (; Latin for "whatever you wish" from ''quod'', "what" and '' libet'', "pleases") is a musical composition that combines several different melodies—usually popular tunes—in counterpoint, and often in a light-hearted, humorous man ...

''.

References

* * * Footnotes {{reflist, refs= Randel, Don Michael (2002). ''The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. p. 123. {{ISBN, 0-674-00978-9. Hoppin, Richard (1978). ''Medieval Music''. New York City: W. W. Norton. {{cite book , last1=Chew , first1=Geoffrey , last2=McKinnon , first2=James W. , date=2001 , chapter=Centonization , editor1-last=Sadie , editor1-first=Stanley , editor1-link=Stanley Sadie , editor2-last=Tyrrell , editor2-first=John , editor2-link=John Tyrrell (professor of music) , title=

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

, edition=2nd , location=London , publisher=Macmillan , isbn=9780195170672 {{cite book , last1=Powers , first1=Harold , last2=Wiering , first2=Frans , last3=Porter , first3=James , last4=Cowdery , first4=James , last5=Davis , first5=Ruth , last6=Widdess , first6=Richard , last7=Perlman , first7=Marc , last8=JonesStephen , last9=Marett , first9=Allan , date=2001 , chapter=Mode , editor1-last=Sadie , editor1-first=Stanley , editor1-link=Stanley Sadie , editor2-last=Tyrrell , editor2-first=John , editor2-link=John Tyrrell (professor of music) , title=

, edition=2nd , location=London , publisher=Macmillan , isbn=9780195170672 , ref=CITEREFGrove Dict.2001 Hiley, David. (1993). ''Western Plainchant: A Handbook''. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 74-5. {{ISBN, 0-19-816289-8 {{OCLC, 25707447. Melody Medieval music theory

See also

References