Gregorian chantForm of songThe IntroitGaudeamus omnes, scripted in square notation in the 14th–15th century Graduale Aboense, honors Henry, patron saint of Finland.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 during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions.
CollectThe collect ( ) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. Collects come up in the liturgies of Catholic, Lutheran, or Anglican churches, among others. EtymologyThe word is first seen as Latincollēcta, the term used in Rome in the 5th century and the 10th, although in the Tridentine version of the Roman Missal the more generic term oratio (prayer) was used instead.
Gregorian modeA Gregorian mode (or church mode) is one of the eight systems of pitch organization used in Gregorian chant. HistoryThe name of Pope Gregory I was attached to the variety of chant that was to become the dominant variety in medieval western and central Europe (the diocese of Milan was the sole significant exception) by the Frankish cantors reworking Roman ecclesiastical song during the Carolingian period.
EpistleAn epistle (; from Ancient Greek (epistolḗ)'letter') is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didacticletter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum.Secret (liturgy)The secret (Latin: Oratio secreta, lit.'set-apart prayer') is a prayer said in a low voice by the priest or bishop during religious services. Western ChristianityIn the Roman Rite the secreta is said by the celebrant at the end of the Offertory in the Mass. It is the original and for a long time was the only offertory prayer.
Roman RiteThe Roman Rite (Latin: Rītus Rōmānus) is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the sui iuris particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs rites such as the Roman Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours as well as the manner in which sacraments and blessings are performed.
PrefaceA preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a foreword and precedes an author's preface. The preface often closes with acknowledgments of those who assisted in the literary work.
GospelBooks on the life and teachings of Jesus ChristFragment of a flyleaf with the title of the Gospel of Matthew, ευανγελιον κ̣ατ̣α μαθ᾽θαιον (Euangelion kata Maththaion).
ChantA chant (from French, from Latin, "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures, often including a great deal of repetition of musical subphrases, such as Great Responsories and Offertories of Gregorian chant.
Pitch (music)Pitch is the quality that makes it possible to judge sounds as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies. Pitch is a perceptual property that allows sounds to be ordered on a frequency-related scale. Pitch is a major auditory attribute of musical tones, along with duration, loudness, and timbre. Pitch may be quantified as a frequency, but pitch is not a purely objective physical property; it is a subjective psychoacoustical attribute of sound.
Melody typeMelody 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' seminal article "Mode" in the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Powers 1980, 12:376–77, 379, et passim).
AccentusAccentus (or Accentus Ecclesiasticus; Ecclesiastical accent) is a style of church music that emphasizes spoken word. It is often contrasted with concentus, an alternative style that emphasizes harmony. The terms accentus and concentus were probably introduced by Andreas Ornithoparchus in his Musicae Activae Micrologus, published in Leipzig in 1517.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.