Plainsong Article Index for
Plainsong
Articles about
Plainsong
 

Information About

Plainsong




Broadly speaking, plainsong (also known as '''plainchant''') is the name given to the body of traditional songs used in the Liturgies of the Roman Catholic Church . The liturgies of the Eastern Orthodox Church , though in many ways similar, are generally not classified as plainsong, though the musical form is nearly as old as Christendom itself. Plainsong is also commonly used in the Anglican churches.


HISTORY


Plainsong is Monophonic , and is in free rather than measured rhythm. Gregorian Chant is a variety of plainsong that is named after Pope Gregory I ( 6th Century AD). Though frequently asserted, it is not true that Gregory invented the chant, or that he ordered the suppression of previous chant styles, such as the Ambrosian or Mozarabic , for the chant pre-existed St Gregory himself. What he did was to codify and standardize the use of plainchant throughout Christendom. It became known as "Gregorian Chant" because the chant was named in his honour for the endeavour he undertook to promote its use in the Roman liturgy.

For several centuries, different plainchant styles existed concurrently, and standardization on Gregorian chant was not completed, even in Italy , until the 12th Century . Plainchant represents the first revival of musical Notation after knowledge of the ancient Greek system was lost. Plainsong notation differs from the modern system in having only four lines to the staff and a system of note-shapes called Neume s.

There was a significant plainsong revival in the article and in ecclesiastical Societies that celebrate the traditional Latin Mass (sometimes called the Tridentine Mass). In the late 1980s, plainchant achieved a certain vogue as music for rest, and several recordings of plainchant became "classical chart hits."


REFERENCES