The basic way of organising chant melodies in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries is through the modal system.[1]Although it is occasionally outdated, the seminal work on this issue is still Bernhard Meier, The Modes of Classical Vocal Polyphony: Described according to the Sources, with Revisions by the Author, … Continue reading
Each melody has its modal final (‘finalis’) on D, E, F, or G. This is the fundamental organising tone of each mode, and is usually, but not always, the final note of the melody.[2]While the eight traditional church modes remained in use throughout the sixteenth century, indeed even into the present day, there was a significant motion to expand the modal system in the … Continue reading
In turn, each melody is defined by its range (‘ambitus,’) which can be either authentic or plagal,[3]One influential nuancing of this system was introduced by the fourteenth-century Italian theorist Marchetto da Padova, whose further classifications of the modal system were widely disseminated in … Continue reading and its reciting tone which is taken from the Psalm Tones (see below.)
The system is often presented in a chart as can be seen below. The finals are notated in white notes, and the reciting tones as slashes.
Notice how each octave is organised into fourths and fifths, depending on whether the mode is authentic or plagal. This, along with a mode’s final and reciting tone, helps to give each mode a distinctive ‘flavour’ or a characteristic set of melodic cliches which we call its phrasis.[4]The term ‘phrasis’ is taken from Heinrich Glarean’s Dodecachordon published in 1547, and is derived from classical rhetorical thought, in which it can be used as a synonym for elocutio, or … Continue reading
While the best way to get a sense of each mode is to immerse oneself in plainchant repertoire, a good place to start is with our worksheet and workout video (coming soon,) which present a series of modal melodies compiled and organised for the purpose of memorisation in order to teach the typical characteristics of each mode.[5]The formulae are taken from Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Ms. lit. 5; Bailey, Commemoratio brevis, 81-90 and transcribed from Anna Maria Busse Berger, Medieval Music and the Art of Memory (Berkeley: … Continue reading
Printable worksheet 4 – The modes
[WORKOUT VIDEO 4 – The modes]
A related but independent set of conventions used for melodic categorisation are the Psalm Tones. These are melodic formulae which are used for the reciting of the psalms and canticles, which are followed by an Antiphon, a chant melody with a non-liturgical text.
As with the traditional modes of plainchant, there are eight Psalm Tones, which correspond closely to an equivalent mode. Of particular structural importance is the reciting tone (‘tenor’) of each psalm tone.
Each Psalm Tone is made up of two parts:
- The first part consists of an intonation (‘initium,’) a reciting tone (‘tenor’) and a middle cadence (‘mediatio.’) If the verse is particularly long, then a downward inflection is included (‘flexa.’)
- The second part is made up of a reciting tone (‘tenor’) and a final cadential formula (‘terminatio.’) Several psalm tones have multiple final cadential formulae in order to facilitate the return to their accompanying antiphon.
Take a look at the accompanying worksheet and workout video (coming soon) below and see if you can memorise them, before continuing to the second repertoire page.
Printable Worksheet 5 – The Psalm Tones
[WORKOUT VIDEO 4 – The Psalm Tones]
References
| ↑1 | Although it is occasionally outdated, the seminal work on this issue is still Bernhard Meier, The Modes of Classical Vocal Polyphony: Described according to the Sources, with Revisions by the Author, trans. Ellen S. Beebe (New York: Broude Brothers Limited, 1988). For more recent nuance on the subject see Harold Powers, “Is Mode Real?,” in Musical Theory in the Renaissance, ed. Cristle Collins Judd (Routledge: London, 2013), 9–52; and Cristle Collins Judd, “Modal Types and Ut, Re, Mi Tonalities: Tonal Coherence in Sacred Vocal Polyphony from about 1500,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 45, no. 3 (1992): 428–67. |
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| ↑2 | While the eight traditional church modes remained in use throughout the sixteenth century, indeed even into the present day, there was a significant motion to expand the modal system in the Renaissance, sparked by Heinrich Glarean’s Dodecachordon published in 1547. Glarean’s theory essentially introduced two new modal finals on A and C, both with their associated authentic and plagal modes, expanding the system from eight modes to twelve. The theory was widely, although not universally, adopted, dispersed perhaps most notably through the writings of the famous Venetian theorist and composer Gioseffo Zarlino. For an excellent overview, see Sarah Fuller, “Defending the ‘Dodecachordon’: Ideological Currents in Glarean’s Modal Theory,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 49, no. 2 (July 1996): 191–224. |
| ↑3 | One influential nuancing of this system was introduced by the fourteenth-century Italian theorist Marchetto da Padova, whose further classifications of the modal system were widely disseminated in the sixteenth century, in particular through the printed theoretical works of Franchinus Gaffurius. A mode can be:
For further information, see Reinhard Strohm and Bonnie J Blackburn, Music as Concept and Practice in the Late Middle Ages (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 261-262. |
| ↑4 | The term ‘phrasis’ is taken from Heinrich Glarean’s Dodecachordon published in 1547, and is derived from classical rhetorical thought, in which it can be used as a synonym for elocutio, or style. For a thorough overview see Frans Wiering, The Language of the Modes (Abingdon: Routledge, 2013), 149-151. |
| ↑5 | The formulae are taken from Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Ms. lit. 5; Bailey, Commemoratio brevis, 81-90 and transcribed from Anna Maria Busse Berger, Medieval Music and the Art of Memory (Berkeley: University Of California Press, 2019), 69. The text of each can be translated as follows:
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