1. Chapter 1
Plainchant
and
Secular Monophony
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-1 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

2. The Emergence of
Plainchant
Gregorian chant
• supposed creator: Pope
Gregory I
• existed before his reign of 590-
604
• development continued after
him
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-2 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

3. Partially diastematic chant notation. The neumes of the
earliest notated sources indicate the general contours but not
the actual pitches of the chants. Shown here are the opening
chants of the Mass Proper for Easter Sunday copied in
eastern France around 930.
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-3 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

4. The Elements of
Plainchant
Plainchant
• pure melody
• no harmony
• no accompaniment
• no added voices
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-4 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

5. The Elements of
Plainchant
Five elements of plainchant
1. Liturgical function
2. The relationship of words and
music
3. Mode
4. Melodic structure
5. Rhythm
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-5 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

6. The Elements of
Plainchant
Liturgical function
The Office
• observed primarily by cloistered
monks and nuns rather than laity
• local practices varied considerably
and changed over time
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-6 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

7. The Elements of
Plainchant
Liturgical function
The Mass
• mixture of spoken, recited, sung
elements
• every celebration of Mass (the
Ordinary)
• specific to particular Sundays orHistory of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-7 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

8. The Elements of
Plainchant
Relationship of Words and Music
Chant:
• syllabic - each syllable of text has
own note
• neumatic - each syllable is sung to
between two and six notes
• melismatic - a single syllable is sung
to many notes
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-8 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

9. The Elements of
Plainchant
Mode
• specific pattern of whole steps and
half steps
• melodies end on a characteristic
pitch (the finalis or final) and move
up and down within a particular
range (ambitus)
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-9 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

10. The Elements of
Plainchant
Melodic Structure
• limited number of intervallic
patterns
• many stepwise intervals
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-10 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

11. The Guidonian hand. Attributed to Guido of Arezzo, the
Guidonian hand was a mnemonic device for students learning
solmization syllables and the structure of the gamut, which begins
at the tip of the thumb (Gamma ut) and circles around the hand,
each joint representing a particular pitch.
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-11 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

12. The Elements of
Plainchant
Rhythm
Two interpretations -
• all notes are of essentially equal
durational value
• all notes are not of equal durational
value
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-12 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

13. The Expansion of
Plainchant
• troping was most important
source of new repertory after
9th century
• trope is a musical or textual
addition to existing chant
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-13 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

14. Secular Monophony
Songs in Latin
• passed easily across linguistic
boundaries
• great appeal to wandering
minstrels who provided
entertainment
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-14 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

15. Secular Monophony
France
Troubadours and Trouvères
• active in 12th and 13th
centuries
• trobairitz is a female
troubadour
• repertories included love
songs, laments,
pastorals, dialogues, courtly
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-15 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

16. Secular Monophony
The Iberian Penisula
Cantigas (“songs”)
• texts written in Gallo-
Portuguese
• most were syllabically set
• strophic form with a refrain
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-16 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458

17. Secular Monophony
Germany
Minnesinger
• developed their own repertory
of songs
• Minnelieder were written in bar
form
creating the pattern of AAB
History of Music in Western Culture, 3e 1-17 © 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc.
By Mark Evans Bonds Upper Saddle
River, NJ 07458