Beneventan chant

Beneventan chant is a liturgical

History

During the

Gregorian chant had already begun to take hold in the Beneventan orbit as early as the 8th century. The two traditions appear to have coexisted for about a century before the Gregorian chant began to replace the native Beneventan. Many Beneventan chants exist only as interpolations and addenda in Gregorian chantbooks, sometimes next to their corresponding chants in the Gregorian repertory. External ecclesiastical influences, such as two German abbots at Montecassino during the 11th century, led to an increasing insistence on the Roman rite and Gregorian chant instead of the local Beneventan traditions. One of these abbots later became Pope Stephen IX, who in 1058 officially outlawed the Beneventan rite and chant. A few Beneventan chants continued to be recorded and performed for a time, especially for the feasts of local importance such as the Holy Twelve Brothers, which had no Gregorian counterpart. However, the Beneventan repertory as a whole fell into disuse. This was commemorated in a legend of a singing contest between a Gregorian and a Beneventan cantor, which ended in victory for the Gregorian repertory when the Beneventan cantor fainted from exhaustion.

General characteristics

Beneventan chant is largely defined by its role in the liturgy of the Beneventan rite, which is more closely related to the liturgy of the

What most distinguishes Beneventan chant is its frequent and repeated use of various short melodic motifs. Although this technique is used in other chant traditions, such as the centonization of melodic formulae in the Gregorian Graduals, it is far more frequently used in Beneventan chant than in the other Western plainchant traditions.

Chants of the Office

Many Beneventan

In the Beneventan rite, the Proper of the Mass included an Ingressa, Alleluia, Offertory, Communion, and in six extant Masses, a Gradual.

Ingressae, as in the Ambrosian rite, are elaborate chants sung without psalm verses. They are analogous to the Gregorian Introit. Alleluias appear in every Mass except the Masses of Holy Week. Most of them share a single melody. Offertories and Communions are melodically more simple. Some Masses have two Communion chants. Some Communion chants appear in other services as the Offertory chant, or as a simple antiphon.

References

• Apel, Willi (1990). Gregorian Chant. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-253-20601-5
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• Hiley, David (1995). Western Plainchant: A Handbook. Clarendon Press.
  ISBN 978-0-19-816572-9
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• Hoppin, Richard (1978). Medieval Music. W. W. Norton & Company.
  ISBN 978-0-393-09090-1
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• ISBN 978-0-521-34310-7
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• Wilson, David (1990). Music of the Middle Ages. Schirmer Books.
  ISBN 978-0-02-872951-0
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• A few pieces of Beneventan chant transcribed in square notation
• Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 7 May 2006), Grove Music – Access by subscription only Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine