Mozarabic chant
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Mozarabic chant (also known as the Hispanic chant, Old Hispanic chant, Old Spanish chant, or Visigothic chant) is the liturgical
Terminology
Dissatisfaction with the Islamic term "Mozarabic chant" has led to the use of several competing names for the music to which it refers. The Islamic term Mozarabic was used by the Islamic rulers of Hispania (Al Andalus) to refer to the
History
The basic structure of the rite that came to be known as the Visigothic rite (later
The Visigothic rite (later Mozarabic rite) shares similarities with the
The Visigothic/Mozarabic rite was revived by Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros, who published in 1500 and 1502 a Mozarabic Missal and Breviary, incorporating elements of the Roman rite, and dedicated a chapel to preserving the Visigothic/Mozarabic rite. However, the chant used for this restored Visigothic/Mozarabic rite shows significant influence from Gregorian chant, and does not appear to resemble the Visigothic/Mozarabic chant sung prior to the reconquest.
General characteristics
The Visigothic chant (later Mozarabic chant) is largely defined by its role in the liturgy of the Visigothic rite (later
However, some things are known about the Visigothic/Mozarabic repertory. Like all plainchant, Visigothic/Mozarabic chant was monophonic and a cappella. In accordance with Roman Catholic tradition, it is primarily intended to be sung by males.
As in Gregorian chant, Visigothic/Mozarabic chant melodies can be broadly grouped into four categories: recitation, syllabic, neumatic, and melismatic. Recitations are the simplest, consisting primarily of a simple reciting tone. Syllabic chants have mostly one note per syllable. Neumatic chants have a small number of notes, often just two or three, notes per syllable. Melismatic chants feature long, florid runs of notes, called melismas, on individual syllables.
In both Visigothic/Mozarabic and Gregorian chant, there is a distinction between
Visigothic/Mozarabic chants used a different system of
Repertoire
Chants of the Office
The musical forms encountered in Visigothic/Mozarabic chant present a number of analogies with those of the Roman rite. For example, a comparable distinction exists between antiphonal and responsorial singing. And Visigothic/Mozarabic chant may be seen to make use of three styles: syllabic, neumatic and melismatic, much as in Gregorian chant. In the following descriptions of the principal musical items in both the Visigothic/Mozarabic Office and Mass, some of these analogies will be discussed further. The items from the Mass are presented here in the appropriate liturgical order.
The Antiphons are the largest category of Office chants. Most are moderately syllabic, with simple recitations used for the verses, sung in antiphony.
The Alleluiatici are also antiphonal chants, whose text usually involves an alleluia, similar in style to regular antiphons. Unlike the Gregorian repertory, these are sung at Matins and Vespers even on penitential days, when "alleluia" is omitted from the liturgy.
Matins features a musical form called the missa, which consists of an Alleluiaticus framed by two Antiphons and a Responsory. Later missae show common musical material thematically uniting the missa. The Responsories, which are primarily found at the end of a missa, are generally neumatic, consisting of
Other Office chants include the morning-themed Matutinaria, the Benedictiones using texts from the Book of Daniel, the melismatic Soni, and the alleluiatic Laudes. The Psallendi, unrelated to the Psallendae of Ambrosian chant, end with the Doxology.
The neumatic Vespertini, like the Lucernaria of Ambrosian chant, usually allude to the lighting of lamps or to nightfall. They show a high degree of centonization, construction from a vocabulary of stock musical phrases, and adaptation, application of a pre-existing melody to a new text.
Preces are short, lightly neumatic musical prayers in rhyme with a refrain. They exist in both the Visigothic /
Chants of the Mass
The Mass is the Christian celebration of the
Praelegenda are opening chants corresponding to the Gregorian Introit, which use the same antiphonal structure and psalm tones found in the Visigothic/Mozarabic Office.
Unlike the Gregorian
The Trisagion, in which the Greek word "hagios" is sung three times, sometimes quite melismatically or translated into the Latin "sanctus," corresponds to the simple threefold "Kyrie eleison" sung at the end of the Laus missa of the
Following the Trisagion are the Benedictiones. Like the Benedictiones of the Office, these come from the Book of Daniel, but use more complex melodies, whose refrain structure derives directly from the biblical poetry.
The Psalmi are neumatic and melismatic responsorial chants which function similarly to the Gregorian Gradual. On a few holidays, the Psalmo leads directly into a Clamor. Clamores conclude with the refrain of the preceding Psalmo. During Lent, Threni substitute for Psalmi. Each Threnus has a non-repeating refrain followed by several verses, which are sung to the same melody. This function of replacing another chant on certain penitential days is similar to the way the Gregorian Tract replaces the Alleluia.
Just as the Gregorian Gradual is followed by the Alleluia, the Visigothic/Mozarabic Psalmo is followed by the Laus. Like the Gregorian Alleluias, the Laudes include two melismas on the word "alleluia" surrounding a simpler verse. During Lent, the Laudes use different texts.
The Sacrificium corresponds to the Gregorian Offertory. The Sacrificia appear to be closely related to the Soni chants of the Office.
A few Visigothic/Mozarabic Masses include the Ad pacem, a special Antiphon sung for the kiss of peace, or the Ad sanctus, similar to the Gregorian Sanctus.
Corresponding to the Ambrosian Confractorium is the Ad confractionem panis, sung for the breaking of the bread. The chant Ad accedentes, corresponding to the Gregorian Communion, follows.
Recordings
Recordings have been made by:
- Ensemble Organum on the French label Harmonia Mundi[1]
- the monks of Santo Domingo de Silos under the direction of Ismael Fernández de la Cuesta on the German label Archiv Produktion.[2][3]
References
- ^ "Chant Mozarabe. Cathedrale de Tolède XVe siècle. (Mozarabic Chant. Toledo Cathedral 15th century)".
- ^ White, M (2020). "Chart-topping nuns, famous friars, and the world's largest recording project". Gramophone. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ Altspanische Liturgie (Ancient Spanish Liturgy); Misa Mozarabe. Discogs.
- Apel, Willi (1990). Gregorian Chant. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-20601-5.
- Brockett, Clive W. (1968). Antiphons, Responsories, and Other Chants of the Mozarabic Rite. Brooklyn: Institute of Medieval Music.
- Hiley, David (1995). Western Plainchant: A Handbook. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-816572-9.
- Hoppin, Richard (1978). Medieval Music. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-09090-1.
- Levy, Kenneth (1987). "Old-Hispanic Chant in Its European Context". In España en la música de occidente: Actas del Congreso Internacional celebrado en Salamanca (29 de octubre5 de noviembre de 1985), 2 volumes, edited by Emilio Casares Rodicio, Ismael Fernández de la Cuesta, and José López-Calo, 1:3–14. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura.
- Randel, Don Michael (1973). An Index to the Chant of the Mozarabic Rite. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-09117-4.
- Randel, Don Michael; Nils Nadeau. "Mozarabic Chant". In Deane Root (ed.). Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- Wilson, David (1990). Music of the Middle Ages. New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 978-0-02-872951-0.
External links
- Toledo Spanish city, Church of San Roman:, "Psalm CIII and Stella Maris with the Sibyls' song. Free access at de photographies on the romanesque wall paintings and research artícle on the Roman and Mozarabic rites ..." (Círculo Románico, (in Spanish))