Tract (liturgy)
The tract (
Latin: tractus) is part of the proper of the Christian liturgical celebration of the Eucharist, used instead of the Alleluia in Lent or Septuagesima, in a Requiem
Mass, and other penitential occasions, when the joyousness of an Alleluia is deemed inappropriate. Tracts are not, however, necessarily sorrowful.
The name apparently derives from either the drawn-out style of singing or the continuous structure without a refrain. There is evidence, however, that the earliest performances were sung responsorially, and it is probable that these were dropped at an early stage.
In their final form, tracts are a series of
cadences are nearly always elaborate melismas. Tracts with multiple verses are some of the longest chants in the Liber Usualis
.
References
- Hoppin, Richard. Medieval Music. New York: Norton, 1978. Pages 129-130.