paean
in ancient Greece, a hymn that celebrated the deeds of primary gods such as Zeus or Apollo; today any poetic hymn of praise
dithyramb
in ancient Greece, a wild choral song, mingled with shouts, that honored Dionysus; a term applied today to any poem with these characteristics
symposium
in ancient Greece, a tightly organized social gathering of adult male citizens for conversation and entertainment
skolion
a song setting a brief and lyric aphoristic poem; the primary musical entertainment at an ancient Greek symposium
chronos
in ancient Greek musical notation the basic unit of time-a short value
diseme
in ancient Greek musical notation a long value of time-formed by two chronoi
triseme
a triple unit long value of time in ancient Greek musical notation- formed by three chronoi
muses
in ancient Greek mythology, the nine goddesses who attended Apollo and presided over the arts and sciences; root of our word “music”
lyre
in ancient Greece a medium-sized instrument usually fitted with seven plucked strings; used most often to accompany a solo singer
kithara
the largest of all ancient Greek string instruments (an especially large lyre) usually fitted with seven strings and a resonator of wood
aulos
an ancient Greek wind instrument played in pairs that produced a high, clear, penetrating sound
music of the spheres
part of the ancient Greek world-view of music; held that when the stars and planets rotated in balanced proportions they made heavenly music
monochord
an ancient device with a single string stretched over a wooden block; distances carefully measured on the string to correspond to specific pitches
Pythagorean tuning
pitches of a scale according to mathematically exact octaves, fifths, and fourths but not thirds and sixths
tetrachord
a succession of four pitches
proslambanomenos
term used by the ancient Greeks to indicate the lowest sounding pitch in their Greater Perfect System
Greater Perfect System
the framework of the Greek two-octave scale formed by four tetrachords and the proslambanomenos
tonos
ancient Greek term for a scale
diatonic genus
the basic genus within the ancient Greek musical system; reflects the primary tetrachord spanning the intervals S-T-T
chromatic genus
a tetrachord employed by the ancient Greeks consisting of two semi-tones and a minor third
chromatic genus
a tetrachord employed by the ancient Greeks consisting of two semi-tones and a minor third
enharmonic genus
a tetrachord found in ancient Greek music consisting of a major third and two quarter-tones
tibia
Roman name for the aulos
tuba
Roman name for the trumpet; a long, straight instrument with a cylindrical bore and a bell at the end, which originated with the Etruscans
trivium
the three verbal disciplines of the seven liberal arts-grammar, logic, and rhetoric-which deal with language, logic, and oratory
quadrivium
the four scientific disciplines of the seven liberal arts-arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music- that used number and quantitative reasoning
Boethius
the principal Roman music theorist who wrote “Fundamentals of Music” based on his study and understanding of Greek music theory
musica mundana
music of the spheres- one of the three harmonies Boethius posited as part of his cosmology of music
musica humana
music of the human body-one of the three harmonies Boethius posited as part of his cosmology of music
musica instrumentalis
earthly vocal and instrumental music-one of the three harmonies Boethius posited as part of his cosmology of music
musicus
as defined by Boethius, the musicologist who studies and understands music; as distinguished from one who is a practitioner/performer
cantor
in a medieval monastery or nunnery the person specially trained to lead the music
liturgy
the collection of prayers, chants, readings, and ritual acts by which the theology of the church, or any organized religion, is practiced
chant
monophonic religious music that is sung in a house of worship
Coptic chant
the music of the Christian Church of Egypt, which still exists today, passed along for nearly 2000 years entirely by oral tradition
Byzantine chant
the special dialect of chant developed by the eastern Church in Constantinople; eventually notated and a body of music theory emerged to explain it
Roman chant
the dialect of chant sung in the early churches of Rome; the principal repertory from which Gregorian chant would later emerge
Ambrosian chant
a body of chant created in the 4th century for the church of Milan in northern Italy
Mozarabic chant
the old Christian church music as sung by Christians living in Spain under Moslem rule
Gallican chant
Christian music of early-medieval France; later mixed with chant coming from Rome and that fusion formed the basis of what we call Gregorian chant
psalmody
act or process of singing the psalms (of the Psalter); done each week during the services of the canonical hours
antiphonal singing
a method of musical performance in which a divided choir alternately sings back and forth
doxology
a standard formula of praise to the Holy Trinity
antiphon
in antiphonal singing the short chant sung before and after a psalm and its doxology
psalm tone
eight simple recitation formulas (simple repeating patterns) to which psalms were chanted
hymn
a relatively short chant with a small number of phrases, often four, and a rather narrow vocal range; invariably strophic, having three or four stanzas
Magnificat
a canticle of Mary, wherein she declares “My soul doth magnify the Lord;” the concluding musical portion of Vespers
canticle
a particularly lyrical and memorable passage of scripture usually drawn from the New Testament of the Bible
Mass
the central and most important religious service each day in the traditional liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church
Mass Proper
chants of the Mass whose texts change each day to suit the religious theme, or to honor a particular saint on just that one day
Mass Ordinary
chants of the Mass with unvarying texts that can be sung almost every day of the year; Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus dei
Introit
an introductory chant for the entrance of the celebrating clergy; the first item of the Proper of the Mass
syllabic chant
chants in which there are three, four, or five notes for each syllable of text
melismatic chant
chants in which there are many notes per syllable of text; Matins, Vespers, and the Mass have the most such chants
melisma
a lengthy vocal phrase setting a single syllable of text
Kyrie
an ancient Greek text; the first section of the Ordinary of the Mass the congregation petitions the Lord for mercy in threefold exclamations
Gloria
a hymn of praise originating in early Christian times; one of the five parts of the Ordinary of the Mass
Credo
a profession of faith formulated as the result of the Council of Nicaea in 325; one of the five parts of the Ordinary of the Mass
Gradual
first of the two melismatic, responsorial chants of the Proper; consists of a respond, psalm verse and optional repetition of the respond
respond
the opening chant in responsorial singing; usually sung by the full choir, it is followed by a verse sung by a soloist, and is repeated by the full choir
responsorial singing
when the full choir prefaces and responds to the psalm verse, which is sung by a soloist (choral respond, solo verse, choral respond)
Allelujia
second of the two melismatic, responsorial chants of the Proper; consists of a respond, verse, and repetition of the respond
jubilus
the melisma on the final syllable of the word Alleluia; at that moment the full choir and community celebrates with jubilation the redemptive life of Christ
*canonical hours
eight periods of worship occurring throughout the day and observed in monasteries and convents; prescribed in the Rule of St. Benedict (ca. 530)
*Gregorian chant
a vast body of monophonic religious music setting Latin texts and intended for use in the mass and canonical hours of the Roman Catholic Church
*Vespers
the late-afternoon service, and most important of the eight canonical hours for music; not only were psalms and a hymn sung but also the Magnificat
John of St. Gall
wrote the treatise “On Music” (ca. 1100) setting forth a sytem with numbers explaining the details of the eight church modes
church modes
eight melodic patterns into which medieval theorists categorized the chants of the church; the four principal are Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, & Mixolydian
authentic modes
in the eight church modes, the first of each of the four pairs of modes; each has a corresponding lower mode, but both end on the same final pitch
plagal mode
in the eight church modes, the second of each of the four pairs of modes; means “derived from;” range is a 4th below it’s corresponding counterpart
neume
in medieval musical notation, a sign used to delineate single pitches or groups of pitches; originally laid out on the parchment above text as a reminder
nota
(Latin for note) a symbol on a line or space representing a single, precise pitch
Guido of Arezzo
leader in the creation of the musical staff and note names; developed a aural skills mnemonic device using the left hand
solfege
the system of singing different pitches to the syllables “do (ut), re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti (si), do (ut)”
Guidonian hand
a system of using the left hand to inscribe mentally the notes of the scale; provides a portable mnemonic aid for the musical staff and notes set upon it
mutation
a change in Guidonian hexachords, often there were several places within a melody where such a change would be agreed upon by those singing
trope
an addition of music or text, or both, to a preexisting chant; they more fully explain the theology inherent in the chants to which they are added
sequence
an addition of music and text to follow the Mass Alleluia; successive verses were paired into double verses; Council of Trent later banned all but five
double verse structure
a distinctive feature of the sequence; each musical phrase is sung twice to accommodate a pair of verses
Dies irae
(Day of Wrath) an anonymous 13th-century sequence; today the most famous of all medieval sequences, serves as the sequence of the Requiem Mass
Requiem Mass
the burial Mass of the Roman Catholic Church
cantrix
in a convent, the main female singer and, in effect, the director of the choir
Hidegard of Bingen
12th-century nun and abbess well-known for her compositions of monophonic chant and liturgical dramas
diabolus in musica
(devil in music) the dissonant, or disagreeable tritone such as F-B
liturgical drama
a religious play with music intended to be performed as an adjunct to the liturgy, sometimes before Mass