Early Music, Chant, and

Polyphony
You may not realize it, but it’s in your blood.
What do you think of when you think of
music?
• Rhythm
• Rise and fall of pitch
• Dynamics
• Adding/subtracting instruments (orchestration)
• Frequency Spectrum
Where did we get these fantastic ideas?
• Ancient Greek Culture (c. 500 BCE)
• Values of democracy, medicine, philosophy, art
• Music is speech
• Spread of culture
• The Harmonic Series (c. 470 BCE)
• Pythagoras
• Piercing Treble
• Rich Bass
• Major modes
Where did we get these fantastic ideas?
• Christian Culture Spreads (c. 30-70 CE)
• St. Paul the Apostle
• Missionaries
• Psalm Singing Spreads (c. 30-520 CE)
• Began with the Tehillim (i.e. The Book of Praise)
• After St. Paul, Christianity spreads along with Psalm Singing
What are the roots of Ancient Christian
Music?
• People of the Book (33-100 CE)
• The Christian Church thrived with Jewish liturgies, modified with Christian
messages
• Acts 2:42: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
• Daily Reading and Commentary
• Daily Prayer
• Psalm Singing
• Responsorial Elements
What are the roots of Ancient Christian
Music?
• The development of the Mass (313-800 CE)
• Feast of Christ, the Lord’s Supper
• Psalms and Hymns
• The Liturgical Year
• Ordinary and Proper CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANT
Gregorian Chant
• Chant was in wide use
• It was different from Church to Church
• Pope Gregory I
• ‘Helped’ codify/gather the melodies
• Unification of the Church
• Expressive consistency and liturgical excellence
Characteristics of Gregorian Chant
• Monophonic (mono- (one) phonate (sound))
• Modal (discriminated scales)
• Natural Rhythm (no meter)
• It is all about the words
Let’s Listen
• What did you hear?
• What do the words mean?
• How is the meaning of the words reflected in the music?
• Does this sound like anything you’ve heard before?
• Who can name a current example of this?
How can we connect this to the present?
• The Basis of Western Art Music
• Beginning and End
• Rise and Fall of pitch, with arcs
• Significance of natural stress and rhythm
What is Polyphony?
• Another incredibly exciting musical characteristic
• Poly – “many” phony – “sounds”
• The basis of harmony as we know it is here!
• Composers such as Leonin and Perotin are pioneers in polyphony.
• Greatest example of Polyphony woven into the Catholic Mass: Messe
de Nostre Dame
What are some examples of Polyphony?
• Then?
• Now?
What does 1956 have to do with this stuff?
• M. Durufle, Requiem
• Other pieces from this time:
• Hound Dog
• Heartbreak Hotel
• Que Sera, Sera
• Durufle is taking old, old plainchant and making it new, in the face of
utter modernity
Introit
I.
Requiem aeternam
dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus in Sion,
et tibi reddetur
votum in Jerusalem;
exaudi orationem meam,
ad te omnis caro veniet.
Requiem aeternam
dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
I.
Eternal rest
grant them, O Lord,
and let eternal light shine upon them.
A hymn to you is fitting, O God in Zion,
and a vow made to you
in Jerusalem;
hear my prayer,
all flesh comes to you.
Eternal rest
grant them, O Lord,
and let eternal light shine upon them.
Kyrie
II. II.
Kyrie eleison, Lord have mercy,
Christe eleison. Christ have mercy,
Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy.
 Domine Jesu Christe
III.
Domine Jesu Christe, rex gloriae,
libera animas omnium fidelium
defunctorum de poenis inferni
et de profundo lacu.
Libera eas de ore leonis,
ne absorbeat eas tartarus,
ne cadant in obscurum.
Sed signifer sanctus Michael
repraesentet eas
in lucem sanctam,
quam olim Abrahae promisisti
et semini ejus.
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine,
laudis offerimus.
Tu suscipe pro animabus illis,
quarum hodie
memoriam facimus,
fac eas, Domine,
de morte transire ad vitam
quam olim Abrahae promisisti
et semini ejus.
III.
Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
free the souls of all the faithful
departed from the punishments of hell
and from the deep abyss.
Deliver them from the lion’s mouth
so that Tartarus does not swallow them,
and that they do not fall into darkness.
But holy Michael,
describes them
as being in the holy light,
which long ago to Abraham
and his offspring you promised.
Offerings and prayers to you, Lord,
praise we offer.
Hear them for the sake of those souls
which today
we remember,
grant, Lord,
that they may pass from death to life,
which long ago to Abraham
and his offspring you promised.
Sanctus
IV.
Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth,
pleni sunt coeli
et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis!
Benedictus, qui venit
in nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis!
IV.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts.
Heaven and earth
are full of your glory,
Hosannah in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord,
Hosannah in the highest.
Pie Jesu and Agnus Dei

V. V.
Pie Jesu Domine, Gracious Lord Jesus,
dona eis requiem sempiternam. grant them eternal rest.

VI. VI.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis Lamb of God, who takes away
peccata mundi, the sin of the world,
dona eis requiem sempiternam. grant them eternal rest.
Lux Aeterna
VII. VII.
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, May eternal light shine on them, Lord,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, with your saints forever,
quia pius es. because you are gracious.
Requiem aeternam Eternal rest
dona eis, Domine, grant them, O Lord,
et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let eternal light shine upon them.
Libera me
VIII.
Libera me, Domine,
de morte aeterna,
in die illa tremenda,
quando coeli
movendi sunt et terra,
dum veneris judicare
saeculum per ignem.
Tremens factus sum ego et timeo
dum discussio venerit
atque ventura ira,
quando coeli
movendi sunt et terra.
Dies illa, dies irae,
calamitatis et miseriae,
dies magna
et amara valde.
Requiem aeternam
dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
VIII.
Deliver me, Lord,
from eternal death
on that tremendous day
when the heavens
and the earth are disturbed,
when you will come to judge
the world through fire.
I am forced to tremble and I fear,
when the distruction comes
and the impending wrath,
when the heavens
and the earth are disturbed.
That day, the day of wrath,
of calamity, of misery,
day immense
and most bitter.
Eternal rest
grant them, O Lord,
and let eternal light shine upon them.
In Paradisum
IX. IX.
In Paradisum Into Paradise
deducant Angeli, may the angels lead you,
in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres may the martyrs welcome you in your coming
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. and guide you into the holy city
Jerusalem.
Chorus Angelorum te suscipit
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere A chorus of angels will greet you,
aeternam habeas requiem. and with Lazarus, once a beggar,
may you have eternal rest.