The Roman Mass and Chant

1
The Roman Mass and Chant

• How chant was used in the Medieval Roman Litrugy

2
What is the Roman Mass?

• The Roman Catholic mass is a well organized
  ritual that includes
• Prayer
• Readings from the Bible
• Reenactment of the Last Supper
• While some of the texts vary from week to week,
  the overall structure remains
• Sung in Latin, except for one section

3
Sections and outline of the Roman Mass
4
That was a lot of words. What do they mean?

• Introit- Procession of the celebrants to the
  alter, usually a psalm verse
• Kyrie- Threefold statement asking for mercy
• Gloria- Praise to God and summerized doctrine
• Gradual and Alleluia- Sung after readings
• Sequence- Sung before the Gospel
• Credo- Statement of belief

5
The Rest of the Mass

• Offertory- Preparation for Communion
• Sanctus- Text from Isaiah 63
• Angus Dei- Sung during the breaking of the bread
• Communion- Based on a psalm, sung after sharing
  of the bread and wine
• Mass ends with Ite, missa est (Go, you are
  dimissed)

6
How to classify chant

• Antiphonal- Sung by alternating choirs
• Responsorial- Alternates between soloist and
  choir
• Direct- no alternation
• Syllabic- One note per syllable
• Melismatic- Long melodic passages on a single
  syllable
• Neumatic- short melismas of four or five notes

7
Listening to Chant Alleluia, Videmus Stellam

• Is this chant antiphonal, responsorial, or
  direct?
• Has syllabic, neumatic, and melismatic sections
• ABA form- Opening alleluia repeats after the
  biblical verse

8
Hildegard of Bingen

• Renowned abbess, writer, composer, and mystic
• Founded her own convent in 1156
• Corresponded with emperors, kings, popes, bishops
• Wrote books about her visions, science, and
  healing
• Wrote religious poetry and set them to music

9
O Successores

• Written to be sung by nuns in the convent
• Mostly neumatic
• Has a wider pitch range than most chants at the
  time
• Large leaps
• Greater feeling of motion towards a melodic
  climax
• The performers in this recording add a drone

10
Alleluia, O Virga mediatrix

• An Alleluia Which section of the Mass does this
  belong to? Is it part of the ordinary or the
  proper?
• A-B-A form. What are the sections?
• Is the chant mostly syllabic, neumatic, or
  melismatic?