plain chant

Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French plain-chant; Latin: cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text.

chant. / (tʃɑːnt) / noun. a simple song or melody. a short simple melody in which several words or syllables are assigned to one note, as in the recitation of psalms.

The word derives from the 13th-century Latin term cantus planus (“plain song”), referring to the unmeasured rhythm and monophony (single line of melody) of Gregorian chant, as distinguished from the measured rhythm of polyphonic (multipart) music, called cantus mensuratus, or cantus figuratus (“measured,” or “figured,” ...

One key difference between plain chant and Gregorian chant lies in the melodic structure plain chant Melodies tend to be more formulaic. Using a limited range of melodic patterns. Known as modes

plain adjective (WITH NOTHING ADDED) not decorated in any way; with nothing added: She wore a plain black dress. We've chosen a plain carpet (= one without a pattern) and patterned curtains. He prefers plain food - nothing too fancy.

In the Catholic Church, medieval plainchant was a sacred melody characterized by reciting prayers and psalms in an unharmonized and monophonic manner. Plainchant songs are monophonic, sung in a cappella and Latin, non-metric, and composed in one of the three modes syllabic, pneumatic, and melismatic.

: to say (a word or phrase) many times in a rhythmic way usually loudly and with other people. [+ object] The crowd began chanting her name. They chanted “Sara, Sara” until she came back on stage.

It is categorized into these types based on the number of notes sung in each syllable. Syllabic chants have one note per syllable, neumatic chants consist of two or three notes per syllable, and melismatic chants have many notes for one syllable.

Chant melodies fall into three categories (syllabic, neumatic, melismatic) based on how many notes are set to each syllable of text.

Characteristics of Plainchant

• monophonic in texture (a single line)
• sung a cappella.
• sung in Latin.
• non-metric.
• composed in modes, or modal.

Plainchant, or plainsong, is also known as Gregorian chant and forms the core of the musical repertoire of the Roman Catholic Church. It consists of about 3,000 melodies collected and organized during the reigns of several 6th- and 7th-century popes. Most instrumental in codifying these chants was Pope Gregory I.

Plains are large stretches of flat land. They are, generally, not more than 200 metres above the mean sea level. Most of the plains are formed by rivers and their tributaries. i) When the rivers flow down the slopes of the mountains, they chip away at the rocks.