scandicus flexus

Gregorian chants fall into two broad categories of melody: recitatives and free melodies. The simplest kind of melody is the liturgical recitative. Recitative melodies are dominated by a single pitch, called the reciting tone. Other pitches appear in melodic formulae for incipits, partial cadences, and full cadences.

Characteristics of Gregorian chants edit The chant moves up and down by steps and small leaps within a narrow range. Melodies are often melismatic- syllables are held out over multiple notes. Harmony - Gregorian chants are monophonic in texture, so have no harmony.

Gregorian notation was designed primarily to commit to paper the sacred chants of the beginning of the second millenium. The scale used is, in modern notes: C, D, E, F, G, A. The intervals between these notes are the same as in modern notation. Notes are written on a 4-line staff.

A musical staff of four lines evolved about the year 1000. Neumes placed on the staff showed exact pitch, allowing a singer to read an unfamiliar melody.

Gregorian chant, monophonic, or unison, liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church, used to accompany the text of the mass and the canonical hours, or divine office. Gregorian chant is named after St. Gregory I, during whose papacy (590–604) it was collected and codified.

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.

Gregorian chant is also called plainchant. It is music that is monophonic, which means a melody of one note at a time. Gregorian chant began during the Middle Ages in Europe, which refers to the period from about the 5th century to the 15th century. It was music of the Catholic Church, so it was ceremonial in purpose.

Gregorian chant, monophonic, or unison, liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church, used to accompany the text of the mass and the canonical hours, or divine office. Gregorian chant is named after St. Gregory I, during whose papacy (590–604) it was collected and codified.

[English] A style of plain chant that sets one syllable of text to one neume. A neume is a symbol that denotes two to four notes in the same symbol, thus each syllable is sung to two to four notes. This style is opposed to syllabic, in which each syllable has one note, and melismatic, where one syllable has many notes.

Most neume notation is used to set music to an existing text. The syllable is the fundamental unit of structure, with the neumes themselves serving as a means of “sonifying” the text.

Like the rhythm of a calm heartbeat, Gregorian chant fosters peace within ourselves and those around us. It is not music for the sake of music – but rather prayer that inspires prayer.

to repeat or sing a word or phrase continuously: The crowd were chanting the team's name. Demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans in the square. to sing a religious prayer or song to a simple tune: We could hear the monks chanting.