Music 09/08

Pope Gregory is credited with codifying plainchant (often referred to in this transcript as “Blanchant”).
He called for chant to be written down; there are records showing this codification.
Earlier notation had fewer lines, and the notes looked different; they resembled little squares in the manuscript tradition, described (in the transcript) as being called “newbs.” In standard music terminology, these are neumes.
The idea of writing down chant marks a shift from oral/hearing-based transmission to notation that preserves pitch and rhythm more consistently.

Neumes in this context tell you pitch and rhythm to some extent; they’re not a fully modern notation system but indicate melodic contour and relative pitch movement.
The transcript emphasizes that these are the early signs of musical notation and also show text setting (how the syllables line up with notes).

Monophonic texture: a single melody line with everyone singing in unison.
Aural texture: unison singing, no harmony or multiple independent parts.
No meter: plainchant is nonmetrical; there isn’t a standardized tempo or time signature in the way later music uses.
Rhythm dictated by text: the rhythm is largely determined by the syllabic/melismatic setting of the Latin text rather than by a notated meter.
Modal organization: melodies are written using modal scales rather than tonal major/minor keys (see below for more on modes).
Range: the melodic range is usually narrow.
Contour: the melodic motion is typically conjunct (stepwise movement, little leap.
Language: sacred Latin text dominates; there is one mention in the transcript that something is in Greek, with the rest in Latin.

Sacred Latin text is the default language for plainchant.
There is a note in the transcript that one thing is in Greek, but the vast majority is Latin; this reflects liturgical practice in Western Christendom where Latin was the standard for most chants, with some Greek phrases appearing in certain contexts.

Plainchant uses modal scales rather than the later major/minor tonal system.
Major and minor modes are identified in the transcript as Ionian and Aeolian, respectively:
- Ionian mode ≈ major
- Aeolian mode ≈ minor
There are additional modes used in plainchant, including Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, and Locrian.
All of these modal options were used by composers; the transcript emphasizes that the chant was not confined to just “major” or “minor.”
For modern listeners, modal music often sounds ancient or archaic, because the weight and color of these scales differ from contemporary major/minor tonal centers.
The exam emphasis highlighted in the transcript is on modal tonality (the use of modes) rather than a strict major/minor dichotomy.

Range tends to be narrow in plainchant melodies.
Contour is usually conjunct, meaning lines move stepwise with small intervals rather than large leaps.
Most chant is monophonic in texture, reinforcing a single melodic line without harmonic accompaniment.

Syllabic text setting: one note per syllable.
Pneumatic (few notes per syllable): a small number of notes per syllable, used to intensify certain syllables or phrases.
Melismatic (many