"relations of spanish folk song to the gregorian chant"

7/28/2019 "Relations of Spanish Folk Song to the Gregorian Chant"

1/4

Relations of Spanish Folk Song to the Gregorian ChantAuthor(s): Higini AnglsSource: Journal of the International Folk Music Council, Vol. 16 (1964), pp. 54-56Published by: International Council for Traditional MusicStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/835076 .

Accessed: 24/05/2013 18:47

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

International Council for Traditional Music is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend

access toJournal of the International Folk Music Council.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 146.155.94.33 on Fri, 24 May 2013 18:47:29 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ictmhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/835076?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/835076?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ictm


2/4

Liturgies of Orient and Occident

RELATIONS OF SPANISH FOLK SONG TO THEGREGORIAN CHANT*

HIGINI ANGLES (Pontificio Instituto di Musica Sacra, Rome.)THEsacredchant of Rome, apart from its liturgical value, is of importanceto musico-logy. In it there lives on as a substratum the remembrance of popular traditionalsongs. Also from Roman Chant there came the development of polyphonicmusic andthe art of instrumental variation in Europe. In addition, it was the origin of a greatnumber of vernacular religious chants associated with the different Christiancreeds.I consider, therefore, that I am justified in claiming that the liturgical chant of theRoman Church represents a musical repertory of the highest order which can beregardedas an artistic patrimony not only of the Christian Churchbut of all mankind.The central corpus of the Roman Chant-known since the ninth century as"GregorianChant"-was already in existence duringthe eighth and ninth centuries.In it there are to be found reminiscences of eastern and western song of the mostremote epochs: musical elements of the most ancient cultures which would have beenlost for ever, had not Pontifical Rome recollected them and conserved them in itsliturgy.The text sung in the primitive Roman liturgy generally came from King David'spsalter and the Bible, and the GregorianChant of the Latin liturgy of Rome offersaninsight into the musicalwork of the Temple of Jerusalemand of the Synagogue,fortheRoman Churchadopted the recitative and psalmodic forms of singing that had beenpractised in uninterrupted tradition by the synagogue. That is why Christians ingeneral, including myself as a Catholic priest, bow in respect and gratitude to theJewish people who had created and kept alive a sacred chant that later on was to bethe basis of the chant within the Christian Church in East and West. If we re-member, moreover, that the eastern Christian liturgy has transferred many of itselements to the Roman liturgy and to its chant, we can appreciateeven more the manyremnantsof eastern as well as westerntraditionalpopular song in the Romanliturgicalchant. We also see that the differentpeoples of Europe,Asia andAfrica, in singingit,sometimes feel it as something of their own: a connatural song of their own people.On this occasion I must limit myself to giving a general survey of the traditionalsong of Spanish folklore and its analogies with GregorianChant. We could say thesame about the importance of Hispanic song in relation to the melodies of courtlyric in the MiddleAges.The old central corpus of GregorianChant consists of the chant of the PropriumMissae et Officii; the later corpus, created during the ninth century and followingcenturies, includes the Ordinarium Missae (Kyriale) et Officii, and the repertoireofpoetical texts, such as hymns, tropes, sequences, verbeta, conductus, cantiones,liturgical dramasand so on. When we study the relation of the Roman Chant to thepopular song of the traditional folklore of the different countries, we observe thatoriental elements and reminiscences of oriental melodies appear as a rule in theProprium Missae et Officii. However, in the Ordinarium Missae et Officii it isclearly western popular song that prevails over the oriental influence.

* Read by Dr. Eric Werner in the absence of Monsignor Angles.54

This content downloaded from 146.155.94.33 on Fri, 24 May 2013 18:47:29 PM

All use subject toJSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/4

LITURGIES OF ORIENT AND OCCIDENT 55The chant of melismatic melodies in the plainsong of the Mass and of the Office,sung by a soloist after a lecture, alternating with the Schola, is known by the name ofresponsorialchant. We should immediately note that in creating this sort of pieceartists weregiven to imitate types of oriental melodies ratherthan western ones. Thefact that on the last unstressedsyllable of the text is executed a long melismatic seriesof notes, is evidence of this ,because in European folklore we do not find this kind ofsong. This has given rise to the belief that a big part of the corpusof Latin plainsongin the Roman Church is of oriental origin. However, we must remember that inSpanish musical folklore there are many tilling songs in which the last syllable of aword is sung with a series of notes forminga melisma. But these ploughing songs ofsome regions of Spain and of other Mediterraneancountries, in which we find suchmelismatic melodies executed on the last syllable of a word, are also a remembranceofthe song of primitive people of oriental originwho have passed through ourpeninsula.In the popular Spanish Cancionero here are melodies which recall a recitative, for

example:L'oraci6 de I'HortRecitativo

De trhs deixebles vol- tat, Sant Pe- re, Jo-an i Jau-me, Je-stis sorti- a de

I'hort,quan veu venir gent ar- ma - da, Sen - yor, jo us de-ma-no per-d6.

Passio Domini N.T.

Et-si omnes scandali-za- ti fu-e -rint in te, e-go numquam scan-da - ii za bor.Vora voreta la mar

Vora vo-re-ta la mar n'hiha u - na donzella, que broda-vaun mocador,que's per la rei - na.

We shouldobservethat folk songsgenerally preservethe modality of the GregorianChant, but that, on the other hand, they seldom conserve its free rhythms. As to themelodic curve, in spite of the fioriture which are added, the analogies between theliturgical chant and folk song are evident. However, there are some folk melodies inantiphonal style which are composedin freerhythm. When adopting such a melody,people sing it syllabically, putting a syllable to every note.Amb tots els pecats

Amb tots els pe cats a coil a Bet - lem me'n a - ni so - ia;

quan a Bet - lem ja vaig ser, por-ta- la I portes s6n closes.


All use subject toJSTOR Terms and Conditions


4/4

56 INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNALThe greaterproportionof chants which are akin to melodies of traditional folkloreis to be found in the repertory of the OrdinariumMissae or Kyriale. This is naturalsince the congregation was wont to hear these liturgical melodies every Sunday atchurch. In this connection, we must realize that peoplehave an instinctive feelingfor

the practice of singing tropes, of applying one syllable to each note of a song which inthe Gregorianrepertory is melismatic.Sanctus IX

u'P IIl.I t T, - Y w ,b-

I,-- II

San - - - ctus, San- ctus, San - - - ctus Dominus De - us Sa - - ba- oth

El de - cem-bre con-ge - lat confus se re - ti - ra; ab -ril de florsco-ro-

-Plq - --I F _ 1 I h K-- nat tot el mon ad - mi - ra, quan en un jar-di d'a-mor naix u - na di -vi-na flor,duna ro, ro,

II 1, Ii' i 1 i i i 1 Iro, d'u-na sa, sa, sa, d'u-na ro, du.na sa,d'u-na ro-sa bel - la, fe-con-da i don-cal- la.

Among the hymns we find many melodies akin to popular tunes, although it isdifficultto connect with them any particularSpanishsongs. We can say the same ofthe sequences, tropes, conductus, MozarabicPreces and so on. In the sacred dramasand religious mysteries of the MiddleAges they always sang tunes of liturgicalhymnsapplied to texts in the vernacular tongue of Catalonia or Castile.Among the numerous problems which this study opens up, there is one whichclaims special attention. It is the question of finding out which of these melodieswere the originalones: the Gregorianor the folk tunes. There are cases in which wecan be sure that a popularmelody comes directly from a Gregorianone; but there arecertainly cases in which the composerof a Gregorianmelody obtained his inspirationfrom a traditional melody.

PSAUME HEBRAIQUE ET SEQUENCE LATINEGUNTER BIRKNER (Freiburgi.Br., Germany)

LESsources manuscritesdes IXe et Xe si&clesnous laissent assister&l'apparitiond'uneforme nouvelle, qui pendant sept sidcles connut une floraison sans pareille. Cetteforme, la sequence, influence profond~ment la musique mondaine et repr~senteavec l'hymne un des grands points de d6part de l'art moyenigeux. La questionque nous nous posons, c'est, d'oil provient l'impulsion pour la formation de cettesequence, si toutefois une telle impulsion parait possible ou probable. Doit-onsupposerque, contrairementB 'hymne, avec une histoiredbj plusieursfois centenaire


All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

"relations of spanish folk song to the gregorian chant"

Documents