The Rhythm Mystery Revealed

The New Liturgical Movement ^ | August 2, 2007 | Jeffrey Tucker

[Frank Sheed]

Thursday, August 02, 2007

The Rhythm Mystery Revealed

posted by Jeffrey Tucker

At last, at last, I'm pleased to announce that there is a source for understanding the old-style Solesmes approach to rhythm: The Rhythm of Plainsong by Dom Gajard (1943).

This marvelous book strikes me as the best overall defense of the Mocquereau approach to the rhythm of Gregorian chant, with Gajard clearly explaining, in non-technical terms, what is historical, what is deduced from musical understanding, and what is pure speculation.

He makes an amazingly persuasive case! Indeed, it strikes me that he settles the issue, and I'm just sad that it has been unavailable for many decades. In any case, it is back so at last we have a clear defense of the way the sacred music colloquium has been teaching chant now for many years. This is also the way most monasteries in the world sing it, save a few that have experimented around with alternative theories.

I don't need to say this, but it is clearly the answer to the view that chant has no inherent rhythm and must sung as if it were entirely text driven. I can imagine that one reading of this will set semiologists to rethink their position.

Print and read it if you can. It is nothing short of thrilling. And thank you Scott Turkington for pushing me to find this long-lost treasure!

Posted by Jeffrey Tucker on title="permanent link">2.8.07   

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[Frank Sheed]

Marvelous comments on the rhythm of Chant.

[Frank Sheed]

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Disclaimer: The post made herewith is for the purposes of information and discussion only and is not to be interpreted, read, or construed as intended to induce, invite, cajole, compel, or influence in any manner whatsoever any person of whatever Confession reading the aforesaid post or participating in the aforesaid discussion to join, attend, inquire, contemplate, believe, or concur with the Catholic Church, including those Churches and/or Rites in union with the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, and Servant of the Servants of God of the Church aforesaid. The party/ies posting disclaim, reject, and abjure responsibility to said persons, Free Republic, and/or its Moderators for any Acts of God by which the Holy Spirit or another Person of the Holy Trinity induces, persuades, or influences the persons aforesaid to seek such information on their own accord through Divine Intervention or by the process hereby denominated "sanctifying grace." The party/ies posting warrant that this is not his/her responsibility or intent and arises from a Power that cannot be controlled by him or her in this life or hereafter. This disclaimer cannot be revoked as it is not governed by the civil or criminal, statutory or common law of the United States of America or any other governmental entity and is the sole responsibility of Divine Intervention.

[FormerLib]

I thought this was going to be an article about Roman Catholic birth control!

[Frank Sheed]

I want to check the number of “views” with the number of “responses.” I bet the ratio is 1,000:1.

F

[voiceinthewind]

Ha ha. Me too! Especially as it was a ping from Frank Sheed!I need another cup of coffee.

[GCC Catholic]

I thought this was going to be an article about Roman Catholic birth control!

Me too... I was thinking "didn't they stop using that years ago?"

This is good news... I think I'm going to have to print this out and give it a read. I'm hoping that some of my fellow seminarians are interested; I'll be going up in the fall.

[mikrofon]

From the title, I first thought it was a comparative study of dancing proclivities b/w races...

[Frank Sheed]

PUH-LEESE! I can’t change the title of articles or the Mod gets upset!

Gee whiz!
F

[maryz]

I really, really tried to read it! But I'm not musical by nature -- I can't sing (so anyone else would want to listen) and I've never had any musical training beyond what little they taught in grammar school.

Do you want to sum it up so a musical illiterate can understand? I do know other stuff -- like that Old English poetry can sound as if it has no rhythm to the modern ear. The metrics familiar to us were basically borrowed, first from French later in the Middle Ages. And I know that chant is descended from synagogue chant -- I've read that the Gloria XV is an especially striking example. I just don't get much out of reading about music. :(

[Blind Eye Jones]

Put me on the ping list. Can the word ever be heard without the voice? If it is somehow buried in the soul and raises up of it’s own volition? Through music, perhaps?

[Frank Sheed]

I’m waiting for sitetest to get his musical mavens over here.

No, Mass without glorious music is lacking a totally vital component for praising God, IMHO.

F

[sitetest]

Dear Frank Sheed,

Are ya’ lookin’ for a...

Classical Music Ping List ping!

If you want on or off this list, let me know via FR e-mail.

Thanks,

sitetest

[HoosierHawk]

Thank you very much.

[Frank Sheed]

Yes, a Classical Music Ping looks great! I am not into posting the science behind methods of birth control! I will have to check to see how many “disappointed” customers took a peek and moved on!

;-o)

[RightOnline]

Shoot, I thought it was gonna be a “white vs. black” discussion re: inherent rhythm.

By the way......as a musician....it’s nonsense. :)

[Salvation]

So did I, but that would be Natural Family Planning. The name has changed.

[CJinVA]

The United States National Anthem
http://www.goarch.org/en/resources/prayers/hymns/national_anthem.asp

[AnAmericanMother]

This is a fabulous work!

I just Emailed it on to my choirmaster, on the off chance that he hasn't run across it (I'd bet dollars to donuts that he knows all about it already, but . . . just in case!)

[AnAmericanMother]

Actually, this isn't so much about MUSIC as about RHYTHM. You can be the most un-musical person on earth, and still "get" what is being talked about here.

Gregorian chant is speech-like in its rhythm. One of the first points the author makes is that ordinary music is divided up by strict rules into regular measures and beats and time -- whether a march or a waltz or whatever. Gregorian chant is NOT regular and not evenly divided, it doesn't have strict measures and its notes don't have a strict time value. Chant takes its shape from the sort of emphasis, strong/weak syllables, and rising and falling intonation that is characteristic of the SPOKEN word.

The melodies are relatively simple (at least in a lot of the better known chants - there are some toughies in the Liber) . . . just as H.H. BXVI has noted, the WORDS are paramount. While Gregorian's origins are way back in the synagogue, the melodies are not the more difficult middle-eastern pattern that fall between notes to the Western ear, they're modal in a more traditionally Western way.

Old English poetry with all of its cross-rhythms and internal rhymes is a MUCH more difficult issue! This is much more straightforward -- you know all those monks who came straight off the farm or field into the chapel and had no musical education were able to learn chant!

[Frank Sheed]

Why did I know you would be excited by this!

;-o)