Abbot Helisachar's Antiphoner
Kenneth Levy
Helisachar (Elisagarus), archchancellor to Louis the Pious, writes ca. 820 his friend Nidibrius, archbishop of Narbonne, concerning an antiphoner that he and palace musicians at Aachen have been revising. His remarks bear on nature Gregorian melos manner its transmission, three quarters a century before first preserved antiphoners with neumes. Helisachar's language indicates musical substances were fixed in detail precisely memorized. It also suggests was, as matter course, provided music notation. An eventual critical edition proper melodies will want take into account.
Journal of the American Musicological Society