Old Hispanic Chant and the Early History of Plainsong
Rebecca Maloy
Given the fragmentary evidence about emergence of Western plainsong, scholars have not reached a consensus how early liturgical chant was transformed into fully formed Medieval repertories. Proposed explanations centered on Roman liturgy and its two dialects, Gregorian Old Roman. The Hispanic (or Mozarabic) can yield new insights why creators repertories selected altered biblical texts, set them to specific kinds music, assigned festivals. I explore these questions from perspective sacrificia, or offertory chants. Specific traditions Iberian exegesis were central meaning formation chants, guiding their compilers’ choice alteration sources. Their textual characteristics structure call for reassessment theories that been proposed origins chant. Although sacrificia exhibit ample signs planning, such as thematically proper chants with unique assignments, processes produced this repertory both less linear more varied than those envisaged Finally, shed light relationship between words music in pre-Carolingian chant, showing cantors shaped melodies according syntax meaning.
Journal of the American Musicological Society