Early settings of the Kyrie eleison and the problem of genre definition
David A. Bjork
Chant scholarship provides a fairly standard description of the Kyrie, in terms expressing very clearly what typical example was like post-Carolingian era. There is no disagreement here, as there with sequence and trope, over how to treat genre. Describing it seems be simple task. The chants are nine phrases long, one phrase for each petition Ordinary text: relation among varies from complete identity all nearly opposite extreme, yet most cases grouped by threes, giving melody tripartite shape that text. Certain melodies were sometimes underlaid syllabic texts expanding or replacing petitions (e.g.: Kyrie fons bonitatis, Pater ingenite, quo bona cuncta procedunt , eleison ). Medieval commentaries on liturgy (such Amalar's Liber officialis ) exegesis these make clear thought being Trinitarian, first three directed Father, next Son, last Holy Spirit.
Journal of the Plainsong & Mediaeval Music Society