short essay

Plainsong or Gregorian chant represents another form of pure melodic music. The performance of chant may vary in the number of voices singing, but regardless of the performing group only one part or musical line is present. Additionally, the character of medieval sacred monophonic music is intentionally reserved and reverential (see Augustine’s cautions about music in Confessions). Nonetheless, a variety of characteristics can be observed that distinguish different genres of chant. The Alleluia is among the most easily recognizable due to its characteristic “melismas” (extended melodic flourishes on a single syllable). The special quality of these melismatic chants is a reflection of their function both within the liturgy of the Mass and the changing cycle of feast days throughout the liturgical calendar. This Alleluia, “vidimus stellam,” concerns the New Testament story of the sighting of the star in the east that directed the Magi
to the infant Jesus (“Vidimus stellam ejus in Oriente et venimus cum muneribus adorare Dominum”/ “We have seen his star in the east and are come with gifts to worship the Lord.”) This chant is therefore used specifically for the feast of The Epiphany.

Discussion

1. Listen for the melismatic flourishes on certain words of the chant. Which words are emphasized? Why? What does the word “Alleluia” mean?

2. Does the chant have any detectible sectionality or formal pattern to it? Is this patterning desirable? Why?