Sarah, your Substack is insightful, intelligent, informative, and most useful. Despite the fact that others have written on your topics, don’t stop!
Re plainchant and rhythm — musicologists generally concur that for much of its thousands of years of history, plainchant probably was often sung using rhythm. Fundamentally, the Solesmes monks published chant without rhythm, not because that was most historically appropriate, but because we don’t know for sure how chant used rhythm at many stages of its development.
Of course, the High Middle Ages often sang chant using the six medieval rhythmic modes. You might want to check them out.
I think you'd also be fascinated and enlightened on this and many other musical topics by Richard Crocker's “A History of Musical Style” (rev. ed. 1986) (available on Amazon)
Sarah, your Substack is insightful, intelligent, informative, and most useful. Despite the fact that others have written on your topics, don’t stop!
Re plainchant and rhythm — musicologists generally concur that for much of its thousands of years of history, plainchant probably was often sung using rhythm. Fundamentally, the Solesmes monks published chant without rhythm, not because that was most historically appropriate, but because we don’t know for sure how chant used rhythm at many stages of its development.
Of course, the High Middle Ages often sang chant using the six medieval rhythmic modes. You might want to check them out.
I think you'd also be fascinated and enlightened on this and many other musical topics by Richard Crocker's “A History of Musical Style” (rev. ed. 1986) (available on Amazon)
Enjoy . . . as your readers enjoy you :)
Yes, I love performances of rhythmic chant by Renaissance groups and stuff!
And the ars subtillior rhythms and such - yes.
Didn't know that book - will look at it!
Thank you!