Gallican chant

Not to be confused withGalician chant.

Gallican chantrefers to the liturgicalplainchantrepertory of theGallican riteof theRoman CatholicChurch inGaul,prior to the introduction and development of elements of theRoman ritefrom whichGregorian chantevolved. Although the music was largely lost, traces are believed to remain in the Gregorian corpus.

History

Several sources attest the existence of a distinctiveGallican ritein theFrankishlands between the 5th and 9th centuries. TheCeltic RiteandMozarabic rite,which are liturgically related to the Gallican, are sometimes collectively referred to as "Gallican" as opposed to the different structure of theRoman rite.Lack of a central authority led to the development of local traditions of the Gallican rite inFrancia,sharing a basic structure but varying in details. These traditions endured until theCarolingiandynasty. During a papal visit in 752-3,Pope Stephen IIhadMasscelebrated using Roman chant. According toCharlemagne,his fatherPepinandChrodegangof Metz abolished the Gallican rites in favor of the Roman use, in order to strengthen ties with Rome that would culminate in Charlemagne's elevation toHoly Roman Emperor.Charlemagne completed the job his father had begun, so that by the 9th century the Gallican rite and chant had effectively been eliminated. However, the Roman chant brought to the Carolingian churches was incomplete, and ended up incorporating musical and liturgical elements from the local Gallican traditions. The resulting Carolingian chant, which developed intoGregorian chant,was a Romanized chant, but one in which traces of the lost Gallican repertory may still be found.

General characteristics

No chantbooks of Gallican chant have survived, although the first documented reference to a book of Western plainchant is to a Gallican text with psalms and chants. What we know of Gallican chant comes from contemporary descriptions of the chant, and Gallican elements that survived in laterGregoriansources.

Gallican chant was said to be recognizably different from Roman chant in both its texts and its music.Walahfrid Strabo,writing in the 9th century, judged Roman chant as "more perfect" and Gallican as incorrect and "inelegant." The Gallican rite and texts were often florid and dramatic compared with their Roman counterparts, which may be reflected in the importance ofmelismaticmusic in Gallican chant compared with Roman. The use of tworeciting tonesin Gregorianpsalmodymay derive from Gallican chant. Another element of Gregorian chant not found in Roman chant, which may reflect Gallican conventions, is the "Gallican cadence," in which the finalneume,found only in Gaulish sources, is an upward step whose second pitch is repeated, such as C-D-D. Some types of Gallican chant show direct influence fromByzantine chant,including the use of Greek texts.

Compositional techniques included certain commonincipits,cadences,and the use ofcentonization.

The chief candidates for chants in the Gregorian repertory that may be Gallican fossils are those chants not occurring in the Roman tradition, but having counterparts in theMozarabic chantandAmbrosian chanttraditions, and local and votive chants specific to French saints and locations.

References

• Apel, Willi (1990).Gregorian Chant.Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.ISBN978-0-253-20601-5.
• Hiley, David (1995).Western Plainchant: A Handbook.Clarendon Press.ISBN978-0-19-816572-9.
• Hoppin, Richard (1978).Medieval Music.W. W. Norton & Company.ISBN978-0-393-09090-1.
• Wilson, David (1990).Music of the Middle Ages.Schirmer Books.ISBN978-0-02-872951-0.

External links

• Huglo, Michel: Gallican Chant,Grove Music Onlineed. L. Macy (Accessed 7 May 2006),Grove Music - Access by subscription onlyArchived2008-05-16 at theWayback Machine