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[German Version] are a system for classifying plainchant (Singing: III) according to its final pitch (“finalis”), which is identical to the tonic note (D, E, F or G), its range (authentic or plagal), and its melodic type (figuration). The system, developed by the Franks in the 8th century, was possibly modeled after the Byzantine octoechoi. Classification aided memorization, ensured a smooth connection between antiphons and psalmody, and formed a link with Late Antique music theory. With many adaptations, the system remained an…

[German Version] is the liturgical book or section of a book that contains chants for the ordinary of the Mass. Until the 16th century, such material could be found primarily in the appendices to graduals, or in collections of tropes or sequences (Liturgical books). During the 13th century, the chants of the ordinary were brought together, largely without their tropes, in individual cycles that marked the liturgical rank of the feast days. In the modern Roman kyriale (1905–1974), there are 18 such cycles and a few chants ad libitum. William T. Flynn Bibliography Graduale Romanum, 1974 Kyri…

[German Version] (Lat. intonatio, Ital. intonazione). 1. Setting the pitch by the celebrant and/or cantor, for instance, for the Gloria or Credo. 2. Introductory notes for liturgical recitatives, for example, psalm notes. 3. Maintaining the pitch in song or other music. 4. An improvised or composed introductory piece to liturgical song by the organ or other instruments. 5. Tonal fine tuning in organ-building. William T. Flynn Bibliography M. Reimann, MGG 1 VI, 1957, 1365–1370 B. Sydow-Saak, “Intonatio-Intonation/intonare-intonieren,” HMT III, 1984.

[German Version] I. Liturgy – II. Music I. Liturgy The invocation “Lord have mercy” is frequent and widespread in the Christian liturgies. It often belongs to the litany (as described by the pilgrim Egeria in the context of 4th-century candelabra ceremonies in Jerusalem) and is known in this form both in the East and in the West (e.g. Benedict, Rule of Saint, chs. 9, 12, 18). It may have been in use as a response in the litany as early as the 5th century; some acclamations were sung by the congregation. By the 8th century ( Ordo Romanus Primus ) it had become a schola …

[German Version] I. Liturgy – II. Music I. Liturgy The introit was the first song of the mass, sung during the entrance of the celebrant. It is first attested by the Ordo Romanus Primus and must therefore have been introduced before the end of the 7th century. It comprised an antiphon and a complete psalm when it accompanied a papal procession from the secretarium (sacristy near the entrance). The introit acquired its “Gregorian” form after 750 in France (approx. 150 authentic songs). It still lends its name to Sundays ( Laetare, Quasimodo Geniti et al.). II. Music The text and music appe…

[German Version] The Roman breviary ( Breviarium Ecclesiae Romanae) and missal ( Missale Romanum) consolidate what was originally a wide variety of liturgical books designed for the use of specific participants in the liturgy. This article lists the books that were used by singers in both the mass and the ¶ daily office (Liturgy of the hours). Chant texts (later texts and melodies) were often first collected on short scrolls ( rotuli) and in small books ( libelli), which usually contained the chants (Chant and song) for a specific (often new) feast. These documents were …