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Haas, Max (Basle) [German version] I. General Remarks (CT) Psalmody is not a genre; instead it is a term commonly used in musicology to refer to a style of unison singing found in the Western and Eastern Churches. It encompasses several aspects: (1) Psalmody is a counterpart to the concept of music. If music is considered to be the visual form by means of which sound phenomena are studied, then psalmody refers to a specific way in which such phenomena are played. (2) Psalmody is based for the most part o…

[German version] I. Architecture 'Proportion' is a modern technical term in the archaeological research of monuments. In the description of a structure, a proportion represents the ratio of two lines or the ratio of the sides of a rectangular area, in the mathematical sense of a division (x:y). The proportions of a building are determined based on its detailed measurement. Increasingly precise and generally binding procedures for obtaining and evaluating the relevant data have been developed by W. Dörpfeld; K. Koldewey; O. Puchstein i.a. since the late 19th century. The extent to wh…

Haas, Max (Basle) [German version] I. Literature (CT) see Versification Haas, Max (Basle) [German version] II. Music (CT) 1. Even if, ideally, in the recital of texts there could be a clear distinction between 'singing' and 'speaking', one could imagine an entire spectrum ranging from Sprechgesang to conventional…

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[German version] I. Definition Psalmody (Greek ψαλμῳδία/ psalmōidía; Latin psalmodia) is the singing of psalms; in medieval Latin, it is a technical term for a particular psalm tone (a recitation formula). In music, psalmody is used more generally as a collective term for all musical genres whose texts are largely taken from the Psalter (Psalms). Its significance is even greater if one considers that the psalms are seen as the most important model in the development of liturgical poetry. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] II. Jewish culture In the temple, psalms were…

[English version] Scales, i.e. melodies with defined spaces (intervals) between single tones, were handed down to the Middle Ages through the Institutio musica by Boethius. The material in this tradition is Greek in origin. It was, however, already incorrectly understood and interpreted by Boethius. On the basis of such text parts, a theory of keys was developed during the time that Gregorian chant was adapted. Today this theory is encompassed systematically under the heading of liturgical keys. (overviews: [1; 4]). Another associated topos is the theory of affects evoked by a musical key (Music,II. History of Materials,C. Monographic Elements 3. Theory of Musical Ethos). Early texts on keys from the 9th cent. on are difficult to interpret because there is an under…