Modal Shift in Sarum Chant Melodies

Music can be affecting and expressive even when it involves just a single voice. The modal melodies of the famous medieval Use of Sarum provide an example of single-line music that communicates a great deal in its details. In... [ view full abstract ]

Music can be affecting and expressive even when it involves just a single voice. The modal melodies of the famous medieval Use of Sarum provide an example of single-line music that communicates a great deal in its details. In my research abroad on English plainchant notation from the 12th through 16th centuries, I have found that some of these details, especially the presence or absence of marked flats, can lead to surprising questions about the stability of the modes the composers were using. Shifting between hexachordal scales was common, but some passages seem to push the boundaries of conventionally acceptable sounds. This lecture-demonstration will examine a certain puzzling passage in the Mass for the Assumption of Mary that seems to imply either the unfavored tritone or the unfavored pitch of E flat. First, I will introduce the historical context and the relevant music theory. Next, I will sing a short piece of chant three different ways, as notated in three different sources I have photographed and transcribed. I will explain the musical problems posed by each one and propose a solution, a new version that I will sing with E flats that aren’t notated in any source. Finally, I will discuss what I’ve learned about the medieval conception of music despite the limitations of notation.