Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Plainchant is the oldest substantial body of music that has been preserved in any shape or form. It was first written down in Western Europe in the wake of the Carolingian renaissance of the 8th and 9th centuries. Many thousands of chants have been sung at different times or places in a multitude of forms and styles, responding to the differing needs of the church through the ages. This book provides a clear and concise introduction, designed both for those to whom the subject is new and those who require a reference work for advanced studies. It begins with an explanation of the liturgies which plainchant was designed to serve. All the chief genres of chant, different types of liturgical book, and plainchant notations are described. The later chapters are complemented by plates, with commentary and transcriptions. After an exposition of early medieval theoretical writing on plainchant, a historical survey follows the constantly changing nature of the repertory through from the earliest times to the restoration of medieval chant a century ago. The historical relations between Gregorian, Old-Roman, Milanese, Spanish, and other repertories is considered. Important musicians and centre of composition are discussed, together with the establishment of Gregorian chant in all the lands of medieval Europe, and the reformations and revisions carried out by the religious orders and the humanists. Copiously illustrated with over 200 musical examples transcribed from original sources, the book highlights the diversity of practice and richness of the chant repertory characteristic of the Middle Ages. As both a self-contained summary and also, with its many pointers to further reading, a handbook for research, it will become an indispensable reference book on this vast subject.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Analytical table
• List of illustrations
• List of tables
• List of music examples
• Note on music examples
• Abbreviations
• Bibliography
• Plaintchant in the Liturgy
• Chant genres
• Liturgical books and plainchant sources
• Notation
• Plates
• Plainchant and early music theory
• Plainchant up to the eighth century
• The Carolingian century
• Gregorian chant and other chant repertories
• Persons and places
• Reformations of Gregorian chant
• The restoration of medieval chant
• Index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Hiley (Univ. of Regensburg, Germany) has coedited Volume 2 of The New Oxford History of Music (The Early Middle Ages..., 2d ed., 1990) and the centennial essays of the Plainsong and Medieval Music Society (Music in the Medieval English Liturgy, 1993). His stated aim in this handbook is "to provide a book of reference both for those coming new to plainchant and for those needing guidance in the specialist literature." Beginning with an explanation of the various liturgies and ceremonies wherein the chants were used, he describes the chief genres of chant and the ways they were used in the services. Chapter 3 lists the different types of liturgical books and plainchant sources. The following section discusses notation from the earliest chant sources through the development of pitch-notation to the various types of notation used in later centuries. Plates clarify the explanations of both notation and types of books. A historical survey covers early medieval music theory, modes, and the constantly developing repertory from the beginnings of chant to the liturgical revival of the 19th century. The repertories developed in various geographical centers are examined, as are important musicians and centers of composition throughout Europe, and the adaptations made by various religious orders. Three extensive indexes, copious illustrations and tables, and a lengthy bibliography complete the work. Incorporating the latest scholarship, it supplements, if not supersedes, Willi Apel's Gregorian Chant (1958). The definitive work in English on this topic to date, it is an indispensable reference book for all academic and large public libraries. L. Smith; University of Western Ontario

Author notes provided by Syndetics

David Hiley is at University of Regensburg.