Mozarabic chant Mozarabic chant (also known as Hispanic chant, itself until after 1014, at the request of the Holy Roman Old Hispanic chant, Old Spanish chant, or Visig- Emperor Henry II.) othic chant) is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Visigothic/Mozarabic rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to the Gregorian chant. It is primarily associated with Hispania under Visigothic rule (mainly in what was to become modern Spain) and with the Catholic Visigoths/Mozarabs living under Muslim rule, and was soon replaced by the chant of the Roman rite following the Christian Reconquest. Although its original medieval form is largely lost, a few chants have survived with read- able musical notation, and the chanted rite was later re- vived in altered form and continues to be used in a few isolated locations in Spain, primarily in Toledo. The city of Toledo 1 Terminology The Visigothic rite (later Mozarabic rite) shares similar- Dissatisfaction with the Islamic term “Mozarabic chant” ities with the Ambrosian rite and Gallican rite, and dif- has led to the use of several competing names for the fers from the Roman rite. As the Christian reconquest of music to which it refers. The Islamic term Mozarabic Hispania went on, the Roman rite supplanted the Mozara- was used by the Islamic rulers of Hispania (Al Andalus) bic. With the papal appointment of a French abbot as the to refer to the Mozarabs, that is, the Visigothic Chris- new archbishop of Toledo, which had been recaptured in tians of Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal) living un- 1085, Roman influence could be enforced throughout the der Muslim rule. However, the chant existed before the Hispanic Church. Following its official suppression by Muslim occupation began in 711. Visigothic refers to Pope Gregory VII, the Mozarabic rite and its chant dis- the Visigoths who dominated the Iberian peninsula in appeared in all but six parishes in Toledo. the centuries prior to the Muslim invasion and converted The Visigothic/Mozarabic rite was revived by Cardinal from Arian Christianity to Roman Catholic Christianity Jiménez de Cisneros, who published in 1500 and 1502 a in 587. However, this Catholic rite existed in Hispania Mozarabic Missal and Breviary, incorporating elements prior to their conversion, and the chant was not limited to of the Roman rite, and dedicated a chapel to preserving the Visigoths, so “Old Spanish” can also be seen as an in- the Visigothic/Mozarabic rite. However, the chant used accurate alternative. Because the chant was found in Por- for this restored Visigothic/Mozarabic rite shows signifi- tugal as well as Spain, the term “Hispanic” has also been cant influence from Gregorian chant, and does not appear used by scholars. Because of the ambiguity and vague- to resemble the Visigothic/Mozarabic chant sung prior to ness of the terms “Visigothic”, “Hispanic”, and “Mozara- the reconquest. bic”, “scholars have come to favour the term 'Old His- panic' for this repertory” (Randel and Nadeau n.d.). 3 General characteristics 2 History The Visigothic chant (later Mozarabic chant) is largely defined by its role in the liturgy of the Visigothic rite The basic structure of the rite that came to be known (later Mozarabic rite), which is more closely related to the as the Visigothic rite (later Mozarabic) was documented northern “Gallic” liturgies such as the Gallican rite and by St. Isidore of Seville in the 7th century. The Credo the Ambrosian rite than the Roman rite. Musically, little had already been introduced into the Visigothic rite (later is known about the chant. Most of the surviving music is Mozarabic rite) in the Third Council of Toledo of 589, in written in neumes that show the contour of the chant, but which the Visigoths officially converted to Catholicism. no pitches or intervals. Only twenty or so sources contain (The Credo would not be used in the Roman rite in Rome music that can be transcribed. 1 2 4 REPERTOIRE However, some things are known about the Visigothic/ Mozarabic repertory. Like all plainchant, Visigothic/ Mozarabic chant was monophonic and a cappella. In ac- cordance with Roman Catholic tradition, it is primarily intended to be sung by males. As in Gregorian chant, Visigothic/Mozarabic chant melodies can be broadly grouped into four categories: recitation, syllabic, neumatic, and melismatic. Recita- tions are the simplest, consisting primarily of a simple reciting tone. Syllabic chants have mostly one note per syllable. Neumatic chants have a small number of notes, often just two or three, notes per syllable. Melismatic chants feature long, florid runs of notes, called melismas, on individual syllables. In both Visigothic/Mozarabic and Gregorian chant, there is a distinction between antiphonal and responsorial chants. Originally, responsorial chant alternated between Location of Toledo in modern Spain a soloist singing a verse and a chorus singing a refrain called the respond, while antiphonal chant alternated be- tween two semi-choruses singing a verse and an interpo- lated text called an antiphon. In the developed chant tra- ditions, they took on more functional characteristics. In an antiphonal chant, the antiphon is generally longer and more melodic than the verse, which is usually sung to a simpler formula called a psalm tone. In a responsorial The Alleluiatici are also antiphonal chants, whose text chant, the verse and refrain are often comparable in style usually involves an alleluia, similar in style to regular an- and melodic content. tiphons. Unlike the Gregorian repertory, these are sung Visigothic/Mozarabic chants used a different system of at Matins and Vespers even on penitential days, when “al- psalm tones for psalm antiphons than Gregorian chant. leluia” is omitted from the liturgy. Unlike the standardized Gregorian classification of chants Matins features a musical form called the missa, which into eight modes, Visigothic/Mozarabic chant used be- consists of an Alleluiaticus framed by two Antiphons and tween four and seven, depending on the local tradition. a Responsory. Later missae show common musical ma- Many Visigothic/Mozarabic chants are recorded with no terial thematically uniting the missa. The Responsories, musical notation at all, or just the incipit, suggesting that which are primarily found at the end of a missa, are gener- the psalm tones followed simple and frequently used for- ally neumatic, consisting of melodic formulas that adjust mulas. to fit the lengths of different phrases, ending in a fixed cadence. Other Office chants include the morning-themed Matuti- 4 Repertoire naria, the Benedictiones using texts from the Book of Daniel, the melismatic Soni, and the alleluiatic Laudes. 4.1 Chants of the Office The Psallendi, unrelated to the Psallendae of Ambrosian chant, end with the Doxology. The musical forms encountered in Visigothic/Mozarabic The neumatic Vespertini, like the Lucernaria of Am- chant present a number of analogies with those of the brosian chant, usually allude to the lighting of lamps or Roman rite. For example, a comparable distinction ex- to nightfall. They show a high degree of centonization, ists between antiphonal and responsorial singing. And construction from a vocabulary of stock musical phrases, Visigothic/Mozarabic chant may be seen to make use of and adaptation, application of a pre-existing melody to a three styles: syllabic, neumatic and melismatic, much as new text. in Gregorian chant. In the following descriptions of the Preces are short, lightly neumatic musical prayers in principal musical items in both the Visigothic/ Mozara- rhyme with a refrain. They exist in both the Visigothic bic Office and Mass, some of these analogies will be dis- /Mozarabic rite and the Gallican rite, but the concor- cussed further. The items from the Mass are presented dance between the two rites appears to be liturgical and here in the appropriate liturgical order. not musical. Finally, the Office chants include a number The Antiphons are the largest category of Office chants. of Hymns, many of which are found throughout Catholic Most are moderately syllabic, with simple recitations used Europe, although we do not know if the same melodies for the verses, sung in antiphony. were used. 3 4.2 Chants of the Mass • Brockett, Clive W. (1968). Antiphons, Responsories, and Other Chants of the Mozarabic Rite. Brooklyn: The Mass is the Christian celebration of the Eucharist. Institute of Medieval Music. Plainchant occurs prominently in the Mass for several • reasons: to communally affirm the faith, to expand on Hiley, David (1995). Western Plainchant: A Hand- the scriptural lessons, and to cover certain actions. book. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19- 816572-2. Praelegenda are opening chants corresponding to the Gregorian Introit, which use the same antiphonal struc- • Hoppin, Richard (1978). Medieval Music. New ture and psalm tones found in the Visigothic/ Mozarabic York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393- Office. 09090-6. Unlike the Gregorian Gloria, the Visigothic/ Mozarabic • Levy, Kenneth (1987). “Old-Hispanic Chant in Its Gloria in excelsis Deo only occurs in some local traditions. European Context”. In España en la música de occi- The Trisagion, in which the Greek word “hagios” is sung dente: Actas del Congreso Internacional celebrado en three times, sometimes quite melismatically or translated Salamanca (29 de octubre5 de noviembre de 1985), into the Latin “sanctus,” corresponds to the simple three- 2 volumes, edited by Emilio Casares Rodicio, Is- fold “Kyrie eleison” sung at the end of the Laus missa of mael Fernández de la Cuesta, and José López-Calo, the Ambrosian rite. This is not the liturgical counterpart 1:3–14. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura. of the Gregorian Sanctus. • Randel, Don Michael (1973). An Index to the Chant Following the Trisagion are the Benedictiones. Like the of the Mozarabic Rite. Princeton: Princeton Univer- Benedictiones of the Office, these come from the Book sity Press.