The Silence of Medieval Singers

Livljanić, Katarina; Bagby, Benjamin

doi:10.1017/9780511979866.008

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Second, the written records of medieval music were never more than the distant cousins of the acoustic and artistic realities of their performance. Even in cases where the chants have been notated with decipherable pitches-the two early historiae of Ste Foy sit just on the right side on that historical threshold-we are still none the wiser about almost every other aspect of the musical practice, including matters of vocal technique, pacing, pitch standards, or rhythmic realisation, to mention but a few (Livljanić and Bagby 2018;Taruskin 1995). Nor, in any case, do we know the nature of the original contract between performer and written text (Treitler 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Medieval Chants for Ste Foy Considered through the Prism of Their Nocturnal Performance

Parkes

2023

Arts

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The medieval cult of Ste Foy inspired several sets of liturgical chants, or historiae, including at least two that were probably made for use at Conques in the early eleventh century. Whilst it is widely understood that historia chants belonged within the liturgy of the Divine Office, this article explores the significance of two lesser-known parameters in their performance: their use during the nocturnal hours, above all during the lengthy service known as the Night Office, and their use alongside various modes of sensory augmentation that were employed on major feast days. By exploring these parameters as they might have applied to the medieval Abbey of Conques in the context of Ste Foy’s feast—using sources from Fleury and Saint-Bénigne, Dijon, wherever local evidence is lacking—the article draws attention to the ways in which historiae intersected with non-verbal modes of creativity within the performative frame of the Office liturgy. Ultimately, it argues for a more consciously multidisciplinary approach to this historically ‘musical’ genre.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Medieval Chants for Ste Foy Considered through the Prism of Their Nocturnal Performance

Parkes

2023

Arts

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The Silence of Medieval Singers

Cited by 1 publication

References 13 publications

The Medieval Chants for Ste Foy Considered through the Prism of Their Nocturnal Performance

The Medieval Chants for Ste Foy Considered through the Prism of Their Nocturnal Performance

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