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Views from the Choir Loft

Transposed Mode • This Sunday’s Communion

Jeff Ostrowski · September 22, 2015

N SOME UNIVERSITIES, there’s a disconnect between modal theory and practice. Some professors make students memorize a whole bunch of “rules” which can actually be detrimental. Those who really dig into Renaissance music—and I mean performing and examining tons of scores by tons of composers—discover this disconnect pretty quickly. In the conservatory, we had to read woks by the theorists of the time: H. Glareanus, J. Tinctoris, T. Morley, A. Uttendal, and so forth. One theorist we read extensively was Pietro Aron. Students ardently wish that all those theorists agreed, but many even contradicted themselves! They were trying to force music to fit into a set of “rules” and some created quite a mess. 1

Looking at this Sunday’s Communion is a good way to explore certain problems of modal theory. When we add psalm verses, the normal routine is to switch the position of DO—literally switch its position—like this. If you’re unwilling to do that, you can try to avoid switching the position of DO, but that leads to major problems. Believe it or not, the problems could actually be “solved” if a single flat was added to the word “Dóminum,” but that’s not really how flats were used. 2 One could also use a Mode VII psalm tone to “solve” the problem … but doing that just sounds wrong.

This chant is known as a “transposed” chant. You can see this was no accident on the part of the Editio Vaticana editors:

272 Tollite Hostias Chant


Abbot Pothier followed the tradition in his 1883 Liber Gradualis, and notice where he places the reciting pitch (highlighted in yellow):

270 Pothier 1884 TOLLITE


My favorite way to “solve” the problem—which can avoid confusing your singers—is with a transposed psalm tone:

    * *  PDF Download • COMMUNION “Tóllite Hóstias”

If you don’t believe this psalm tone actually exists, please click here and here.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Proper analysis of Mode VI polyphony, for example, can often be problematic. Glareanus is particularly interesting on these questions.

2   A reader, Ján Janovčík, has kindly pointed out the exception which proves the rule, from the Graduel de Klosterneuburg.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“To treat harmony and rhythm in this matter was a difficult matter. Facing numerous problems both large and small—that arose constantly—we understood that a flawless harmonization of Gregorian chant cannot be created by improvisation, no matter the competence and ability of the organist or harmonist.”

— ‘Mons. Jules Van Nuffel, NOH Preface’

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