Well - having had a quick read of the reviews on Amazon I suspect the author
has an axe to grind.
Religious and monastic life may well have been horrific but so by our
standards was life in general in the Middle Ages and well into the 18th
century.
I think one should be cautious about projecting backward our way of looking
at things. People in general didn't share our sensibilities in the past.
You have to try and judge people in the past by the same standards that they
judged themselves.
Monica
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Wheeler" <[email protected]>
To: "Monica Hall" <[email protected]>
Cc: "Lutelist" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 1:40 PM
Subject: Re: [LUTE] Nazi rules for jazz performers
It seems that the punishment was exile or life imprisonment....
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/staff/haywardp/hist422/seminars/Chant.htm
"Charlemagne... discovered in time that the monks he had sent to the other
cities were all singing differently. He reported this to Pope Leo of holy
memory, who had succeeded Stephen. And Leo recalled the monks to Rome and
punished them with exile or life imprisonment."
But pain of death was probably always looming over anybody who didn't fit
into the regime back then anyway.
I have just finished reading "The Swerve: How the Renaissance Began" by
Stephen Greenblatt, which does a great job of showing how horrific religious
and particularly monastic life was.
Mark
On Mar 14, 2012, at 1:42 PM, Monica Hall wrote:
Well - I would take anything Wikipedia said with a large pinch of salt.
I have just finished reading Hywel Williams study of Charlemagne and the
Carolingian Empire which has a couple of pages on the subject of spread of
Roman chant northwards. He says nothing about the clergy being forced to
use it on pain of death.
I can't quote the whole section in the book but needless to say it was
much more complicated than that. Among other things chant as performed
in Rome did not remain static. There were significant changes to it
during the period in question.
What Williams concludes by saying is -
"A uniform chant remained the Carolingian goal and a New Hymnal was
issued during the reign of Louis the Pious (Charlemagne's son). But
Gregorian chant as it evolved during the next two centuries was a
synthesis of Carolingian, ancient Roman and the Gallican plainchant which
had prevailed under the Merovingians".
Monica
----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Wheeler" <[email protected]>
To: "Tony" <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 1:11 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Nazi rules for jazz performers
Ironically fitting for this thread, the domination of Gregorian Chant
over other forms of chant came through the use of extremely draconian
methods...
"Gregorian chant appeared in a remarkably uniform state across Europe
within a short time. Charlemagne, once elevated to Holy Roman Emperor,
aggressively spread Gregorian chant throughout his empire to consolidate
religious and secular power, requiring the clergy to use the new
repertory on pain of death."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_chant
Mark
On Mar 14, 2012, at 12:01 AM, Tony wrote:
Thanks Gary
I tried to find information about what the church prohibited in
medieval and renaissance Europe( some of you here may have some useful
links) While searching for the Council of Trent I came across this
list, a summary of approved music
The Church's doctrine on liturgical music can be summarized in seven
points ....
1 Types of Music Appropriate for the Mass. The music of the Mass and
the Sacred Liturgy of the must be either Gregorian Chant, or must be
similar to Gregorian Chant. The primary example of music similar to
Gregorian Chant is Sacred Polyphony, exemplified by the compositions of
Palestrina.
2 Characteristics of Music Appropriate for the Mass. The music of the
Mass must have "grandeur yet simplicity; solemnity and majesty," and
must have "dignity," and "gravity," should be "exalted" and "sublime,"
should bring "splendor and devotion" to the liturgy, and must be
conducive to prayer and liturgical participation, rather than
distracting the listener from prayer. It must be music that befits the
profound nature of the Mass, which is the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As
Pope Paul VI put it: "The primary purpose of sacred music is to evoke
God's majesty and to honor it. But at the same time music is meant to
be a solemn affirmation of the most genuine nobility of the human
person, that of prayer."
3 Types of Musical Instruments Appropriate for the Mass. The instrument
that is most "directly" fitted for the Mass is the classical pipe
organ. Other instruments, however, can be adapted to the Mass,
including wind instruments, and smaller bowed instruments.
4 Types of Music Prohibited in the Mass. All secular and entertainment
styles of music are utterly prohibited in the Mass. The introduction of
inappropriate music into the liturgy is regarded as "deplorable
conduct."
5 Types of Instruments Prohibited in the Mass. All "noisy or frivolous"
instruments are prohibited for use in the Mass.The specific instruments
named by the Popes have included guitars, pianos, drums, cymbals, and
tambourines. "Bands" also are prohibited, as are all automated forms of
music (recordings, automatic instruments, etc).
6 Adapting Musical Traditions of Indigenous Cultures, and
"Universality." The musical traditions of particular cultures can and
should be incorporated into the Sacred Liturgy, but only in such a way
that they will be recognized as sacred ("good" in the words of Pope St.
Pius X) by people of all cultures. That is, all such music must have
the characteristic of "universality."
7 Preserving the Church's Musical Tradition. The treasury of the
Church's sacred music is to be carefully preserved, rather than
discarded
aEUR|written in 2002 ..... [1]http://www.matthewhoffman.net/music/
I guess compiled by a traditionalist - I know people who go to churches
in the UK and Latin America where these rules are vigorously flouted
And resumably the lute is a 'noisy' instrument associated with
thedreadful frivolities of pianos and guitars
Tony
---
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References
1. http://www.matthewhoffman.net/music/
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