THE PROBLEM OF THE PERFORMER’S INTERPRETATION OF THE CHURCH MONODY IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCHES OF THE GREGORIANIC SEMIOLOGY

Abstract

The Gregorian semiology in the context of its influence onto the performance practice is under scope of the current article. In the musicology of the 19-20th cent., there has been established the concept of the Western sacred monody, which spread out across the Western and Central Europe from the early medievality, as an array of plainchants of the Roman Catholic Church. Latin monody becomes established as the basis for the professional Western European music, i.e., for Gregorian chant as well as for early polyphonic vocal pieces. Neuma notation (one of the early notation systems, which by its transformation and amendments engendered the introduction of the linear notation) gets created for the studies of the lithurgical repertoire. Gregorian chant thoughout the span of multiple generations still remains inspiring to the contemporary composers. Study methods of analysis gregorian singing of Dom Eugène Cardine, who created a new way in western studios. Eugène Cardine(1905-1988) – founder new methods of analysis Gregorian chant based on the interpretation of music neumatig notation. Eugène Cardine was a great semiologist. In 1968 he wrote “Gregoriana semiologia”. His method is grounded on the research of differences in a diversity of local graphical forms of neumes. In 1975 the followers of Eugène Cardin founded Associazione Internazionale Studi di Canto, which aimed to gather of the researchers of the Latin monody and to bring into reality of the ideas of semiological science in the performance practice. Later on such societies appear in Germany, France, Japan, Spain, Poland, creating scholarly practical branch. Each branch issues its own scholar annuary, such as Studi gregoriani (Italy), Beiträge zur Gregorianik (Germany), Études Grégoriennes (France), Estudios gregorianos (Spain), Studia Gregoriańskie (Poland), and also each one holds its own ensemble. The neuma articulation is the peculiar occurrence that strongly influences the performer’s interpretation. The problem of sign interpretation leads to a diversity of ways of performance of the plainchants. Vatican reforms caused the establishment of the cantus planus of the solemn order that nihilated melodical richness of the latin plainchants. According to the peculiarities of the neuma cathegorization there are distinguished: the basic, i.e., inner neuma inside a complex neuma; the neuma in the upper and the bottom part of the complex neuma; the final neuma. While performing the plainchants one should avoid the feeling of mensurality and keep in mind that epizema sign doesn’t stand for prolongation of the duration one half more, but for the feeling of sustain only. On the contrary, a dot may often indicate neuma notation. The free rhetoric rhythm is based on the important words that are to be emphasized. The main function of the rhetoric rhythm is combining the syllables into a solid melodical line of the development with its upraisals and decreasings. Gregorian semiologists distinguish a concept of the “word style.”