EUGENIAN CHANT
Eugenian Chant is the synthesis of the Melodic Chant of the Goths, with those of the Hispanic and Gallic churches within their thiudanassus.
It was codified by Saint Eugenius of Toledo in the seventh century of the first millenium, and is thus named in his honour - much as Ambrosian Chant is after Saint Ambrose of Milan, and our contemporary Gregorian Chant, being Saint Gregory of Rome's namesake.
After the AD 711 Muslim invasion of the kingdom in Toledo, it is also known as the Mozarabic Chant.
Along with Ambrosian and Gregorian, Eugenian Chant is the only other musical tradition, in the western churches, to survive - with over 5,000 original pieces in its repertoire, and with peculiarities worthy of study.
In the last 1,000 years, attempts have been made to silence it.
In the last 500, it has ceased to be voiced.
Our efforts are so the airs of this well-born chant once again resound in the choirs.
Eugenian not only honours Saint Eugenius, but also means well-born, from the Greek εὖ-well,good and γένος-born,begotten.
SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS OF EUGENIAN CHANT
MELISMAS
Many notes are intoned at each vowel, resulting in a very florid style reminiscent of what comes to be known as coloratura in classical music, and opposed to the monotony characteristic of its contemporaneous Gregorian Chant.
POLIPHONY
Hundreds of years before polyphony is introduced in Gregorian Chant, Eugenian Chant uses polyphonic forms to celebrate Memories, Feasts, and Solemnities. It is thus the first exponent of liturgical polyphony in the west.
NEUMS
Saint Eugenius devised a collection of graphemes, or shorthand musical patterns called neums, to notate the melismas of the principal voice. It is different from the neums later used by Gregorian chant, though some look quite similar.
MANTENTE AL TANTO
SOME POINTS ABOUT EUGENIAN CHANT
To begin, we may note certain points which are fundamental to understand the chant of the Gothispanic Rite.
⦁ It is not a monophonic chant albeit only the principal voice being notated. Though its poliphony may be deemed primitive, it follows a peculiar mathematical formula to determine the other parts.
⦁ It is not monotonic, but melismatic - many tones per syllabic vowel are vocalized as per the neums. It is important, then, to understand the neums.
⦁ It is not intoned by a choir, schola nor capella, which are all foreign and anachronistic to our tradition. The cantors sing in pairs - a single, double or triple pair, depending on the occasion and degree of celebration.
⦁ The chant is not meant as an ornament to the liturgy, but as the expression of a symbolic reality which mimics the eternal choirs of The New Jerusalem as described in the Bible and interpreted by the venerable fathers of our rite.
⦁ Eugenian Chant can't be understood if separate from the rite for which it was composed; it is in those liturgies that the amount of cantors, polyphonic texture, and resulting sound is found.
⦁ The neums are not indeciphrable, but attempting to do so using the false-friend gregorian equivalents is the wrong place to start. Just because they may look alike, does not mean they sound the same. Take, for example, how a latin "N" is read as an "i" by a Russian, or how a "p" in English is pronounced as an "r" by anyone Greek. Context is everything. Consider then how what looks like a clivis, which in the Roman Rite tradition translates as "two descending consecutive notes" in Eugenian Chant needs to be understood as a melisma consisting of 4 notes: 3 rising and one descending, resulting in a tone two notes above from the starting one. The effect is not the same, sounds the same, nor does it lead to the correct starting point for the next neum.
These points, and other essential ones, are discussed throughout the book which we hope encourages further study and thus results in the deciphering of the thousands of musical pieces which now lay in silence.
The Aula Regia aims to facilitate the understanding of what seems like lost treasure, yet belongs to the history of western musicology, and the humanities, for lost: it is not.
Read more about EUGENIAN CHANT and the Gothispanic Rite, both which gave rise to the Mozarabic Chant and Rite as later interpreted.
FAQ
What is Eugenian Chant?
Eugenian Chant is one of the music traditions used by the western churches, particularly those of what is today Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and southern France, to worship God "on earth as in Heaven". It is peculiar to the Gothispanic Rite.
When was Eugenian Chant invented?
Though the forms were already in practice before, it is not until the seventh century that Saint Eugenius of Toledo codifies it.
Saint Isidore of Seville already described it in his own lifetime, but lamented that there was still no way to notate it - and thus transmit it - except by oral tradition. He also mentions that his brother, Saint Leander of Seville, composed many hymns and liturgical chants. This all occurs contemporaneous to the codification of plain chant as the official music of the Roman Rite by Saint Gregory The Great, dead in the seventh century too.
Who is this Saint who codified Eugenian Chant?
Saint Eugenius of Toledo was the Metropolitan Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of the Kingdom of the Goths. He chaired the VIII, IX, and X Councils of Toledo convoked by kings Chidaswinth and Recceswinth of the Goths. Eugenius was a theologian, musicologist, poet, and studied under the tutelage of Saint Braulius of Zaragoza, who he served as Archpriest before being called to the episcopate by the king, his friend, Chindaswinth.
What are neums?
Neums are the graphic representation, a sort of short-hand script or type of musical nation which was devised by Saint Eugenius of Toledo for his namesake Chant.
They represent specific patterns or sequences of tones which when voiced become melismas.
The use of many of these neums for each sylable of chant means that it is very melodic as opposed to the monotonous nature of plain chant, which was prefered by Saint Gregory.
Neumatic notation predates the square and rounded notes used in today's musical scripts - which stem from the Roman Rite's musical tradition.
What is a melisma?
A melisma is a sequence of various tones vocalized on a single vowel within the space of a single syllable.
Eugenian Chant is known for its many melismas, and for the extreme lenght of some of them - which does not occur in western music again until the likes of Mozart's Alleluia from his Exultate Jubilate aproximately 1,000 years later.
Why use neums and not regular notes?
The musical notation we are familiar with had not yet been invented. Rounded and square notes, the staff-lines and key signatures all stem from the development of Gregorian Chant, which before, also used neums. The neumatic notation of Eugenian Chant predates them all.
Where can I listen to Eugenian Chant?
Soon enough we wish to upload some digital samples. Also, to announce when a mass that uses the chant will be scheduled, so those near may experience it live. Suscribe or leave a note below in order to receive important updates on the matter.
In the book about to be published, we also answer the following:
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Why is Eugenian Chant polyphonic and not monophonic?
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Who are the cantors in Eugenian Chant?
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How is the polyphony to be intoned?
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Why do the cantors dance?
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What tuning system is used for Eugenian Chant?
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What is the mathematical formula that explains the harmonies?
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Where can we find similar traditions and sounds?
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From where comes the well-born chant of the Goths?