Comparison Of Gregorian Credo

Gregorian chant from the ninth and tenth century of the medieval Catholic church is also known as plain chant. Kyrie eleison and Credo are two examples of Gregorian chant that share many similarities, but also include many small details that signify their differences because they were created for different purposes. In the paragraphs below I will explain how the musical notes from the two chants signify how the two chants are similar and also very different from each other. Both chants are monophonic, meaning each chant is sung one melody at a time. The reason that they are monophonic is to keep the chants simple so as to not distract from the meaning of the texts. Both chants are sung ceremoniously, slowly and are very choreographed. This …show more content…
Gloria is different from Kyrie eleison because it was written to praise God instead of pleading to Him. Gloria is much longer than Kyrie eleison and it is written in neumatic style which makes sense because of how long the chant is. If Gloria was written in melismatic style the chant would be much too long and would distract from the meaning of the words. The length and style of Gloria also make sense because it is meant to praise the mightiness and greatness of the Divinity. If you were praising someone you wouldn’t want to just tell them they are great. You would want to elaborate and explain how great they are and why they are so great. The neumatic style also adds more energy to the chant. Each syllable is not as drawn out as in Kyrie eleison. This signals to the listeners that these are positive words of affirmation because the notes move a little bit …show more content…
The first section “Gloria in excelsis Deo” starts and ends on the central pitch which is on the second line from the bottom. The third section “Laudamus te.” does not begin or end on the central pitch. The third section begins on the top line and ends on the bottom line. The fifth section “Adoramus te.” starts on the central pitch but ends on the top line which is not the central pitch. Although each section does not begin and end on the central pitch, the chant flows nicely because of its neumatic style. The limited number of notes per syllable helps aid the cohesiveness of each section to one another even though the sections do not start and end on the same note. It is important however, to point out that the chant as a whole begins and ends on the central note. This is a crucial mark to the beginning and end of the