plainsong
- Scope note
- The official monophonic unison chants, originally unaccompanied, of Christian liturgies. Music was developed for voice, based on a system of modes and performed in free rhythm corresponding at least in part to the accentuation of the words, though often with considerable elaboration of the melody. In usuage, often applied chiefly to the music of the Western Church, particularly chants of the 4th-century St. Ambrose and in the 6th-century by St. Gregory the Great.
- Date of creation: 18-Nov-2024
Accepted term: 18-Nov-2024