In message <[log in to unmask]>,
James D. Feiszli <[log in to unmask]> writes
>I believe Dr. Berry's dissertation from Cambridge
>University: "Performance of Chant in the Late
>Middle Ages" (or something to that effect) speaks
>of this issue. I don't have a copy in front of
>me, sorry. She still lives in Barton outside
>of Cambridge and could easily be contacted.
I thought at one time that she would show me a copy of it, but it never
happened! But from what she said I think you're right that she
discussed variety of speed. She certainly believes that the chant
slowed down in the age of polyphony, and used to take post-Trent chant
very slowly, not just for sombre seasons such as Holy Week, but as a
general rule, often, in settings of chant alternating between monophony
and polyphony, imitating the speed of the polyphonic chant voice in the
monophonic sections. It doesn't surprise me to hear late mediaeval
chant spoken of as slower in the more sombre seasons. I was merely
wondering whether this sort of aesthetic could necessarily be
extrapolated back to the times of earlier sources.
--
Peter Wilton
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