# ULTIMATE CHANT - Music of Ethereal Beauty



## classicalmusicfan (May 6, 2009)

*ULTIMATE CHANT - Music of Ethereal Beauty*
Nova Schola Gregoriana, Choir • In Dulci Jubilo, Choir • Aurora Surgit, Choir • Schola Hungarica, Choir • Turco, Alberto, Conductor • Randon, Alessio, Conductor • Szendrei, Janka, Conductor • Dobszay, Laszlo, Conductor • Schenale, Manuela, soprano
Naxos 8.578007-08

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The sound of unaccompanied chant has moved, inspired and given solace to those seeking the sublime. In our increasingly busy and secularized world, people continue to return to chant, regardless of their religious beliefs, for the peace and calm that this eternal music offers.

The Sound of Gregorian chant is the oldest music we have in the Western world. There was music long before, of course. The walls of Jericho were brought down by trumpets, Orpheus played the lyre and the Romans used the organ to provide suitable background music while Christians were fed to the lions. But exactly what that music was we don't know. It was not until music was first written down in about the year 600 that we begin to have any idea of what it sounded like, and even then, there's some dispute. Early notation, in the form of signs or neumes written above the words, simply tells us whether one note was pitched higher or lower than its preceding note. They were reminders to singers who already knew the tune. We have no idea of relative values, of pitch, of time, of key. Indeed, there were not then the major or minor keys as we understand them. Instead, in those early days there were modes, the most famous of which is probably the Phrygian mode.

The idea of using lines, the lines of the stave in the form of a ladder, was certainly in use by the middle of the ninth century but with one line representing one pitch rather than, as now, every other pitch. It was Guido of Arezzo in about 1030 who suggested that adjacent pitches should be represented on adjacent lines, and spaces between the lines. He also built on earlier practice by suggesting that there should be a red line for F and a yellow line for C or that a letter should be put at the beginning of one of the lines, a C or an F. These letters form the basis of the modern clef used today. The system of writing music on lines clarified in this way meant that anyone could sing at sight music so written. (Read more ABOUT THIS ALBUM)

This week's complimentary track: Kyrie eleison


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

classicalmusicfan said:


> The Sound of Gregorian chant is the oldest music we have in the Western world.




Actually, Gregorian Chant isn't the oldest music that has been preserved. That title would go to king David of Israel. The Hebrew people have preserved his musical compositions and instructions (which were written in stone to instruct the Levites) ever since his reign. It was, and has always, been played on Israel's most well known ancient instrument: the Kinnor (a type of lyre with strings still made from the gut of a goat).

King David's compositions were a big influence on Catholic music (including chants), so they are very much part of the history of Western music.

Thanks for the information, though.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Where do you get this nonsense, Luke? I have a good idea, but I'll not go there. What documentation do you have of the existence of such music preserved in any written form?

Answers.com offers:

_In 1972, after 15 years of research Prof. Anne Kilmer (professor of Assyriology, University of California, and a curator at the Lowie Museum of Anthropology at Berkeley) transcribed one of the oldest known pieces of music notation in the world.
Clay tablets relating to music, containing the cuneiform signs of the "Hurrian" language, had been excavated in the early 1950s. One text contained a complete hymn, both words and music and is the oldest known preserved music notation in the world.

The tablets date back to approximately 1400 B.C. and contain a hymn to the moon god's wife, Nikal. Remarkably, the tablets also contain detailed performance instructions for a singer accompanied by a harpist as well as instructions on how to tune the harp.

Before that it was believed that the oldest piece of written music ever found is from 408 B.C. The music was sung by a choir in an ancient Greek play called Orestes which was written by Euripides._

A key comment on this music: "Prof. Kilmer transcribed this piece of music into modern music notation. Other individuals have also attempted to transcribe this music, with differing interpretations."

Of course the notion that King David was a composer and the author of the Pslams... indeed the notion that David was an actual historical figure and not a mere invention of the Hebrew Biblical authors, is open to dispute.


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## Scott Good (Jun 8, 2009)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> _In 1972, after 15 years of research Prof. Anne Kilmer (professor of Assyriology, University of California, and a curator at the Lowie Museum of Anthropology at Berkeley) transcribed one of the oldest known pieces of music notation in the world.
> Clay tablets relating to music, containing the cuneiform signs of the "Hurrian" language, had been excavated in the early 1950s. One text contained a complete hymn, both words and music and is the oldest known preserved music notation in the world.
> 
> The tablets date back to approximately 1400 B.C. and contain a hymn to the moon god's wife, Nikal. Remarkably, the tablets also contain detailed performance instructions for a singer accompanied by a harpist as well as instructions on how to tune the harp.
> _


_

Fascinating! I had never heard of this before.

If one cares to read more - here is a bit more of the story right from the horses mouth so to speak. Doesn't take too long to get through.

http://www.bellaromamusic.com/kilmersmith/kilmerint.html
http://www.bellaromamusic.com/kilmersmith/kilmerint2.html_


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Where do you get this nonsense, Luke? I have a good idea, but I'll not go there. What documentation do you have of the existence of such music preserved in any written form?
> 
> Answers.com offers:
> 
> ...


Thanks for that. It was pretty dull of me to entirely forget the Greeks  As for King David, that's a bit of a tiring subject, so it's not really worth jumping into. In their favor, I don't see all that much reason why they would need to fabricate King David. And, the Phillistines, Gauls, and other various neighbors of Israel mention mention him, his generals, and his various deeds in war time poems. But you are right that there isn't really much evidence of him existing. But by the same token, there are many important figures in history/religion that can't be scientifically proven. Was Zoroaster an actual person, and what of the author of the Vedic Scriptures? Did an Aryan really devise the caste system to subdue the Hindus?

However, the music of the Levites (played on the kinnor) did make up a majority of the influences on the original music used in the catholic church.

Edit: Also, I'd be happy to dig up the documentation of King David's compositions. Just give me a little time.


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

First, here is some general information about both king David and the order of the Levites:

http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/levite.html

http://www.hagshama.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=52

Now, for a quote from the English Standard Version (©2001) of the bible (@ Chronicles 29:25):

"He then stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with harps and with lyres (kinnors), according to the command of David and of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the command was from the LORD through His prophets."

And a more literal translation of king David's words from verses 20-36, chapter 29 of 2nd Chronicles:

"As soon as Hezekiah heard that the temple was ready, he lost no time. Atonement must be made for the sins of the last reign. It was not enough to lament and forsake those sins; they brought a sin-offering. Our repentance and reformation will not obtain pardon but in and through Christ, who was made sin, that is, a sin-offering for us. While the offerings were on the altar, the Levites sang. Sorrow for sin must not prevent us from praising God. The king and the congregation gave their consent to all that was done. It is not enough for us to be where God is worshiped, if we do not ourselves worship with the heart. And we should offer up our spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, and devote ourselves and all we have, as sacrifices, acceptable to the Father only through the Redeemer."


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

If a discussion requires such quotations, at least add some poetry to it for the rest of us by using the KJV


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I'm not going the question whether David existed or even the veracity of the Biblical narrative. I have little doubt that the Hebrews, the Babylonians, the Egyptians, and every other ancient culture... hell, the prehistoric Europeans were painting in caves in Spain and France 70,000+ years ago... so why not music. On the other hand... I have seen nothing written down that predates the Greek... and now the Assyrian works... and the method of scoring these works is limited at best so that we really must wait until the 9th and 10th century AD before we find well documented transmission of music. I certainly wish it were otherwise. Considering the sophistication of ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, or China one must assume an equally sophisticated music. As a lover of "early music" I would be greatly interested in such... but not in works that are largely reconstructions made by scholars based on their best guesses.


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