# Choral "Holy 5th" Music? History and references?



## markhansavon (Jul 1, 2009)

Hello there,

I am a composer and have been working on what I call Ancient Choral music without any knowledge of it's origin. Here are some samples:









 - Only for 4 or 5 seconds.

I'm sorry for the bad examples...

My professor had said once that choirs were once made to only sing in 5ths, but I never had asked where or when this was.

I'm looking for some references and history, if anyone knew anything about the...."Holy 5th Music" I guess you could call it.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

According to Music in the Medieval World by Albert Seay, page 82, there is a treatise from the 10th Century by Otger de Laon describing two types of organum. In the first type, the plainchant melody was duplicated below at the distance of either a perfect fifth or perfect fourth. Once these two lines were achieved, either or both could be duplicated an octave higher, giving composite organum in three or four voices. Maybe that's what he's referring to.


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## markhansavon (Jul 1, 2009)

Hey, thanks. You sure know your history. I learned that there were many different rules to the music in the medieval age. 

I'm wondering if anyone might have any references or examples of this type of music? I can't find anything, but I'm sure there was choral music that used 5add9 and 5add9add12 somewhere in history (don't really know how to write that latter chord).

Thanks.


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

markhansavon said:


> Hello there,
> 
> I am a composer and have been working on what I call Ancient Choral music without any knowledge of it's origin. Here are some samples:...
> 
> ...


The key word in this is *once*

That was then and this is now. As my Buddhist friends would say - _wake up!_


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

markhansavon said:


> I'm wondering if anyone might have any references or examples of this type of music? I can't find anything.


If your professor is referring to Orger de Laon (also known as Hucbald), this is such an obscure and specialized area of history that the best way to find it is to go to a good university library and see if his treatise is there. The example in Albert Seay's book shows a chant with four notes below it. It seems like to duplicate it, all you have to do is take a chant and have the soprano and tenor sing it, then have the alto and bass sing four or five notes below the chant melody.

Albert Seay on page 82 and 83 tells how to do it and how to adjust to avoid the problems of tritones.

.


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## sah (Feb 28, 2012)

Some 5ths and 4ths:


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