Schenale, In Dulci Jubilo, Turco - Ambrosian Chant [Naxos "Early Music" 8.553502] {Europe 1995}

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Schenale, In Dulci Jubilo, Turco - Ambrosian Chant [Naxos "Early Music" 8.553502] {Europe 1995}

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Ambrosian Chant: Early Christian Chant Of The Ambrosian Rite
Manuela Schenale / In Dulci Jubilo / Alberto Turco
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 220 MB | MP3 CBR 320: 145 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Naxos "Early Music" 8.553502 | Country/Year: Europe 1995
Genre: Classical | Style: Sacred, Medieval

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Schenale, In Dulci Jubilo, Turco - Ambrosian Chant [Naxos "Early Music" 8.553502] {Europe 1995}

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Schenale, In Dulci Jubilo, Turco - Ambrosian Chant [Naxos "Early Music" 8.553502] {Europe 1995}

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Schenale, In Dulci Jubilo, Turco - Ambrosian Chant [Naxos "Early Music" 8.553502] {Europe 1995}

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Ambrosian chant (also known as Milanese chant) is the liturgical plainchant repertory of the Ambrosian rite of the Roman Catholic Church, related to but distinct from Gregorian chant. It is primarily associated with the Archdiocese of Milan, and named after St. Ambrose much as Gregorian chant is named after Gregory the Great. It is the only surviving plainchant tradition besides the Gregorian to maintain the official sanction of the Roman Catholic Church.

The history of Milan as a center for religious music goes back to St. Ambrose. Ambrose is not known to have composed any of the Ambrosian chant repertory, much as Gregory the Great is not known to have composed any Gregorian chant. However, during his fourth-century tenure as Bishop of Milan, he is credited with introducing hymnody from the Eastern Church into the West. Ambrose composed original hymns as well, four of which still survive, along with music which may not have changed too much from the original melodies. In his writings, Ambrose refers only to the performance of antiphonal psalms, in which solo singing of psalm verses alternated with a congregational refrain called an antiphon.

Over time, the Milanese liturgy developed into the Ambrosian rite, which shares more in common with the Gallican and Mozarabic rites than with the Roman. Ambrosian chant developed to meet the particular needs of the Ambrosian liturgy. Although the Ambrosian rite is liturgically related to other rites and Ambrosian chant is musically related to other plainchant traditions, different categories of chant, different chant texts, and different musical styles make Ambrosian chant a distinct musical repertory. By the 8th century, this chant was attested to be normative across northern Italy, perhaps reaching into southern Italy as well.

Between the 8th and 13th centuries, however, the Carolingian chant commissioned by Charlemagne developed into what we now know as Gregorian chant, which began to influence and eventually replace most of the other Western plainchant traditions. By the 12th century, the Mozarabic, Gallican, Celtic, Old Roman, and Beneventan chant traditions had all been effectively superseded by Gregorian chant. Ambrosian chant alone survived, despite the efforts of several Popes over a period of several centuries to establish Gregorian hegemony. A chronicle by the Milanese historian Landolphus from around the year 1000 recounts a legend that two Sacramentaries, one Gregorian and one Ambrosian, were placed on an altar to see which chant had divine acceptance; miraculously, both books opened simultaneously, showing both were equally acceptable.

Ambrosian chant did not wholly escape Gregorian influence. The earliest 8th-century fragments, and the more complete chantbooks from the 11th and 12th centuries that preserve the first recorded musical notation, show marked differences between the Gregorian and Ambrosian repertories. Later additions to the Ambrosian repertory, whose style differs from the earlier chants, may reflect Gregorian influence. Although St. Charles Borromeo fought to keep the Ambrosian rite intact during Spanish occupation, a contemporary edition of Ambrosian chant, published by Perego in 1622, attempts to categorize the Ambrosian chants into the eight Gregorian modes, which is not generally accepted as an accurate reflection of the actual musical practice of the time.

Ambrosian chant has survived to the present day, although its use is now limited primarily to the greater part of the Archdiocese of Milan and environs, parts of Lombardy, and parts of the Swiss Diocese of Lugano. Most recently, it survived the changes to the liturgy established by Vatican II, in part due to the prior tenure of Pope Paul VI as Archbishop of Milan.

Ambrosian chant is largely defined by its role in the liturgy of the Ambrosian rite, which is more closely related to the northern "Gallic" liturgies such as the Gallican rite and the Mozarabic rite than the Roman rite. Musically, however, Ambrosian chant is closely related to the Gregorian and Old Roman chant traditions. Many chants are common to all three, with musical variation.

Like all plainchant, Ambrosian chant is monophonic and a cappella. In accordance with Roman Catholic tradition, it is primarily intended to be sung by males, and many Ambrosian chants specify who is to sing them, using phrases such as cum Pueris (by a boys' choir) and a Subdiaconis (by the subdeacons).

Stylistically, the Ambrosian chant repertoire is not generally as musically uniform as the Gregorian. Ambrosian chants are more varied in length, ambitus, and structure. Even within individual categories of chant, Ambrosian chants vary from short and formulaic to prolix and melismatic, and may be freely composed or show significant internal melodic structure. Its most distinctive feature compared with other plainchant repertories is a significantly higher amount of stepwise motion, which gives Ambrosian melodies a smoother, almost undulating feel. In manuscripts with musical notation, the neume called the climacus dominates, contributing to the stepwise motion. More ornamental neumes such as the quilisma are nearly absent from the notated scores, although it is unclear whether this reflects actual performance practice, or is simply a consequence of the relatively late musical transcription.

The Gregorian system of modes does not apply to Ambrosian chant. Although there are no b-flats indicated in the musical notation, it seems likely that they were understood, based on Guido d'Arezzo's description of the "more perdulcis Ambrosii."

Nearly all of the texts used in Ambrosian chant are biblical prose, not metrical poetry, despite Ambrose having introduced Eastern hymnody to the West. Ambrosian chant serves two main functions in the Ambrosian liturgy: to provide music for the chanting of the Psalms in the monastic Offices, and to cover various actions in the celebration of the Mass. wikipedia