What is plainchant?
Plainchant is a style of medieval vocal music.
Robert Hollingworth discusses Plainchant before I Fagiolini perform the traditional composition "Salve Regina"
Subject matter
Plainchant sets the words of the Roman Catholic mass or prayers to music. It is sung in Latin.
Plainchant
Watch this video of the musical style plainchant
This early church music is modal and there is a single line of melody with voices singing in unison.
Rhythm and tempo
There is no regular time signature - instead the rhythm and tempo are dictated by the words being sung.
Instruments
It is performed a cappella, and would have traditionally been performed by male voices only - priests or monks.
More on Understanding Music
Find out more by working through a topic
- count13 of 16
- count14 of 16
- count15 of 16
- count16 of 16
