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Mozarabic chant (also known as theHispanic chant,Old Hispanic chant,Old Spanish chant, orVisigothic chant) is the liturgicalplainchant repertory of the Visigothic/Mozarabic rite of theCatholic Church, related to theGregorian chant. It is primarily associated withHispania underVisigothic rule and later with theMozarabs (Hispanic Catholic Christians living underIslamic rule and speakingArabic) and was replaced by the chant of theRoman rite following the ChristianReconquest of theIberian Peninsula. Although its original medieval form is largely lost, a few chants have survived with readable musical notation, and the chanted rite was later revived in altered form and continues to be used in a few isolated locations in Spain, primarily inToledo.
Dissatisfaction with the Islamic term "Mozarabic chant" has led to the use of several competing names for the music to which it refers. The Islamic termMozarabic was used by the Islamic rulers of Hispania (Al Andalus) to refer to theMozarabs, that is, the Christians ofVisigothic ruled Hispania (modernSpain andPortugal) living underMuslim rule. However, the chant existed before the Muslim occupation began in 711.Visigothic refers to theVisigoths who dominated the Iberian peninsula in the centuries prior to the Muslim invasion and converted fromArian Christianity toRoman Catholic Christianity in 587. However, this Catholic rite existed in Hispania prior to their conversion, and the chant was not limited to the Visigoths, so "Old Spanish" can also be seen as an inaccurate alternative. Because the chant was found in Portugal as well as Spain, the term "Hispanic" has also been used by scholars. Because of the ambiguity and vagueness of the terms "Visigothic", "Hispanic", and "Mozarabic", "scholars have come to favour the term 'Old Hispanic' for this repertory" (Randel and Nadeau n.d.).
The basic structure of the rite that came to be known as the Visigothic rite (laterMozarabic) was documented by St.Isidore of Seville in the 7th century. TheCredo had already been introduced into the Visigothic rite (later Mozarabic rite) in theThird Council of Toledo of 589, in which theVisigoths officially converted to Catholicism. (The Credo would not be used in theRoman rite in Rome itself until after 1014, at the request of theHoly Roman EmperorHenry II.)
The Visigothic rite (later Mozarabic rite) shares similarities with theAmbrosian rite andGallican rite, and differs from theRoman rite. As the Christianreconquest of Hispania went on, the Roman rite supplanted the Mozarabic. With the papal appointment ofa French abbot as the new archbishop of Toledo, which had been recaptured in 1085, Roman influence could be enforced throughout the Hispanic Church. Following its official suppression byPope Gregory VII, the Mozarabic rite and its chant disappeared in all but six parishes in Toledo.
The Visigothic/Mozarabic rite was revived byCardinal Jiménez de Cisneros, who published in 1500 and 1502 a Mozarabic Missal andBreviary, incorporating elements of the Roman rite, and dedicated a chapel to preserving the Visigothic/Mozarabic rite. However, the chant used for this restored Visigothic/Mozarabic rite shows significant influence fromGregorian chant, and does not appear to resemble the Visigothic/Mozarabic chant sung prior to the reconquest.
The Visigothic chant (later Mozarabic chant) is largely defined by its role in the liturgy of the Visigothic rite (laterMozarabic rite), which is more closely related to the northern "Gallic" liturgies such as theGallican rite and theAmbrosian rite than theRoman rite. Musically, little is known about the chant. Most of the surviving music is written inneumes that show the contour of the chant, but no pitches or intervals. Only twenty or so sources contain music that can be transcribed.
However, some things are known about the Visigothic/Mozarabic repertory. Like allplainchant, Visigothic/Mozarabic chant wasmonophonic anda cappella. In accordance with Roman Catholic tradition, it is primarily intended to be sung by males.
As in Gregorian chant, Visigothic/Mozarabic chant melodies can be broadly grouped into four categories: recitation, syllabic, neumatic, andmelismatic. Recitations are the simplest, consisting primarily of a simplereciting tone. Syllabic chants have mostly one note per syllable. Neumatic chants have a small number of notes, often just two or three, notes per syllable. Melismatic chants feature long, florid runs of notes, calledmelismas, on individual syllables.
In both Visigothic/Mozarabic and Gregorian chant, there is a distinction betweenantiphonal andresponsorial chants. Originally, responsorial chant alternated between a soloist singing a verse and a chorus singing a refrain called therespond, while antiphonal chant alternated between two semi-choruses singing a verse and an interpolated text called anantiphon. In the developed chant traditions, they took on more functional characteristics. In an antiphonal chant, the antiphon is generally longer and more melodic than the verse, which is usually sung to a simpler formula called apsalm tone. In a responsorial chant, the verse and refrain are often comparable in style and melodic content.
Visigothic/Mozarabic chants used a different system ofpsalm tones for psalmantiphons than Gregorian chant. Unlike the standardized Gregorian classification of chants into eightmodes, Visigothic/Mozarabic chant used between four and seven, depending on the local tradition. Many Visigothic/Mozarabic chants are recorded with no musical notation at all, or just theincipit, suggesting that the psalm tones followed simple and frequently used formulas.
The musical forms encountered in Visigothic/Mozarabic chant present a number of analogies with those of the Roman rite. For example, a comparable distinction exists between antiphonal and responsorial singing. And Visigothic/Mozarabic chant may be seen to make use of three styles: syllabic, neumatic and melismatic, much as in Gregorian chant. In the following descriptions of the principal musical items in both the Visigothic/Mozarabic Office and Mass, some of these analogies will be discussed further. The items from the Mass are presented here in the appropriate liturgical order.
TheAntiphons are the largest category ofOffice chants. Most are moderately syllabic, with simple recitations used for the verses, sung inantiphony.
TheAlleluiatici are also antiphonal chants, whose text usually involves analleluia, similar in style to regular antiphons. Unlike theGregorian repertory, these are sung atMatins andVespers even on penitential days, when "alleluia" is omitted from the liturgy.
Matins features a musical form called themissa, which consists of an Alleluiaticus framed by two Antiphons and aResponsory. Later missae show common musical material thematically uniting the missa. The Responsories, which are primarily found at the end of a missa, are generally neumatic, consisting ofmelodic formulas that adjust to fit the lengths of different phrases, ending in a fixed cadence.
Other Office chants include the morning-themedMatutinaria, theBenedictiones using texts from theBook of Daniel, the melismaticSoni, and the alleluiaticLaudes. ThePsallendi, unrelated to the Psallendae ofAmbrosian chant, end with theDoxology.
The neumatic Vespertini, like the Lucernaria of Ambrosian chant, usually allude to the lighting of lamps or to nightfall. They show a high degree ofcentonization, construction from a vocabulary of stock musical phrases, andadaptation, application of a pre-existing melody to a new text.
Preces are short, lightly neumatic musical prayers in rhyme with a refrain. They exist in both the Visigothic /Mozarabic rite and theGallican rite, but the concordance between the two rites appears to be liturgical and not musical. Finally, the Office chants include a number ofHymns, many of which are found throughout Catholic Europe, although we do not know if the same melodies were used.
The Mass is the Christian celebration of theEucharist. Plainchant occurs prominently in the Mass for several reasons: to communally affirm the faith, to expand on thescriptural lessons, and to cover certain actions.
Praelegenda are opening chants corresponding to theGregorianIntroit, which use the same antiphonal structure and psalm tones found in the Visigothic/MozarabicOffice.
Unlike the GregorianGloria, the Visigothic/MozarabicGloria in excelsis Deo only occurs in some local traditions.
TheTrisagion, in which the Greek word "hagios" is sung three times, sometimes quite melismatically or translated into the Latin "sanctus," corresponds to the simple threefold "Kyrie eleison" sung at the end of the Laus missa of theAmbrosian rite. This is not the liturgical counterpart of the GregorianSanctus.
Following the Trisagion are theBenedictiones. Like the Benedictiones of the Office, these come from theBook of Daniel, but use more complex melodies, whose refrain structure derives directly from the biblical poetry.
ThePsalmi are neumatic and melismatic responsorial chants which function similarly to the GregorianGradual. On a few holidays, the Psalmo leads directly into aClamor. Clamores conclude with the refrain of the preceding Psalmo. DuringLent,Threni substitute for Psalmi. Each Threnus has a non-repeating refrain followed by several verses, which are sung to the same melody. This function of replacing another chant on certain penitential days is similar to the way the GregorianTract replaces theAlleluia.
Just as the Gregorian Gradual is followed by the Alleluia, the Visigothic/Mozarabic Psalmo is followed by theLaus. Like the Gregorian Alleluias, the Laudes include two melismas on the word "alleluia" surrounding a simpler verse. During Lent, the Laudes use different texts.
TheSacrificium corresponds to the GregorianOffertory. The Sacrificia appear to be closely related to the Soni chants of the Office.
A few Visigothic/Mozarabic Masses include theAd pacem, a special Antiphon sung for the kiss of peace, or theAd sanctus, similar to the GregorianSanctus.
Corresponding to theAmbrosian Confractorium is theAd confractionem panis, sung for the breaking of the bread. The chantAd accedentes, corresponding to the GregorianCommunion, follows.
Recordings have been made by: