Accentus Ecclesiasticus
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Accentus Ecclesiasticus is a Church music term, the counterpart of concentus. The terms were probably introduced by Ornithoparchus in his Musicae activae micrologus, 1517. (Apel, 4)
In the medieval church, all that portion of the liturgical song which was performed by the entire choir, or by sections of it, was called concentus; thus hymns, psalms, mass ordinary, and alleluias were, generally speaking, included under this term, as well as anything with more complex or distinctive melodic contours. On the other hand, such parts of the liturgy which the priest, the deacon, the subdeacon, or the acolyte sang alone were called accentus; such were the collects, the epistle and gospel, the preface, or anything which was recited chiefly on one tone, rather than sung, by the priest or one of his assistants. The accentus should never be accompanied by harmonies, whether of voices or of instruments, although the concentus may receive such accompaniment. The intoning words Gloria in excelsis Deo and Credo in Unum Deum, being assigned to the celebrant alone, should not be repeated by the choir or accompanied by the organ or other musical instrument.
[edit] References
Apel, Willi, ed. Harvard Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1972. This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
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Gregorian chants of the Roman Mass |
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Kyrie | Gloria | Credo | Sanctus | Agnus Dei | Ite missa est or Benedicamus Domino |
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