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James Vincent Maiello

Notes, Volume 67, Number 4, June 2011, pp. 736-738 (Article)

Published by Music Library Association

DOI: 10.1353/not.2011.0039

For additional information about this article

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/not/summary/v067/67.4.maiello.html

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736

Notes, June 2011

(p. 256). Mengozzi concludes: Calling into

question the legitimacy of the Guidonian
image that is customarily attached to early
music is not to deny the alterity value of
that music . . . . Rather, it is an invitation to
rethink the precise nature of that alterity
and of the effort required from us in order
to come to terms with it (p. 257).
The book is exquisitely organized and
engagingly written. What could have been a
dry survey of treatises and dates is told as
the musical-intellectual drama it is. But
scholarly books are not only to be read,
they are to be used. Mengozzis occasional
use of such devices as in medias res (e.g.,
the beginning of chap. 6) may make the
plot momentarily hard to follow for nonspecialists, and perhaps cause researchers a
small delay in finding a particular datum.
Against that, the extensive quotations from
the sources, with translations, are more
than welcome. There are occasional doubtful moments in the translations, such as
when Gallicuss nos piius [sic] ille Dei
servus canere docet per litteras is rendered that pious servant of God [i.e.,
Guido of Arezzo] teaches us how to sing via
the seven letters (p. 152; italics mine). Such
freedoms clarify Mengozzis interpretations
of certain passages, but may be uncomfortable for some. In any case, uniform translation principles would have been impossible
to maintain in dealing with six centuries of
Latin (and some of the translations are by
others, from published sources). The tables
and illustrations are extensive and most
helpful; the tables, some of which are mentioned above, will be a boon to both students and scholars. I would have preferred
a more consistent typography for b rotundum and b quadratum, and in Table 1.2
(p. 3) the b is unfortunately doubled in both
the excellentes and superacutae. Mengozzis occasional explanatory notes are very useful,
and he has been judicious about which comments to put in the main text and which in
the notes. The notes themselves appear as
footnotes rather than endnotes, for which
the publisher is to be commended. In sum,
this monograph is a praiseworthy contribution to the literature of music theory, its
history, and its scholarship.
John L. Snyder
University of Houston

Gregorian Chant. By David Hiley.

(Cambridge Introductions to Music.)
Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2009. [xx, 250 p. ISBN
9780521690355. $28.] Music examples,
illustrations, bibliography, index.
Gregorian Chant, David Hileys contribution to the Cambridge Introductions to
Music series, offers an ideal balance of authoritative scholarship and accessibility.
Although Hileys book is intended as an introduction for non-specialists, the author
refuses to allow the reader to fall prey to
misconceptions that one might construe
from an introductory text. As such, this is
an excellent starting point for students new
to the study of plainchant, offering a solid
overview that avoids inappropriate and awkward oversimplifications throughout. The
appendices include a map showing the
provenance of extant manuscripts, a general chronology, and a glossary full of
clearly defined terms; the bibliography is
augmented by suggestions for further reading after each major section of the text. For
readers familiar with Richard Crockers
Introduction to Gregorian Chant (New Haven:
Yale University Press, 2000), this book will
seem less personal but no less engaging.
One of the worlds leading scholars on
Western plainchant, Hiley writes with clarity and wit. His inviting style, which often
includes humorous stories and asides,
makes the reader feel like an insider rather
than a neophyte.
The organization and flow of the text is a
pedagogical masterstroke, one that reflects
the authors extensive experience communicating effectively about plainchant. Each
of the five large chapters deals with a significant aspect of Gregorian chant, from its
characteristics to its modern performance.
This structure frames and focuses the substantial subsections within the chapters,
linking major themes and rendering often
intimidating material both manageable and
accessible to readers. Chapters and subsections are arranged like a compact, graded
curriculum, each section building on the
information that has already been presented; shaded boxes house additional explanations, source readings, and other
asides without interrupting the flow of the
main text. Examples, figures, and text
boxes are not merely window dressing, but

Book Reviews
rather contribute significantly to the readers
substantive understanding of the subject.
The text begins with the absolute basics.
The first chapter, Gregorian Chant in the
Service of the Church, contextualizes
chant as a function of liturgy and addresses
issues of chants nature, texts, and general
uses. An engaging, concise portrait of the
various types of clergy, religious institutions, and their respective churches and
outbuildings follows, using Worcester
cathedral as a case study. High-quality
ground plans of the cathedral, priory, and
city of Worcester bring Hileys prose to life,
showing literally where chant was sung in
procession or otherwise, and the spaces in
which clergy lived and worked.
Hileys account of the Mass and Divine
Office is one of the clearest and most readable available, illuminated further by the
line art of the previous section. Again, the
meticulous organization of content stands
out here. While some form of diagram
would have been a welcome addition to the
description of the liturgical year, the overview is nonetheless direct and governed by
what information might be useful to a
reader at this point in the text. It is only after these basics of function and context
have been introduced that the author turns
to Gregorian chant itself, beginning
logicallywith the texts that were central
to the chant. Hiley outlines the sources
from which chant texts were drawn, and the
ways those texts were adapted, in a straightforward manner, well-chosen examples illustrating the processes described. The section
on music begins, not surprisingly, with the
essential prerequisites for more advanced
discussion, a primer on describing
melodies and a refreshingly practical introduction to the Church modes and psalm
tones. Hiley addresses the major plainchant
forms and styles individually, beginning
with responsory verses and office antiphons. The organization that follows is
unorthodox, but logical in its treatment of
the most complex styles first: great responsories, graduals, and tracts. Mixing items of
the Mass proper with a discussion of chants
for the Divine Offices risks confusing readers unfamiliar with Catholic liturgy, and it
is somewhat of a relief when the ordinary is
discussed as a unit.
Having outlined the functions, nature,
and styles of Gregorian chant, the second

737
chapter treats the origins and the various
rites and dialects of Western plainchant.
Hiley distills the most current scholarship
on the subject into a highly focused, compelling narrative that provides a stable
grounding for more advanced study. The
origins of both services and their earliest
music are presented in summary; the
reader is cautioned to rely on evidence
over pure conjecture, most directly in a
caveat about dating the chants for Mass
and Office. The complexities of some of
chant scholarships major issues are laid
bare with stunning clarity, including the often ignored question of insular influences
on Frankish chant and Gregory the Greats
likely role in the development of the repertory that bears his name. Oral transmission
and the differences between Old Roman
and Gregorian practices are addressed with
careful attention to the evidence, the comparison of Old Roman and Gregorian versions of the same responsory concretizing
the discussion. Hiley outlines the primary
dialects of Western plainchant and
Byzantine chant in turn, always careful to
show their relevance to the study of the
Gregorian repertory. This chapter is an especially good example of the authors sensitivity to the confusions that might plague
the reader; he has taken great care to explain things as simply as possible without
oversimplification.
Instead of dividing accretions to the
liturgy, liturgical drama, and later adaptations and reforms into separate chapters,
Hiley has grouped them all under the
chapter Tradition and Innovation in
Medieval Chant from the Ninth to the
Sixteenth Century. In doing so, Gregorian
chant and liturgy are explored almost as a
living organism, emphasizing their nature
as human creations. Historiae are given
more prominence than one might expect
in a book of this scope, though a balanced
outline of sequences and tropes keeps the
discussion proportional. A bullet-pointed
schematic detailing the performance practice of sequences is a perceptive preventative clarification, and the Quem queritis dialogue provides a useful example for
instructors looking to link troping with
liturgical drama. Apart from informing
ones understanding of Gregorian chant,
Hileys summary of the new religious orders and monastic reforms is informative

738
on its own; it also reinforces chant as a human endeavor, one subject to societal and
institutional changes. The coverage of
Hildegard von Bingen is certainly substantial enough, but one wonders if she deserves her own section instead of being
folded into a subheading like The End of
Anonymitya minor ironyeven if she
does occupy the bulk of that section.
Thinking about Gregorian Chant in the
Middle Ages, and Notating Itthe title of
Hileys fourth chaptercontinues his graduated approach: classical Greek theory is
discussed first, but it is situated in a
Carolingian context. This compact overview of the writings of Boethius and others
as the Carolingians would have understood
them provides the background for a more
detailed examination of Hucbalds ideas,
the Enchiriadis treatises, and other theoretical writings. The primer on Greek theory
also makes the origins of Guidos hexachordal theory clear, and the hymn Ut
queant laxis and figures of the medieval
gamut and the Guidonian hand all further
clarify the prose. It is refreshing to see an
entire section devoted to Hermannus
Contractus, a figure often marginalized in
or simply omitted from the narrative of medieval music. Hiley introduces the reader to
Hermannus and his ideas, presenting a
more scientific counterpoint to Guidos
practical approach. Wisely, chant notation
and its various developments are outlined
before the reader considers its origins.
Although summary in nature, Hiley does
not oversimplify, addressing neumatic notation (including liquescence), various regional neume types, and chant rhythm;
the halftone figures of various manuscript
leaves are appropriate illustrations here.
Prosodic and cheironomic theories on notations origins and other relevant issues
are discussed clearly and objectively; the
author acknowledges the current debates
in scholarship, offering his own opinion
that although notation was invented in the
early ninth century, it was not applied to
complete service books until the end of
that century (p. 198). In addition to addressing briefly music printing, the
Solesmes restorations, and modern transcription, Hiley devotes several pages to a
very concise overview of the primary service
books for Mass and Office that is all the

Notes, June 2011

more relevant given its place at the end of
the chapter.
The final chapter deals with Gregorian
chant from the sixteenth century to the
present and with aspects of performance.
Hiley mentions the Tridentine reforms in
the third chapter, but here he provides a
detailed discussion of the musical changes
in Gregorian chant and their appearance
in sources like the Medicaean Gradual and
Guidettis Directorium chori. The reader
might have benefited from a note in the
third chapter that more detail on the
Tridentine reforms will follow in due
course. The narrative continues through
the French baroque and the eighteenth
century, but Hileys taut account of
Gregorian chant in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries is the main attraction of
the chapter. Likening the resurgence of
Gregorian chant after the French
Revolution and the Solesmes restorations
to a rising phoenix, he devotes special attention to the Solesmes editions of chant
books printed by Descle. A brief essay follows on the continued performance of
monophonic chant and the considerations
involved with such an endeavor.
Hiley closes by explaining that his chief
purpose has been to show the reader the
enormous variety of chant, its forms,
styles, and the circumstances which called
it into being (p. 218). In this aim, David
Hiley has been more than successful, taking
his experts knowledge and making it accessible to non-specialists without sascrificing
intellectual rigor. The clarity of prose and
organization are to be emulated, and
Hileys welcoming style allows the reader to
feel at home with some of the most challenging concepts in musicology. Indeed,
Gregorian Chant may be the most straightforward, pedagogically aware book of its
kind available, maintaining the highest
standards of both scholarship and writing.
It is easy to imagine this books becoming
an indispensable classic for general readers, just as Hileys Western Plainchant
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993)
has become for chant scholars.

James Vincent Maiello

Vanderbilt University