Centonization (from Latin cento - flap, patch) is a musical term that describes a complete composition as a compilation of pre-known (respectively, verbal and melodic) standard formulas . The term is borrowed from literary criticism, where the compilation of a new poem from the original quotations is called the center .
Content
Brief
The theory of centonization is applied to the cult monody ( Gregorian chorale , Byzantine chants , znamenny chant ) and traditional music of the East ( macamo - mugam tradition in Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan and other countries, raga in India, etc.).
In relation to the Gregorian chorus, P. Ferretti first spoke of centonization in 1934 [1] . As a historical argument, theories usually quote from (the author of the life of St. Gregory the Great ) John Deacon (died before 882), who attributed to Pope Gregory the compilation of the first Roman antiphonary : Antiphonarium centonem cantorum studiosissimus nimis utiliter compilavit [2] . What specifically did John mean by the “antiphonary center”, it is unclear from the context (and in the complete absence of musical examples); apparently, it was more about compilation of liturgical texts than melodic models. The idea of the Gregorian chorale as a composition composed using melodic formulas is preserved in science and educational publications up to the present day [3] .
Bruno Steblein also warned against excessive enthusiasm for the ideas of centralization, showing that “the methods of the (Gregorian) composition are diverse and range from almost accurate counterfeiting (if the text allows it) to free creative variation of the melody-model, the original of which is recognized only upon closer examination ( or even more precisely, with closer listening) ” [4] . The concept of centonization of the Gregorian chorale has been criticized in the works of other authoritative musicologists and medieval musicians, including David Highley [5] and (repeatedly) Leo Treitler [6] .
In the Gregorian repertoire, centonization, as is commonly believed, is best seen in the genres of the tract , gradale, and the responder (official) [7] , while in other, later genres ( sequences and hymns ), it is much weaker or absent altogether.
The term “centonization” does not apply to secular music genres of the Western European tradition, such as pastichi , potpourri , and quodlibet .
Notes
- ↑ Chew, G., McKinnon JW Centonization // The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London, 2001; Treitler L. 'Centonate' Chant: Übles Flickwerk or E pluribus unus? // Journal of the American Musicological Society 28 (1975), p. 7.
- ↑ [St. Gregory], the most learned of the singers, to his great advantage he composed the antiphonary-centon; see: PL 75, col. 90.
- ↑ See, for example, the popular handbook: Agustoni L., Göschl JB Einführung in die Interpretation des gregorianischen Chorals. Bd. 1: Grundlagen. Kassel, 1995, SS. 24-25, 55-58, 61 et passim.
- ↑ Stäblein B. Graduale (Gesang) // MGG, Bd. 5. Kassel, 1956, S.650.
- ↑ Hiley D. Western plainchant: A handbook. Oxford, 1993, pp. 74-75.
- ↑ Treitler L. Homer and Gregory: The transmission of epic poetry and plainchant // Musical Quarterly 60 (1974), p.356; idem , 'Centonate' chant: Übles Flickwerk or E pluribus unus ? // Journal of the American Musicological Society 28 (1975), pp. 14-15, 22-23.
- ↑ Centonization // Harvard Dictionary of Music . 4th edition, ed. by Don M. Randell. Cambridge, Mass., 2003, p. 154.
Literature
- Ferretti P. Estetica gregoriana ossia Trattato delle forme musicali del canto gregoriano. Rome: Pontificio Istituto di Musica Sacra, 1934.
- Melody type // Harvard Dictionary of Music. 2nd ed. revised and enlarged by W. Apel. Cambridge Mass., 1974, p. 519.
- Treitler L. Homer and Gregory: The transmission of epic poetry and plainchant // Musical Quarterly 60 (1974), pp. 3333–72.
- Treitler L. 'Centonate' chant: 'Übles Flickwerk' or 'E pluribus unus'? // Journal of the American Musicological Society 28 (1975), pp. 1–23.
- Hiley D. Western plainchant: A handbook. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.
- Chew, G., McKinnon JW Centonization // The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians . London, 2001.