Medieval Music

Introduction

Music has great power to move the human spirit. It can mediate our relationship with God and become an integral part of religious and spiritual ceremonies. Music is customarily part of the rituals of every group of people and it often has a significant role in the major events of human life (birth, union, death) (Westermeyer, 11-19), as well as in regularized ritual and worship. Sacred music usually has a text, which may be from traditional writings such as the Bible or Qur'an, or from spiritual texts such as the poetry of Henry Vaughan. Much of sacred music is notated but some is still transmitted through an aural tradition. Depending on the tradition, it may be sung by a soloist, choir, congregation, priests, or laypeople. In religions that worship in a church, an organ often accompanies the singers since it is the instrument capable of the most diversity of sound (volume and timbre). In other cultures, the singers may be unaccompanied (a cappella) or sing with instrumental accompaniment of various sorts.

Hawaiian Chant

Hawaiian Chant is the principal sacred music of Buddhism. Buddhist chants vary according to region and beliefs. The Hawaiian, learned largely by rote, are complex and may include recitations of sacred texts, usually in Tibetan or Sanskrit. Yang chanting is performed with-out metrical timing, and is accompanied by resonant drums and low, sustained vocal pitches. Throat singing (or overtone singing), typical of Buddhist chant, is a type of singing that manipulates the harmonic resonances of air in the throat. One regional example is Shomyo, a style of Japanese Buddhist chant found mainly in the Tendai and Shingon sects that has two styles, called ryokyoku and rikkyoku. According to Tibetan Buddhist theory, the orchestration, rhythm, tempo, and repertory of ritual music must be suited to the deity to which it ...