- plainsong by WordNet
nounA liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church.synonyms: plainchant, Gregorian chant
- plainchant by WordNet
nounA liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church.synonyms: plainsong, Gregorian chant
- Byzantine chant by Rebecca Vega
Unison liturgical chant of the Greek Orthodox church from the era of the Byzantine Empire to the 16th century. It probably derived principally from Hebrew and Syrian Christian liturgies. A system of eight modes, very similar to the eight Greek ...
- choir by George Hicks
Body of singers with more than one voice to a part. For many centuries, church choirs sang only plainsong ( see Gregorian chant). The relative complexity of early polyphony required solo voices rather than choral performance, but by the 15th century polyphony was being performed chorally. The growth of the secular choir (or chorus) coincided with ...
- organum by Vincent Alvarez
Early polyphonic setting of plainchant ( see Gregorian chant), the earliest form of counterpoint. The oldest written organum ( C. 900), which evidently reflects a prevailing improvisational practice, consists of two lines moving simultaneously, note against note, the added line ...