Curiosities of Music: A Collection of Facts not generally known, regarding the Music of Ancient and Savage NationsElson, Louis Charles
History
Curiosities of Music: A Collection of Facts not generally known, regarding the Music of Ancient and Savage Nations
Elson, Louis Charles
Music -- History and criticism
In A. D. 481, the council of Laodicea ordained that the clerks only
(called canonical singers “_Canonicos Cantores_,”) should be allowed to
sing during the service.[238] The abuses which accompany paid singing,
appeared even in the second century. Singers found themselves sought
after in proportion to their talents, and therefore (in the absence of
an exact method of notation) sought to make those talents more
conspicuous by an introduction of florid ornaments and cadenzas into
their music; they gradually forgot, or disregarded the old traditional
style of singing, and sought only to excite the admiration of the masses
by exhibiting to the best advantage the power and agility of their
voices.
It was, without doubt, to remedy this abuse that Pope Sylvester I, who
occupied the pontifical chair, A. D. 320, founded a school in Rome for
the formation of singers.[239] At this time also, the choir had its own
gallery or place in the church assigned to it, and every art was called
into play to impress and enthrall the worshipper. Sculpture, Painting,
Architecture and Music combined, as they had previously done for Pagan
theatres and amusements, to render the church a beautiful as well as
holy resort. Charity combined in some instances with policy; for we
learn that a singing school founded in A. D. 350, by pope Hilary, was
called an orphan asylum (orphanotrophia), and here the education of
clerks for the church, was commenced at a very tender age.[240]
These schools did much to re-establish a dignified and worthy style of
sacred singing. Yet there was great need of a sweeping reform; for as
there existed no really fixed system, the differences in singing were
almost as numerous as the various existing churches. Before speaking of
this reform, we will briefly outline the progress of music in Christian
communities outside of Rome.
GREEK CHURCH.
The Greek church, from the very beginning, paid great attention to music
in all its details. The first institution of the mass, is attributed to
St. James the lesser, first bishop of Jerusalem, who died a martyr in A.
D. 62. This mass is still in existence. There are also existing, masses
by the two great luminaries of the Greek Church, Sts. John Chrysostom
and Basilius, who flourished in the last half of the fourth century.
Although there are doubts expressed as to whether St. John Chrysostom
wrote the one attributed to him, yet it is certain that the mass was
used in Constantinople (of which city he was the Patriarch) as long ago
as the end of the fourth century, and was not materially changed until
the eighth century. It is entitled “The mystery of the divine
Eucharist.”[241]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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