The art of music. Vol. 01 (of 14) : $b The pre-Classic periods
History
The art of music. Vol. 01 (of 14) : $b The pre-Classic periods
Music -- History and criticism; Musicians
was, like our dominant, in the middle of the scale. In the plagal
modes, on the other hand, the melody wandered freely as low as a fourth
below the final, which thus was near the middle of the melodic range;
and the dominant was a third below the dominant of the corresponding
authentic mode. Whenever the dominant fell on B, C was substituted
(indicated by _N.B._ in the table) and in the rejected Locrian G was
substituted for F.
Each authentic mode had its related plagal. The final of the
ecclesiastical Dorian mode was D.[63] The range of a melody written
in this mode was limited to notes which may be represented on the
pianoforte by the white keys between D and d, including the two D’s
and, for the cadence, the C below the lower. The melody would centre
about A and come to end on D. The related plagal mode, called the
Hypodorian, had the same final, D, but the range of a melody in this
mode was from the A below to the A above the final, centering about the
dominant, F. The so-called relaxed modes which are frequently met with
varied likewise from the authentic modes in range which in such modes
might be extended to a third below the final. The dominant remained
the same and the slight extension of range hardly altered the _ethos_
or character of the authentic mode from which it thus technically
varied.
[Illustration: AUTHENTIC MODES.]
[Illustration: PLAGAL MODES.]
The modes were in as far as possible strictly adhered to, but the
occurrence of certain intervals difficult to sing and not wholly
pleasant to the ear (notably the augmented fourth, or tritone,[64]
from F to B), led to modifications or, as we should say, chromatic
alterations. B-flat, for instance, was substituted for B whenever the
interval from F to B occurred; and later, in the development of part
singing, many other alterations were found necessary. Marks indicating
such alterations were seldom written in the score, and singers were
specially trained to alter intervals at sight, according to the
elaborate rules of the practice called _musica ficta_, or 'false music.’
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