Harmonizing/Accompanying Chant

Adam Wood

Are there good resources or texts on harmonizing chant?
I'm looking specifically for info on the music theory side of, for example, dealing with modalism and plain chant rhythm.

(Rather than, for example, compilations of chant harmonizations.)

32ContraBombarde

Not sure if it’s quite what you’re looking for, but I made a series of YouTube videos on my methods of accompanying chant and the various modes directly from square notes. They are available in two playlists:

Playlist 1 (older videos)

Playlist 2 (“Chant Talk”)

Ted

One of the best is Henri Potiron's Treatise on the Accompaniment of Gregorian Chant. If you read French, the expanded theoretical background to his ideas are in his L'Analyse Modale du Chant Grégorien.

sydney416

@32ContraBombarde I can't wait to watch your videos, they look excellent! Where did you study to learn all that, if you don't mind me asking?

32ContraBombarde

@sydney416 - I was a seminarian for two years at the FSSP seminary where I had the chance to learn from a stupendous organist. Also, given my musical background, in lieu of the introductory chant course in first year, I was granted permission to do a private study of chant accompaniment. I studied the Potiron treatise @Ted references, among other various works in the seminary library. Otherwise, just lots of trial and error, and a deep love for both chant and organ.

Adam Wood

Things I have found that seem helpful:

https://www.ccwatershed.org/2013/08/17/essay-gregorian-accompaniment/

http://archive.ccwatershed.org/media/pdfs/13/07/17/15-53-00_0.pdf

mikevp

@32ContraBombarde – I can't tell you how great your videos are. I've really appreciated getting to learn from you.

JonathanKK

Johannes Fux: Gradus ad Parnassum

I really think everyone needs to look at it at some point, because it is at the root of a lot of our thinking about how notes work in conjunction with other notes. I did not do a lot of work with it, but the ideas governing the species dealing with note-against-note, two-notes-against-one-note, and ties/suspensions have stayed with me.

Example of my thinking: what one note would be best to put under Do-Re? The answer is Fa, because that makes intervals of a 5th and 6th, and is the only solution that results in two consonances.

smvanroode

Links to scans of the above mentioned books:

Johannes Fux, The Study of Counterpoint
Henri Potiron, Treatise on the Accompaniment of Gregorian Chant

tandrews

Dupre: http://archive.ccwatershed.org/media/pdfs/13/07/11/20-29-17_0.pdf

Adam Wood

Are there any works that analyze Durufle's harmonic language and/or his use of chant?

tandrews

There's a Masters Thesis about it for a couple pieces by Durufle, if that will help get you going:

https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1378&context=etd

Adam Wood

I read that. It's... not very enlightening.
Though, now that i think about it, i bet the bibliography could help.

M. Jackson Osborn

tandrews -
Thank you for this very interesting thesis!

tandrews

Don't thank me, thank Google!

Adam Wood

ok actually i am finding this thesis much more informative the second time around...

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