Question about neume height
  • How important is the vertical position of the neumes in the Laon neumes? I've been transcribing Laon neumes from the Graduale Novum and I'm making sure the heights are the same as the book, though I know very little about semiology so I don't know how concerned I should be with accuracy here.
  • I would say for the average Joe it doesnt make so much difference. But when we are talking about people who use technique in Gregorian Chant and use the semiology it is important. Honestly, a lot depends on the "school" of Gregorian Chant. There are many different theories. So, it depends on what your project is for- who will be using it.
  • In general, one can say that in Laon 239 the relative vertical positioning of neighboring neumes indicates their pitch relations, higher or lower. And the relative sizing of the neumes indicates intensity/duration of the notes. In general.
  • I would second what Royce Nickel wrote, and stress the importance of paying particular attention to the elongated virga, which is sometimes neglected by the Triplex and Novum copyists. With that said, you ought to consider copying from the manuscript facsimile itself rather than the Novum, as there are errors besides the long virga. Examine the introit Protector, GN 1.310. The copyist fell into the same error as the Triplex copyist and wrote a punctum for the last note of melior. It may be excusable if only the Paléographie musicale were available, but we now have high quality scans available for free online. The high resolution image reveals that the note actually appears to be a faintly written uncinus, and comparative analysis with the same figure elsewhere confirms that interpretation.image
    Have you made any of your duplex or triplex editions available online yet?
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    1824 x 395 - 251K
    Thanked by 1Andrew Hinkley
  • I'm working for the Neumz project. They intend to add the Laon neumes as a feature in the future, so I won't be making the files publicly available. I'm using Gregorio for the job at the moment. I'm not sure if Gregorio has the elongated virga though.
    Thanked by 1madorganist
  • I'm not sure if Gregorio has the elongated virga though.
    viS, cf. vipp2su2
    Thanked by 1Andrew Hinkley