Chapters with Listening Guide Repertoire, CW Links, and Quizzes:

Chapter 07

Chapter Goal

  • To understand how humankind uses music to express spirituality.
  • To investigate musical relationships between the sacred and the secular.
  • To become familiar with select works that exemplify spiritual traditions in music.

CW7.1 Harmonic Singing

Harmonic singing is practiced in many geographical areas other than Tibet. Mongolia and Tuva are among those areas that also have rich traditions. Thanks to globalization, these sounds are occasionally incorporated in musical styles around the world. Another unusual vocal style is the throat singing of the Inuit people. Search the internet for examples of: “throat singing,” “harmonic singing,” “overtone singing,” or the individual geographical regions.

Here are some resources:

https://www.npr.org/2009/03/24/102234687/gyuto-monks-ancient-practice-modern-sound Throat Singing: A unique vocalization from three cultures Composer David Hykes was one of the first to introduce harmonic singing to the Western world.

CW7.2 Bernice Reagon

To hear Reagon talk about her experiences as a civil rights activist go to “Bernice Johnson Reagon Interview”

CW7.3 Sacred Harp Singing

For general information and resources on sacred harp singing, go to:

Preserving the Sacred Harp Singing Tradition (2003)

CW7.4 The Eight Church Modes

Before the establishment of major/minor tonality in the late sixteenth century, the melodic language of most of Western music was organized according to the eight church modes. Each mode had its own distinct sound. The most important tone of each mode was its final (finalis) on which a work ended. The modes were grouped in pairs, based on shared finals and range, and were named by number or by Greek names. For works in the even numbered modes, the final lies at the bottom of the melody’s range. For works in the odd numbered modes, the final lies in the middle of the melody’s range.

  • Modes 1 (Dorian) and 2 (Hypodorian) had finals on the note D.
  • Modes 3 (Phrygian) and 4 (Hypophrygian) had finals on E.        
  • Modes 5 (Lydian) and 6 (Hypolydian) had finals on F.    
  • Modes 7 (Mixolydian) and 8 (Hypomixolydian) had finals on G.

The Ionian (the major scale), Aeolian and Locrian modes were added later and not used in the Middle Ages. Many folk songs, jazz compositions, and contemporary works are also modal.

See:

http://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/guide-to-musical-modes/

If you read music, go to:

http://musictheoryfundamentals.com/MusicTheory/modes.php

to see modes 1, 3, 5, and 7 written in notation.

CW7.6 Yorùbá Bàtá Drumming

For a video example of Yorùbá Bàtá drumming, see:

Yorùbá Bàtá Ensemble Drums for Òrìsà, volume 1.

Quizzes