In chant, a reciting tone (also called a recitation tone) can refer to either a repeated

musical pitch Pitch is a perceptual property of sounds that allows their ordering on a frequency-related scale, or more commonly, pitch is the quality that makes it possible to judge sounds as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodi ...

or to the entire melodic formula for which that pitch is a structural note. In

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek (language), Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed ma ...

, the first is also called tenor, dominant or tuba, while the second includes psalm tones (each with its own associated

Gregorian mode A Gregorian mode (or church mode) is one of the eight systems of pitch organization used in Gregorian chant. History The name of Pope Gregory I was attached to the variety of chant that was to become the dominant variety in medieval western an ...

) as well as simpler formulae for other readings and for prayers.

Reciting tones in Gregorian chant

Regular psalm tones

Reciting tones occur in several parts of the Roman Rite. These include the

accentus Accentus (or Accentus Ecclesiasticus; Ecclesiastical accent) is a style of church music that emphasizes spoken word. It is often contrasted with ''concentus'', an alternative style that emphasizes harmony. The terms ''accentus'' and ''concentus'' ...

prayers and lessons chanted by the deacons or priests such as the

Collect The collect ( ) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. Collects appear in the liturgies of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches, among othe ...

, Epistle,

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

Secret Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

Preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often close ...

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

, and Postcommunion, as well as such regular texts as the

Pater noster The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...

, and the Gloria in excelsis Deo. They are also sung in versicles and responds such as the ''Dominus vobiscum'' ("The Lord be with you") of the officiant followed by the ''Et cum spiritu tuo'' ("and with your spirit") of the choir. Some tones, presumably from the earliest layers of chant, such as the Collect, Pater noster, and Postcommunion for

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

, consist of just two notes, often a reciting tone on A or G, with inflected notes one pitch below on G or F. Other tones, from later in the medieval period, usually recited on a C or F, inflecting down to the two notes below, such as the Epistle for Easter. More complex patterns were used for the psalm tones, which are employed in the chanting of the

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

s and related canticles in the daily

Office An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

s. There are eight psalm tones, one for each

musical mode In music theory, the term mode or ''modus'' is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context. Its most common use may be described as a type of musical scale coupled with a set of characteristic melodic and harmonic behaviors. It ...

, designed so that the

antiphon An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominentl ...

that is sung between psalm verses transitions smoothly into the psalm tone. Each psalm tone has a formulaic ''intonation'', ''mediant'' (or ''mediation''), and ''termination'' (or ''ending''). The ''intonation'' defines the notes for the first two or three syllables, with subsequent words sung on the reciting tone. Because of the parallel structure typical of the Psalms, psalm verses divide into two roughly equal parts; the end of the first part is indicated by the ''mediant'', a slight bending of notes above and below the reciting tone. For longer phrases, the first part is itself divided into two parts, with the division indicated by the ''flexa'', on which the accented syllable is sung on the reciting tone that preceded it, and the following unaccented syllable is sung a whole tone or a minor third lower (depending on the psalm tone), before returning to the reciting tone until the mediant. After the mediant, the second part of the psalm verse is sung on the reciting tone until the last few words, which are sung to a cadential formula called the ''termination''. Several of the psalm tones have two or three possible terminations, to allow for a smoother return to the following repeat of the antiphon. Two sets of tones are used for the "

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

", the canticle of

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

, and the "

Benedictus Benedictus may refer to: Music * Benedictus (Song of Zechariah), ''Benedictus'' (''Song of Zechariah''), the canticle sung at Lauds, also called the Canticle of Zachary * The second part of the Sanctus, part of the Eucharistic prayer * Benedictus ...

", the canticle of Lauds: simple tones, which are very close to the standard psalm tones, and solemn tones, which are more ornate and used on the more important feasts. The psalm verse and "

Gloria Patri The Gloria Patri, also known as the Glory Be to the Father or, colloquially, the Glory Be, is a doxology, a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian liturgies. It is also referred to as the Minor Doxology ''(Doxologia Minor)'' or Lesser ...

" (

doxology A doxology (Ancient Greek: ''doxologia'', from , '' doxa'' 'glory' and -, -''logia'' 'saying') is a short hymn of praises to God in various forms of Christian worship, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derive ...

) which are sung as part of the

Introit The Introit (from Latin: ''introitus'', "entrance") is part of the opening of the liturgy, liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, Psalms, psalm verse and ' ...

(and optionally the Communion antiphon) of the Mass and of the greater responsories of the Office of Readings (Matins) and the reformed offices of Lauds and Vespers are also sung to similar sets of reciting tones that depend on the musical mode.

Tonus peregrinus

In addition to the eight psalm tones associated with the eight musical modes, there is a ninth psalm tone called the ''tonus peregrinus'', or "wandering tone", which uses a reciting tone of A for the first part of the psalm verse and a G for the second half. Although rarely used, it is not unique; early sources refer to tones called ''parapteres'', which, like the tonus peregrinus, have different reciting tones in their first and second halves.

Reciting tones in other chant traditions

Some traditions of Qur'an reading utilize reciting tones, although it should be clarified that in Islam, Qur'anic recitation is not considered a form of music. For example, the ''tulaba'' ("students of Islam" in Arabic) of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

recite the Qur'an and chant hymns for special occasions using one or two reciting tones. Among the Jews of

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

cantillation Cantillation is the ritual chanting of prayers and responses. It often specifically refers to Jewish Hebrew cantillation. Cantillation sometimes refers to diacritics used in texts that are to be chanted in liturgy. Cantillation includes: * Chant ...

of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

follows a distinctive practice that may be of great antiquity. Typical cantillation uses a system of signs, each of which represents a fixed musical motif. Yemenite chant, however, uses a different set of motifs, which only affect the final words in phrases. All other words are sung to reciting tones.

Notes

Sources * * * * * {{Modes Modes (music)