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'' were probably introduced by Andreas Ornithoparchus in his ''Musicae Activae Micrologus'', Leipzig, 1517. "''Concentus'' might be chief ruler over all things that are sung...and ''Accentus'' over all things that are read," according to Ornithoparchus. The style is also known as liturgical recitative, though it differs in some important ways from other types of
recitative.
In the medieval church, all that portion of the liturgical song which was performed by the entire
choir, or by sections of it, was called ''concentus''; thus
hymns,
psalms,
mass ordinary
The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Mass or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed. It is contrasted to the '' ...
, and
alleluias were, generally speaking, included under this term, as well as anything with more complex or distinctive melodic contours. On the other hand, such parts of the liturgy which the
priest, the
deacon, the
subdeacon
Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence.
Subdeacons in ...
, or the
acolyte sang alone were called ''accentus''; such were the
collects, the
epistle
An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...
and
gospel, the
preface, or anything which was recited chiefly on one tone, rather than sung, by the priest or one of his assistants. The accentus should never be accompanied by harmonies, whether of voices or of instruments, although the concentus may receive such accompaniment. The intoning words ''Gloria in excelsis Deo'' and ''Credo in Unum Deum'', being assigned to the celebrant alone, should not be repeated by the choir or accompanied by the
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
or other
musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
.
There were originally seven types of ''Accentus Ecclesiasticus'', depending on how the voice should be inflected at the punctuation marks ending phrases or sentences. In ''accentus immutabilis'', the voice remains at the same tone; in ''accentus medus'' it falls by a third at a colon; in ''accentus gravis'' it falls by a fifth at a period; in ''accentus actus'' it falls by a third and returns to the original tone at a comma; in ''accentus moderatus'' it rises by a second and returns to the original tone at a comma; in ''accentus interrogata'' it falls by a second and returns to the original tone at a question mark; and in ''accentus finalis'', it rises by a second and then falls stepwise to a fourth below the original tone at the end.
[ (Digital edition by Google Books; also republished 2006 by Adamant Media as .)]
References
{{Mass
Order of Mass
Latin religious words and phrases
Musical terminology