The tract (
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
: tractus) is part of the
proper of the
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
liturgical celebration of the
Eucharist
The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
, used instead of the
Alleluia in
Lent
Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
or
Septuagesima, in a
Requiem Mass, and other penitential occasions, when the joyousness of an Alleluia is deemed inappropriate. Tracts are not, however, necessarily sorrowful.
The name apparently derives from either the drawn-out style of singing or the continuous structure without a
refrain
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...
. There is evidence, however, that the earliest performances were sung responsorially, and it is probable that these were dropped at an early stage.
In their final form, tracts are a series of
psalm
The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament.
The book is an anthology of H ...
verses; rarely a complete psalm, but all the verses are from the same psalm. They are restricted to only two
modes, the second and the eighth. The melodies follow
centonization
In music centonization (from Latin ''cento'' or patchwork) is musical composition via the combination of pre-existing motivic units, typically in reference to Christian liturgical chant. A piece created using centonization is known as a "centon ...
patterns more strongly than anywhere else in the repertoire; a typical tract is almost exclusively a succession of such formulas. The
cadences are nearly always elaborate
melismas. Tracts with multiple verses are some of the longest chants in the ''
Liber Usualis''.
References
* Hoppin, Richard. ''Medieval Music.'' New York: Norton, 1978. Pages 129-130.
{{Lutheran Divine Service
Order of Mass