Medieval Chant Studies in Moissac, France

From my travel journal on Monday, August 12, 2024
Here's something I've learned that I enjoy about travel: it's the unknown. Getting comfortable with the unknown. The willingness to step into a situation that I've imagined yet know that I cannot really know until I'm there and experience it. One thing I've realized (at my age) is that I am better at listening to my feelings and am more aware of my thought patterns and how these can influence my experience and perception. 

The point of my trip was to take all of my experience in singing the medieval chant of Saint Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) and open up to the very different approach practiced and presented by a world leader on the subject of chant traditions, Marcel Péres. who is the director and founder of the esteemed musical organization, Ensemble Organum. From the one-week workshop with Marcel and twelve delightful women I have aborbed a wealth of information and inspiration. And, as Marcel says, I want to learn more so I teach it! 

Marcel's breadth and depth of knowledge and experience in historic chant traditions include Ancient Greek, Mozarabic, Gregorian, and Islamic to name a few. While my western music history education mentioned these traditions I had not learned how these various chant styles were perhaps related, influenced by or rooted within one another. In my studies, I knew that the so-called special neumes (such as the oriscus, quilisma, cephalicus) might indicate a type of vocal ornament. It had not occurred to me that the very names of the neumes are from the Greek language. And, as to how to sing them, these special neumes were described most often as indicating a slight fluctuation in pitch that served as a means of connecting a word or word group. 

From Marcel's demonstrations in class I learned that the vocalism of ornaments is not so much decorative or even to accentuate the word. It is more the transmission of the sounds of the word and, sometimes, the syllable. In this way there is more emphasis on the word and no rush to get through a phrase. Breathe as you need— even in the middle of a melisma. In this way, the chant in my experience becomes meditative. Present in the moment. Not reflecting upon. No holding word groups to give the mind a chance to  interpret or "make sense". As Hildegard von Bingen writes in Scivias, Singing is the human beings way of communing with the Divine. To our modern eyes medieval notation appears to be absent of rhythmic indications. However, Marcel uses rhythm— finds it— and seemingly through the ornamentation of the text. 

The biggest difference I discern from my previous training and approach is that I have been very text oriented. Knowing how Hildegard von Bingen's texts, referred to posthumously as Kunstprose, seem to be highly irregular, and, at times, highly ornate, and at times rhapsodic. Hence, in my training, the neumes were perceived as a means of connecting word groups to create musical phrases. This approach seems linear to me now with the objective being to create musical phrases. It seems as though my well-trained 19th century western classical-romantic was looking back to impose modern standards on an ancient repertory. Of course, musical phrasing is an important objective. Musical phrases, like text phrases provide structure. Perhaps the main differences I am perceiving, though, have to do with what my eyes and ears see and hear when I encounter a chant— neumes and words. In my six days studying with Marcel, the differences became palpable to me.

During the workshop I offered to sing a chant I have studied and performed for nearly 20 years: Hildegard's Marian Antiphon, Cum Erubuerint. It was more challenging for me than I had imagined. This new way of interpreting the ornaments and reading from the Dendermonde manuscript was such an unfamiliar experience for me that in our first performance in the Abbey de Moissac I got totally off! (By some miracle I did find my way back to the correct mode to end ok!) The next evening our performance in The Church of the Holy Spirit went much better. But, all is to say that this new way of looking at Hildegard's notation was disorienting and presents for me a welcome challenge. 

Early in my career (graduate school) I performed in Thomas Binkley and Clifford Flanagan's reconstruction of the medieval passion play found in the Carmina Burana manuscript. I recall Professor Flanagan's lecture on Marian worship in the medieval monasteries. He pointed out the difference between representation and reenactment. In the passion play the crucifixion of Christ and the laments of Mary are not representation. Rather, they are meant to relive the moment and bring the listeners into the experience— in the present. Marcel's approach to singing chant reminded me of this discernment. The singing of the chant brings me more into the present moment. It is happening now. 

Marcel reminds the class that Saint Augustine said, We sing to remember. I will teach what I wish to learn and I will remember!
My heartfelt gratitude to Marcel Péres and to my classmates in the Hildegard Workshop in Moissac. I will be offering workshops here in Northern California with many thanks for their inspiration.  

​