“MELISMATA, GLISSANDI AND GELATI” November 2014

 

“MELISMATA, GLISSANDI AND GELATI”

 

MELISMA (PLURAL ‘MELISMATA’)

From ancient Greek. Melismatic singing involves singing a single syllable of text while moving successively between several different notes. In syllabic music, by contrast, each syllable of text is matched to a single note.

 

The choral work "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" from Handel’s ‘Messiah’ (Part 1, No. 12) contains numerous examples of melisma, including a 57-note melisma on the word "Born", apparently – I haven’t counted!

 

More modestly – and verifiably - in the carol ‘Ding Dong Merrily On High’, the "o" of the word "Gloria" is held through 31 notes (I’ve counted!):

·      Worcester Cathedral Choir (1993) ‘Ding Dong Merrily On High’ from Christmas Carols. Naxos.

 

 

Melismata in history

Melismatic chanting is both ancient and modern. Many ancient cultures used melismatic chants to induce a trance during (religious) ceremonies. Today, melismatic singing continues in chanting the Jewish Torah, in the Qua’wali chants of the Sufis of southern Asia (especially India, Pakistan and Bangla Desh), and in the Gregorian and Byzantine chants of ‘modern’ Christianity.

 

Melismatic chanting was implicated in the ‘Great Schism’ of 1054, which split the christian church into a Western Catholic (Latin) wing and an Eastern Orthodox (Greek) wing. The ‘Great Schism’ followed centuries of religious, cultural, and political differences between the Western and Eastern arms. Nearly 1,000 years later, the Schism remains unhealed and each side has its own tradition of melismatic chanting - the Gregorian chants of the western/Roman orthodoxy and the Byzantine chants of the eastern/Greek orthodoxy. (Melismata first appeared in written scores of these chants around AD 900, but we can safely assume that christian melismatic chanting predated its written presentation.) (George Harrison’s Awaiting On You All includes “Chanting the name of the lord and you’ll be free”)

Sources

http://www.asbm.goarch.org/articles/orthodox-byzantine-music/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_music

 

 

Early Christian beliefs:

1. Chanting the angels’ prayers unites worshippers.

A chant originating in heaven makes human originality and creativity irrelevant and renders the composer anonymous – even irrelevant. Western Catholic (anonymous) Gregorian chants illustrate this belief.

·      (n/a) ‘Sanctus’ from Kyrie: Gregorian chants. 1994 Siebenpunkt Verlags. “Sanctus” is Latin for “Holy”. This chant is called “Nikios Hymnos” in the Greek Orthdodox rite;

 

·      (n/a) ‘Kyrie’ from Kyrie: Gregorian chants. 1994 Siebenpunkt Verlags. “Kyrie” is Greek for “Lord” or “Master” and predates christianity.

 

2. Prayer unites clergy & people in a ‘choros’.

Initially, the people were active participants in the liturgy. Later, ‘choros’ came to refer to the priest’s special – separate – role in the liturgy; ‘the choir’ became a separate reserved area of a church near the sanctuary; and singing was restricted to specialist ‘chanters’.

 

We can see this shift in belief in the Znameny chants of the Eastern Orthodox. ‘Znamenny’ comes from the Slavic znamia - "sign" - and refers to the musical signs used to notate the chant. The Znameny chants were created and notated by trained singers associated with city cathedrals, who embellished simple chants with new and more elaborate musical patterns.

·      Ensemble of Old Church Music ‘Sretenye’ (1999). “Thou Art Our Joy”. (Znamenny Chant) Ancient Church Singing of Byzantine, Georgia and Rus. Origen Music.

 

 

Contemporary melismatic music

Today, melismata are common in Fado (Portuguese) and Flamenco (Spain) music, as well as in the folk and popular music of Asia, the Middle East and northern Africa and in ‘western’ popular music – especially Rhythm and Blues.

 

Within early R&B, a sparing use of melismata marked the early careers of, e.g., Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin.

·      Stevie Wonder (1973) “Jesus Children of America.” Innervisions. Tamla Motown. (Also “Superstition”.)

 

(On the recent star-studded “God Only Knows” video, Wonder was the only singer who used melismata! The new recording of the 1966 Beach Boys hit marks the launch of BBC Music - “an ambitious wave of new programmes, innovative partnerships and ground-breaking music initiatives”. The song will be released as a single to raise money for the BBC’s Children in Need appeal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqLTe8h0-jo)

 

·      Aretha Franklin (1973) “Angel”. Atlantic

 

Melismata are also common in contemporary R&B, especially by female singers, such as Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, as well as Beyonce (Knowles) and Christina Aguilera. Here, the use of melismata is more pronounced.

·      Whitney Houston (1992) “I will always love you”. The Bodyguard. (Original soundtrack) Covers Dolly Parton’s 1974 original (less melismata!)

 

·      Mariah Carey (1993) “Without you”. Music Box. Columbia. Covers Harry Nillson’s 1971 original (less melismata!)

 

More recently (2012), there has been reaction against melismatic singing because it’s been ‘overdone’. Judges on shows such as ‘X-Factor’ and ‘Idol’ have banned performers who they regard as merely attempting to mimic Whitney Houston.

(BBC News magazine. 15/2/12. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17039208)

 

 

GLISSANDO (PLURAL ‘GLISSANDI’)

A glide from one pitch to another. On stringed instruments and brass instruments (e.g. trombone, trumpet and - less so - saxophone), the notes aren’t separate. On keyboards, and harps (koras!) a glissando is a sequence of separate notes, each made by a separate key/string, but the faster the glissando, the harder it is to hear the separate notes. The same is true of a glissando on a clarinet.

·      Paul Whiteman & his Orchestra (1924?) Rhapsody in Blue. Victor.

 

Bandleader Paul Whiteman commissioned ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ from George Gershwin and the piece received its premiere in 1924 by Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing piano. Whiteman (with Gershwin) made two recordings of abridged versions in 1924 and 1927. The original 1924 ‘theater orchestra’ setting was published in 1926, and an unabridged ‘symphony orchestra’ setting was published in 1942 (though completed earlier). Since the mid-20th century, the 1942 ‘symphony orchestra’ version is favoured.

 

Players of stringed instruments create glissandi by stretching a string to ‘bend’ notes. For example, Imrat Khan (surbahar) and Danny Thompson (double bass).

 

·      Imrat Khan (1969) “Rag Marva”. Music from India Series (No.10). EMI.

 

·      Danny Thompson (1987) ‘Tilll Minne Av Jam’. Whatever. Hannibal.

Features Tony Roberts (sax) and Bernie Holland (guitar).

 

(Ten ‘Danny Thompson: bass samples:

http://www.loopmasters.com/product/details/415/Danny_Thompson_Double_Bass)

 

Players of stringed instruments can also create glissandi by sliding their fingers or a metal, glass or resin ‘slide’ along one or more strings. Each of you probably has a favourite example of the slide technique: this is one of mine.

·       John Fahey (1965) ‘The Death of the Clayton Peacock’. The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death. Takoma

 

My final example of glissandi combines ‘bending’ with ‘sliding’.

·      Jeff Lang (2010) ‘Niger Blues’. Djan Djan. Indies Aus/Zoom/ABC.

(With Mamadou Diabate [kora], Bobby Singh [tabla])

 

(See Bob Brozman's collaboration with kora player Djeli Moussa Diawara; with Indian slide master Debashish Bhattacharya; and with Lang. See also Ry Cooder’s collaboration with V.M. Bhatt; Cooder’s collaboration with Ali Farka Toure ; and Jeff Lang’s appearance on Vieux Farka Toure's recent live album.)

 

 

GELATO (PLURAL: ‘GELATI’)

Italian – “ice cream” (L. "gelātus" - “frozen”); ice cream made in traditional Italian style with milk, cream, and sugars, plus flavouring (e.g. fresh pureed fruit and nuts). Generally lower in calories, fat & sugar than other ice creams.