Bernardus Claraevallensis (Bernard of Clairvaux)
(The Tonary)
Ecclesiastical writers on music, especially sacred music, published by Martin Gerbert, Abbot of St. Blaise in the Black Forest. San-Blasian Press, 1784, quarto, vol. II, p. 265.
Prefatory Note
From a thirteenth-century manuscript of St. Blaise we publish this Tonary, which is found there anonymously, but is attributed by Homeyer in the Supplementum Patrum to St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Certainly, if not to Bernard himself, it can at least be attributed to one of the correctors of the chant and Cistercian Antiphonary working under the direction of St. Bernard. See also Mabillon's prefatory note on St. Bernard's treatise On the Correction of the Antiphonary, published by him in vol. II of Bernard's Works, p. 691.
Here Begins the Tonary
Student. What is a tonus (tone/mode)?
Master. A rule that determines the nature and form of regular chants.
Student. By what is the nature known, and by what is the form known?
Master. The nature consists in the disposition; the form in the composition and the progression.
Student. What do you call the disposition, what the progression, and what the composition?
Master. Disposition is the direct ordering of tones and semitones according to the natural position of the letters. Progression is the rising and falling of the melody. Composition, however, consists in lightness and gravity, in extension and turning back, in various windings and many varieties of digressions. You therefore know the nature of a chant if you have recognized what disposition it belongs to, or what maneria (mode-group) it falls under. You know the form once you have recognized whether it proceeds or is composed authentically or plagally.
Student. How many maneriae (mode-groups) are there?
Master. Four.
Student. How do they differ from one another?
Master. The first is that which ascends from the final by a tone and a semitone, and descends by a tone. The second ascends from the final by a semitone and a tone, and descends by a tone. The third ascends from the final by two tones, and descends by a semitone. The fourth ascends from the final by two tones, and descends by a tone.
Student. What do you call the final?
Master. Finals are the letters on which chants terminate.
Student. How many finals does each mode-group have?
Master. The first has two: D and a. The second has two: E and B-natural. The third has two: F and c. The fourth has only one, namely G.
Student. Are there as many tones as there are mode-groups?
Master. There are four mode-groups, but eight tones, which are contained under the mode-groups. Of these, the odd-numbered ones — namely the first, third, fifth, and seventh — are called authentic, since they are of greater dignity. The even-numbered ones — namely the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth tone — because they are of lesser dignity, are called plagal. Each mode-group contains one authentic mode and its plagal counterpart. The first contains the first and second, the second contains the third and fourth, the third contains the fifth and sixth, the fourth contains the seventh and eighth.
Student. What is the difference between authentic and plagal modes?
Master. An authentic mode can ascend beyond the note that is the sixth above the final; a plagal mode cannot. A plagal mode can descend more than one note below the final; an authentic mode cannot.
Student. By how many notes does the authentic mode surpass the plagal in its ascent, and how many notes is it surpassed by the plagal in its descent?
Master. By three.
Student. How many notes does a chant therefore span?
Master. Ten.
Student. Why?
Master. Because according to the disposition of tones and semitones that musicians employ, there is no chant that can be made within ten notes or fewer that cannot be notated; but a chant of eleven notes can be made that cannot be notated. Therefore it is not necessary for a chant to extend upward or downward into that zone of uncertainty.
Student. What kind of disposition do musicians employ?
Master. The first, fourth, and seventh letters have a tone on either side. The second and fifth have a tone below and a semitone above. The third and sixth have the reverse — namely a tone above and a semitone below — not omitting the use of b rotundum (B-flat) from time to time to avoid the harshness of the tritone.
Student. I ask about those chants that do not ascend beyond the sixth note above the final, nor descend below the first note below the final — are they authentic or plagal?
Master. Some of them are authentic, some plagal.
Student. What is the distinction between them?
Master. These are distinguished not by their progression but by a consideration of their composition. For any chant of this diminished and contracted range, if it begins on the fifth, or, frequenting the fifth, pauses on it, or, beginning on the final, leaps up to it — that chant is authentic; except that in the third tone the sixth takes the place of the fifth. Any chant, however, that does not exceed the fourth is without doubt plagal. But if it sometimes exceeds the fourth yet immediately draws back below it, making its pauses and turns beneath it, it is again plagal — unless it is evident that the chant possesses the characteristic composition of some authentic mode.
Student. What are those characteristic compositions?
Master. Examine the neume of the first tone, and you will find its characteristic composition in the neume. Without this, the antiphon Lex per Moysen and many similar ones would be entirely plagal. It is the same with the other authentic modes. Again, any chant of this diminished range that at its beginning ascends from the final to the fourth through a fully formed diatessaron (perfect fourth), and from there quickly returns to the final and pauses on it, is plagal. I specify this on account of certain beginnings of the seventh tone which, although they ascend through a fourth, immediately turn back and soon leap up to the fifth. By this rule the antiphon Petrus Apostolus is plagal, even though it may appear to possess the characteristic composition of its authentic counterpart.
Student. It remains for you to explain what makes a chant regular.
Master. To define it for you in a proper and convertible description: a regular chant is one that, being perfectly consonant with itself, certifies its own mode-group within itself.
Student. This definition is indeed brief, but it is obscure and needs explanation.
Master. That chant is perfectly consonant with itself in which the progression is not unfitting, the composition is not dissimilar to the progression or the disposition, and no opposition dissolves the composition.
Student. Give an example of each.
Master. In that chant there is an unfitting progression in which a plagal descent is joined to an authentic ascent. Such a chant, proceeding recklessly and transgressing the proper boundaries on both sides, attaches a horse's tail to a human head. Stained by this blemish of vice are the responsories Sancte Paule, Cornelius, and many other chants, concerning which, that we might walk without blemish, we have worked to do justice. A chant also progresses unfittingly when it has too contracted a range; for just as there are limits beyond which it ought not ascend, so there are notes to which it must necessarily ascend. For it is certain of every authentic mode that it must ascend to the fifth. A plagal mode, moreover, must be raised at least to the fourth, or at minimum to that note on which its Saeculorum Amen begins. Take, for example, the antiphon Clamavi as it is sung in the fourth tone: when it is finished, if you begin its Saeculorum, you will make a ridiculous and dissonant leap. For that antiphon does not ascend beyond low F, but the Saeculorum begins on high a. For this reason we have given a more extended ascent to certain antiphons that were defective in this regard, namely Dele Domine, Omnis terra, Si iniquitates, and similar ones.
Student. Proceed, so that what follows may be illuminated with similar clarity.
Master. In that chant the composition contradicts the progression which, having an authentic composition everywhere, inserts a plagal descent somewhere. Such were Deus omnium, Sint lumbi, and many others, both antiphons and responsories. There are other chants in which the composition agrees with the progression but disagrees with the disposition, because according to the natural disposition of the letters they belong to one mode-group, but according to the similarity of their composition they appear and are said to be contained under another mode-group — such as Benedicta tu and many similar antiphons, which in nearly every tradition suffer from this defect: according to their natural disposition they belong to the first mode-group, and yet on account of the similarity of their composition they are called and believed to be of the second. The composition of that chant, however, is dissolved by opposition which is composed dissimilarly in its parts, so that in one part it appears to be of one tone and in another part of another tone — such were Beata Caecilia, Videntes Joseph, and Dedisti, Domine.
Student. Which chants are those that do not certify their own mode-group within themselves?
Master. Those that so lack the characteristic property of any mode-group that they can equally well be terminated on the finals of different mode-groups, and thus belong to different tones. Among their number were: Ecce sacerdos magnus and many other chants of the seventh tone; Visita nos and many of the eighth tone; Nazaraeus vocabitur and several of the fifth tone; Miserere mei Deus and several of the sixth tone.
Student. I would like you to explain those characteristic properties of the mode-groups, by which chants that rely upon them cannot waver among different finals.
Master. Those who composed chants defectively, or who afterward corrupted well-composed chants by notating or singing them badly — if they had known the properties you seek, so many improprieties of chant would not have arisen. To answer your question briefly, then: in no chant of the first or second mode-group should the semitone nearest to the final be omitted; it must be found somewhere at least once, and so the finals of those mode-groups cannot be interchanged. Similarly, all chants of the fifth tone must have a semitone below the final or below the fifth, or a tone above the sixth. All chants of the sixth tone require a semitone below the final or below the fifth. All chants of the seventh tone must have a semitone below the fourth, and besides this either a tone below the final or a semitone above the sixth; its plagal counterpart requires a semitone below the fourth and a tone below the final.
Student. Now that the matters which seem necessary for a knowledge of the tones have been set forth, you can more conveniently proceed to the teaching on each one individually.
Master. I have answered your questions as concisely as I could; I shall respond to the rest, if you have any, with the same diligence.
The First Tone
Student. What is the first tone?
Master. A rule determining the authentic mode of the first mode-group.
Student. What is that rule?
Master. Any regular chant that is authentically raised or composed, terminating on D or on a, is an authentic of the first mode-group. What constitutes an authentic range or composition has been stated above.
Student. What if some chant is authentically raised but does not have an authentic composition, but rather a plagal one?
Master. Such a chant is claimed by ancient irregularity, and is as entirely foreign to our present practice as it is to the present discussion.
Student. How many differentiae does it have?
Master. Setting aside the superfluous multiplications sung by others, three differentiae seem necessary to some. The first serves solemn and low beginnings; the second, light and high beginnings; the third, moderate beginnings. However, through the insistence of certain people who indiscreetly pursued brevity, the differentia that properly suits low beginnings and is sung in the first tone — namely the Amen — was abandoned, and we use the remaining two in this tone, as the formula below shows. For the third differentia, which is adapted to the antiphon Nos qui vivimus, was retained more by will than by reason. For since they rejected the one that was not only so proper but also lighter and more commonly used, by what reason did they retain this one for only a single psalm? Would that they had at least been content with this one alone in the first tone, since it expresses the property of the first tone and cannot serve any other tone. For of the remaining two differentiae, neither claim is true.
Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Primum quaerite regnum Dei. A. Ave Maria. A. Mulieres. A. Ecce nomen. A. Angeli Domini. A. Venit lumen. A. Adjutorium. A. Speciosus. A. Christi virgo. A. Isti sunt. A. Biduo vivens. A. O quantus luctus. A. Euge serve. A. In medio. A. Cum sublevasset. Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Vidi Dominum. A. Ecce vere. A. Apertis. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto. A. Nos qui vivimus. Gloria saeculorum amen.
The Second Tone
Student. What is the second tone?
Master. A rule determining the plagal mode of the first mode-group.
Student. What is that rule?
Master. Any regular chant that is plagally disposed or composed, ending on D or on a, is a plagal of the first mode-group. What constitutes a plagal range or composition has been stated above.
Student. How many differentiae does it have?
Master. Only one, serving all its beginnings quite suitably, as is evident in the following:
Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Secundum autem simile est huic. A. Isti sunt sancti. A. O sapientia. In universa terra. A. In omnem terram. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto.
The Third Tone
Student. What is the third tone?
Master. A rule determining the authentic mode of the second mode-group.
Student. What is that rule?
Master. Any regular chant that is authentically raised or composed, terminating on E or on B-natural, is an authentic of the second mode-group.
Student. How many differentiae does it have?
Master. Two: one assigned to lower beginnings, the other to higher beginnings, each quite suitably, as the formula below shows.
Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Tertia dies est quo haec facta sunt. A. Cum fortis armatus. A. Nigra sum. A. Malos male. A. Quoniam. A. Domine. A. Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Qui de terra est. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto.
The Fourth Tone
Student. What is the fourth tone?
Master. A rule determining the plagal mode of the second mode-group.
Student. What is that rule?
Master. Any regular chant that is plagally disposed or composed, ending on E or on B-natural, is a plagal of the second mode-group.
Student. How many differentiae does it have?
Master. Two: one for the beginnings of chants that proceed in a measured manner, and the other suited to all the rest, as the description below shows.
Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Quarta vigilia venit ad eos. A. Laudabo. A. Nos scientes. A. Rubum quem viderat. A. Stetit Angelus. A. Iste cognovit. Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Oculi mei. A. In prole matris. A. Nisi diligenter. A. In domum. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto.
The Fifth Tone
Student. What is the fifth tone?
Master. A rule determining the authentic mode of the third mode-group.
Student. What is that rule?
Master. Any regular chant that is authentically raised or composed, terminating on F or on c, is an authentic of the third mode-group.
Student. How many differentiae does it have?
Master. Only one, suited to all its beginnings, as is shown below.
Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Quinque prudentes intraverunt ad nuptias. A. Confitebor Domino. A. In conspectu angelorum. A. In sole posuit. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto.
The Sixth Tone
Student. What is the sixth tone?
Master. A rule determining the plagal mode of the third mode-group.
Student. What is that rule?
Master. Any regular chant that is plagally disposed or composed, ending on F or on c, is a plagal of the third mode-group.
Student. How many differentiae does it have?
Master. One, agreeable to all its beginnings, as the formula below declares.
Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Sexta hora sedit super puteum. A. O admirabile commercium. A. Benedictus Dominus. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto.
The Seventh Tone
Student. What is the seventh tone?
Master. A rule determining the authentic mode of the fourth mode-group.
Student. What is that rule?
Master. Any regular chant that is authentically raised or composed, terminating on G, is an authentic of the fourth mode-group.
Student. How many differentiae does it have?
Master. Two: one serving beginnings that are made on the fifth or leap to it; the other suited to beginnings that ascend from the final by certain steps to the fifth, as is evident below.
Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Septem sunt spiritus ante thronum Dei. A. Omnes sitientes. Veterem hominem. A. Argentum. A. Vivit Dominus. Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Dixerunt discipuli. A. Ierusalem. A. Benedicta tu. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto.
The Eighth Tone
Student. What is the eighth tone?
Master. A rule determining the plagal mode of the fourth mode-group.
Student. What is that rule?
Master. Any regular chant that is plagally disposed or composed, terminating on G, is a plagal of the fourth mode-group.
Student. How many differentiae does it have?
Master. Two: one serving the beginnings of chants that start on the fourth above the final; the other assigned to all its remaining beginnings, as the following shows.
Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Octo sunt beatitudines. A. Scriptum est. A. Nuptiae. A. Adorate Dominum. A. Dum medium. A. Gloria saeculorum amen. A. Ecce ancilla. A. Dominus dixit. A. De profundis. A. In aeternum. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto.
Concluding Discussion on the Differentiae
Student. I recall that you said above, concerning the two differentiae of the first tone, that they do not express the property of their mode and can be adapted to another tone. I ask you: are the differentiae of the remaining modes set out above proper to their modes?
Master. Some of them are proper and competently devised, such as the differentia of the second tone, and the first differentia of the fourth, which are of the same tone as their antiphons. But the differentiae of the third tone are sung in the second tone, and can far more suitably be adapted to chants of the second tone than to those of the third, since they must terminate on the same finals. The differentia of the fifth is sung in the fourth tone, and the differentia of the seventh is likewise sung in the second. The differentiae of the sixth and eighth tones do not express the properties of their modes. Hence all of these are judged defective by the peripatetics among musicians; for the differentia ought to be of the same mode as the one to which it is assigned, so that the differentia and the antiphon are of the same mode, and the psalm is sung in the same mode. Have you understood all this?
Student. I have indeed understood, and what you say seems most true. For it is a mystery hidden from the ages, and a wondrous secret that it is not permitted for man to speak of, that the differentiae of the third and seventh tones are sung in the second tone, and the differentia of the fifth in the fourth.
Master. In this matter the original composition surely erred, or forgetfulness corrupted the composition.
Student. I am likewise amazed concerning the verses of the responsories, that they do not terminate on the same finals as their responsories, and are proved to be of a different tone — except for the verses of the sixth and eighth tones.
Master. To this it is customarily said that if the chant of the verse is judged by itself, it truly is of another mode; but it ought not be judged without that part of the responsory which is repeated, so that the chant of the verse and the repetition form one whole. Just as in responsories there are many phrases which, if judged by themselves, would be found both poorly composed and of another mode — and yet the entire responsory is one chant, even though it consists of diverse phrases that belong to different modes — so likewise the verse and repetition form one chant, composed of the one and the other. For this reason the repetition of the responsory ought to agree with the verse, both in text and in melody.
Student. Unless I am mistaken, this opinion is slippery and seems to be a kind of evasion, lacking the solid ground of truth. But now speaking from your own judgment: what do you think about the meters, the differentiae, and the verses? Bring it forth openly.
Master. What you ask is not a matter for the present discussion, since by decree of the holy Cistercian chapter, nothing may now be changed even in Guido's Antiphonary. Nevertheless, seek out the musical treatise of Guy of Eu, which he writes to his most holy master, Lord William, first abbot of Rievaulx. There you can be sufficiently instructed on such matters.