Inchoatio

Introit of the Requiem : Inchoatio at the beginning of the psalm verse, over the syllables Te decet

The Inchoatio ( Latin for “beginning”), also Initium , is a detail of the psalm-modifying singing in Gregorian chant . The first verse of the psalm begins with the inchoatio after the antiphon .

In Gregorian chant, it is understood to be a melody figure that connects the final tone of the antiphon with the recitation tone in the respective church key at the beginning of a psalm verse . The inchoatio consists of two or three notes or neumes over a corresponding number of syllables and is only sung at the beginning of the first psalm verse after the antiphon. The following psalm verses begin with the recitation tone without inchoatio.

In some cantica in the Liturgy of the Hours ( Benedictus , Magnificat and Nunc dimittis ) each psalm verse begins with the Inchoatio .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Liber Usualis Missae et Officii per Dominicis et Festis. Parisii, Tornaci, Romae 1954, p. XIV.