Litterae significativae
Litterae significativae are special letters written in Carolingian minuscule in the neumen manuscripts of the Sankt Gallen family for melodic, rhythmic or other interpretive instructions in Gregorian chant . The literal translation from Latin means something like indicative letters . They are also called Romanus letters (litterae Romanae).
The neumes sketch the melody of a Gregorian chant and were supplemented with the Litterae significativae, for example, in order to specify subsequent notes or to indicate expansions. The chronicler Ekkehard from St. Gallen attributed the introduction of the Litterae signifivativae in his section of the Casus Sancti Galli (around 1040) to the Roman musician and monk Romanus. Notker I. († 912) explained the meaning of the individual letters or letter combinations and sequences in a letter.
| Letter (s) | Abbreviation of | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| a | altius | higher |
| a | augere | enlarge |
| b | level | Well |
| cõ | conjunctim | connected |
| c | celeriter | fast |
| d | depression | is humiliated |
| German | duplicatur | is doubled |
| e / eq | equaliter | same, just |
| f | Fremditus, frangor | Noise (loud sound) |
| fid | fideliter | firmly, sure |
| G | gutture | Sing with your throat |
| H | humiliter | low |
| i | inferius | deeper |
| iv | inferius valde | much deeper |
| k | clamor | Shouting (very loud sound) |
| l | levare | to lift |
| len | leniter | graceful |
| m / md | mediocriter | a little |
| minor | molliter | soft |
| n | non | Not |
| nt | non tenere | do not stand |
| p | parvum | small |
| p | perfect | perfectly |
| p | pressim | emphatically |
| par | ready | determined |
| pulcre | pulcre | beautiful |
| s | sursum / supra | up / over |
| simul | simul | (too) the same |
| sm | sursum mediocriter | a little up |
| st | statim | immediately |
| t | tenere | (withstand |
| tb | tenere level | hold up well |
| v | valde | very |
| x | expectare | waiting |
The letters a , l and s were particularly often used for ascending melodies, e for constant pitch and c and t for the duration of neumes. Some of the other letters appear very rarely. The Gregorian semiology concerned with deciphering the meaning of the neumes, which is simplified by specifying the significativae Litterae. The Romanus letters allow subtleties of Gregorian chant to be restored more precisely.
literature
- Eugène Cardine in collaboration with Godehard Joppich and Rupert Fischer : Gregorianische Semiologie , Päpstiches Institut Musica Sacra , Sankt Peter Solesmes (France), 2003, 180 pages, ISBN 2-85274-049-4
- J. Froger: L'Épître de Notker on the "lettres significatives". Edition critique , in Etudes Grégoriennes V , 1962, pages 23 to 71
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cod. Sang. 615, facsimile p. 141ff
- ↑ Eccardus (Sangallensis) . St. Gall Monastery stories / Ekkehard IV Translated by Hans F. Haefele, 3. unveränd. Aufl., Darmstadt 1991 ISBN 3-534-01417-0 Excerpt and German translation online
- ^ Notker's letter to Lantpertus