IMC 2024: Sessions
Session 802: Sacred Gestures over Time: Unveiling Latin, Byzantine, Qur'anic, and Jewish Chant Practices from the Middle Ages Onward
Tuesday 2 July 2024, 16:30-18:00
| Organiser: | Kristin Hoefener, Centro de Estudos de Sociologia e Estética Musical (CESEM), Universidade Nova de Lisboa |
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| Moderator/Chair: | William T. Flynn, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds |
| Paper 802-a | A Guiding Hand: Instruction and Performance in Medieval Liturgical Chant (Language: English) Index terms: Liturgy, Music, Performance Arts - General and Teaching the Middle Ages |
| Paper 802-b | A Hands-On Culture?: Chanting with the Help of Gestures in Byzantium (Language: English) Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Liturgy, Music and Performance Arts - General |
| Paper 802-c | Reciting Grief and Singing Joy (Language: English) Index terms: Islamic and Arabic Studies, Music and Performance Arts - General |
| Abstract | Various cultural, historical, and religious factors shaped the evolution of the performance practice of sacred chant traditions in Eastern and Western Christendom, Islam, and Judaism. Some of these techniques have been carefully preserved, while others have evolved further, sometimes pushed by significant events in history like reforms, changes of rulers, wars, etc. Therefore, the present session will include the following topics: • The role of the hand in the performance of Latin and Byzantine chant • The inner attitude when reciting the Qur’an • Recitation practices for sacred texts other than the Torah For the Christian West, hand gestures were used during the Middle Ages for conducting and teaching since late Antiquity. Singers and musical leaders of religious communities used their hand all the time for preparing and performing the daily liturgy. In Byzantium, the performance practice was determined by the precentors and usually conveyed to the choir with the help of specific hand gestures. Thus, a sophisticated system was developed to indicate a melodic line and sometimes even intervals with cheironomy. Following medieval texts, the melodic recitation of the Qur’ān asks for an inner attitude of grief (huzn) in order to perform from a humble disposition, but also for an emotional response (weeping). Recitation practices of Ashkenazi Jewish prayer are studied by Judit Frigyesi Niran in an ethnographic way. |