18/8 time

Subject: 18/8 time
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 29 Dec 05 - 11:25 AM

Once upon a time, I found a nifty medieval Spanish song evocative of pilgrim marching, and then I lost sight of it. Our beloved flute player wanted to play it again, and eventually I found it on this site:

http://www.amaranthpublishing.com/LlibreVermell.htm

The site is most interesting, and it contains MIDI's to download, MIDI's of tunes written down around 1399. Talk about golden oldies, eh?

The song I was looking for is "O Virgo Splendens", and when I downloaded it to Noteworthy, it came out in 18/8 time. Quaint, but it would never fly with the gang - too easy to lose your place. So I changed it to 6/8.

I hope other catters will check out this site and perhaps play this interesting music. Some of the pieces sound complicated but are nothing but rounds. I find it delightful to picture pilgirms singing these by the light of torches or candles on the grounds of Montserrat.

Subject: RE: 18/8 time
From: mooman
Date: 29 Dec 05 - 12:47 PM

Some nice tunes leeneia!

Have already tried out Cunctu Sumus on my mandola with very pleasing results.

Peace

moo

Subject: RE: 18/8 time
From: curmudgeon
Date: 29 Dec 05 - 02:40 PM

Rather than 6/8, try it as a slip jig in 9/8.

Subject: RE: 18/8 time
From: Tootler
Date: 29 Dec 05 - 05:29 PM

I suspect 9/4 would be more correct, unless the sequencers have reduced the note values.

Subject: RE: 18/8 time
From: mooman
Date: 29 Dec 05 - 05:42 PM

9/4 sounds closer to me.

Peace

moo

Subject: RE: 18/8 time
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 30 Dec 05 - 11:46 AM

Thanks an interesting thought. I've been trying it both ways.

If only I had the words.

Subject: RE: 18/8 time
From: MMario
Date: 30 Dec 05 - 11:53 AM

O Virgo splendens hic in monte celso
miraculis serrato fulgentibus ubique.
quem fidelis conscendunt universi.
eya, pietatis occulo placato,
cene ligatos fune peccatorum
ne infernorum ictibus graventur,
sed cum beatis tua prece vecentur

Subject: RE: 18/8 time
From: Pied Piper
Date: 30 Dec 05 - 12:03 PM

Each strain has 6 3x1/8 note phrases including the pause at the end, which makes 18/8. To my ear it does not have a 9/8-phrase structure but you might write it as 6 Bars of 3/8.

Nice tune.

PP

Subject: RE: 18/8 time
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 30 Dec 05 - 11:21 PM

MMario, thanks so much for posting those words. I appreciate it. Where did you find them?

Subject: RE: 18/8 time
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 31 Dec 05 - 08:10 PM

Text alone is available at various websites, and modern, "interpreted" staff notation can be found in 18/8: (http://maucamedus.net/PDF/montserrat01.pdf, with words)

9/8: (http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/O_Virgo_splendens_%28Anonymous%29: a MUS file, with words, which I doubt Noteworthy will open)

6/8: (http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/Hendricks/Llibre/o_virgo.pdf, with words).

The least obviously mediated transcription I've found is at http://www.spielleut.de/Noten/ovirgo.pdf. This would seem to confirm that the original notation (unsurprisingly, given the period) was unbarred and included no time or key signature indications.

Subject: RE: 18/8 time
From: Kaleea
Date: 01 Jan 06 - 04:14 AM

The plainsong back then was sung with no particular meter. The syllable was sung on the given note, and there was usually a pause for a breath only at the end of a phrase or sometimes even the entire song. The short vertical mark " ' " you see on the score between some of the notes is where you would take a breath. The advent song commonly found in modern hymnals, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is an example of that type of song--except in our modern hymnals it is usually metered in Common Time (4/4). It was originally sung with all those notes going along & having no meter (time signature) with a pause just prior to "Rejoice, Rejoice" and then continuing till the end. You sure had to have good lungs!