The scales found within diatonic
church modes have given rise to most of the tonal systems of Western Music.
Gil's treatise demonstrates a solid understanding of chant pedagogy with sections on related topics, even the "Ethos of the
Church Modes." Loewen concludes the chapter with a comparison of Bartholomaeus's definition of musical instruments, and a lengthy analysis of Franciscan musical iconography supplemented by corresponding full-color facsimiles from the Escorial Codex of Las Cantigas.
He writes that "one of the key achievements of Pentecostal/ charismatic worship is its influence on historic mission
church modes of worship" (31).
The music theory treatises in the third chapter span a wide range of dates and topics, from the mathematical treatment of intervals in Cassiodorus to Heinrich Glarean's twelve
church modes. With only one exception, the Old High German treatise of Notker Labeo (p.
I felt that the Classical/Opera and assorted hall and
church modes available from my Yamaha RX-Z1 receiver were a bit much for this material.
Memorization of these pieces may be difficult for a student because Huang writes in various Chinese keys, such as Gong and Shang, along with the traditional
church modes. The difficulty level is consistent throughout the set with the exception of the second movement from the Sonatina.
For them, this baggage includes church structures and
church modes of communication (White 2001) as well as the uses of the mass media in particular societies (Yeow, 1990).
"Mode" and "modality" were the preferred terms with which to analyze a repertory with ties to medieval
church modes. Tonal Structures in Early Music aims to debunk this convention once and for all by demonstrating that "mode" and its related words do not adequately portray compositional and performance practice as evidenced in musical manuscripts and theoretical treatises.
Part I provides a comprehensive account of the history of scales, modes and tuning systems: the Pythagorean scale, the tetrachords of ancient Greece, the
church modes, the Guidonian hexa-chord system, mean-tone temperament, major and minor modes, chromaticism, and twentieth-century modes and scales.
There are many scale types, including all the various minor scales,
Church modes, pentatonic scales, and more.
The section on music begins, not surprisingly, with the essential prerequisites for more advanced discussion, a primer on describing melodies and a refreshingly practical introduction to the
Church modes and psalm tones.
Some of the jazz lingo and the chapters dealing with ornamentation and scales other than major and minor (
church modes, blues scale and the like) are not likely to apply to a beginning student.