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GENERAL HISTORICAL SITUATION (c. 800) 141
The musical history of western Europe at this period has its centre
of gravity in Charlemagne's empire, and particularly in France. The
consequence of the change just mentioned was that ecclesiastical
chant was in future regulated by the Gregorian antiphonary. Indeed
the liturgical chant books preserved in different countries after the
end of the ninth century show a remarkable unity of melodic tradi
tion, particularly in the Mass. From that time the repertory of
liturgical chant could admit additions only in the shape of offices
required for new feasts or commemorations. The logical result would
have been the throttling of all creative effort in the field of church
music; but that could hardly be accepted in an age so devoted to
music. An outlet for musical invention was therefore found within
the liturgy, and a compromise was agreed on with the ecclesiastical
authorities: hence the trope and the sequence an optional addition
which was merely tolerated by the Church and remained distinct from
the official Roman chant
We have a valuable account of the trope and sequence in the first
half of the ninth century from the famous liturgist Amalar of Metz.
He was, of course, an advocate of Roman chant: he had composed
his own antiphonary, using elements taken from a Roman antiphonary
preserved at Corbie and another at Metz, where the Roman chant had
been introduced as early as the eighth century, and adding ingredients
to be found in neither of them. There is still no absolute fixity at this
stage, but the general plan is definitely Roman, though Amalar also
refers to some Gallican practices which had persisted. He mentions
the interpolations which we are discussing only as melismata, but
among them are some which were later on provided with texts. For
these melismata he uses the words melodiae, sequentia, and neuma,
but not tropus. We may say that his conception represents an inter
mediate stage: he neither treats the melodies merely as a concern of
the singers nor singles them out as a special category.
In referring to the Alleluia of the Mass Amalar speaks of 'haec
jubilatio quam sequentiam vocant' (this jubilation which is called
the *
1 We may remember that this expression occurred
sequence 5
).
also in the second Ordo Romanus? Again, when speaking of the
vespers for Easter Day in Rome Amalar says that the Alleluia is
sung *
cum omni supplemento et excellentia versuum et sequentiarum*
(richly supplemented and adorned with verses and sequences). 3 In
another passage, which has also frequently been quoted, he speaks of
1 Patrologia Latina, cv. 1123.
a Ordo V in Andrieu's enumeration (see p. 139).
8 Patrologia Latina, cv. 1295.