332 On the Music of the Middle Ages. 
Rhythmical Chant in its simple or Psalmodic form. 
Metrical Chant in its syllabic form. 
Rhythmical Chant in its most elaborate form. 
Metrical and Rhythmical Chant united.! 
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I. 
The most simple form of the Psalmodic Chant is to be found in 
the eight tones for the Psalms, which in some form or another are 
well known to most musicians of the present day. These tones all con- 
sist of four parts, viz., the intonation,—the reciting note,—the media- 
tion,—and the termination. In the recitation the accent of language 
is the only thing to be attended to; but at the mediation and ter- 
mination each accented syllable of the text must be made to fall 
upon an accented note of the Music. 
The first illustration is the Doxology in the eighth Mode, with 
the second ending; and the second is in the first Mode, with the 
first ending. The Chant of the Te Deum is of very high antiquity, 
and has been subjected to scarcely any variation from its first 
introduction. 
II. 
With regard to the Metrical Music of antiquity, there is no doubt 
whatever that the ancient Poets composed the Music to which their 
verses were chanted. ‘J sing,’’ were the words with which they 
commenced their subject, and it would have been well for vocal 
Music if the unhappy divorce between Poet and Musician had 
never taken place. 
The object of the Poet being to add force to his language by 
uniting it with Music, he of course took care that the beat of the 
Music should be entirely subservient to the accent of the verse; 
and it is quite clear that the same principle guided the com- 
posers of the earliest Church Hymns; so that in all cases where they 
are purely syllabic there is no difficulty whatever in discovering 
the tune. 
1 For the sake of convenience the several Musical illustrations have been placed 
together at the end of this Lecture. 
