Topic: Tune Contest (March 3 - March 14): Plainchant

[Viking]

This month, I'd like you to write a song that uses plainchant.  For those who do not know what plainchant is, please see Wikipedia (although the audio example they give is not stellar).

Here are some characteristics of plainchant:

• Plainchant is (usually sacred) text sung to music, usually in Latin.
• Plainchant is usually sung in unison, but sometimes in fifths or octaves.
• Most of the notes are of the same duration, with some longer ones, particularly at the ends of phrases.  However, words often span multiple notes and are often of very different durations.
• Adjacent notes within a plainchant are usually closely spaced -- one or two tones apart, although occasional skips of more than that are not uncommon.
• Plainchant usually uses free meter -- i.e. no time signature.

Some examples are:

• The Christmas carol, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, is based on a plainchant (hence the irregular time signature), although it is sometimes regularized nowadays.
• Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols uses plainchant for its processional and recessional (Hodie Christus Natus Est).
• Loreena McKennitt's The Mystic's Dream uses wordless metered plainchant in fifths.
• Various selections from Enigma use plainchant extensively.
• Quite a few movie soundtracks use plainchant.  I believe the Lord of the Rings soundtrack is one of them, but I'm not quite sure.

So, without further ado, here are the rules:

• You may write a song of any genre.
• The song must include at least one plainchant of at least sixteen notes.  Longer is fine.
• For ease of integration with popular music styles, you may use metered plainchant if you wish.
• You may use a previously composed plainchant (e.g. a Roman Catholic plainchant) or make up your own, so long as it is generally recognizable as a plainchant.
• The plainchant must use a synthesized wordless choir or voice sample, or must be a recording of an actual choir or voice singing actual words.  Post-processing is fine -- but the general idea is that the plainchant must actually sound like a plainchant.
• The plainchant may be accompanied by other instrumentation, drums, etc.
• The song must be at least one minute long.
• All entries must be posted here by 12am Alaska Time (GMT-0900), Monday March 15th.

Have fun!

[edited to clarify the deadline as the end of Sunday, March 14th instead of the end of Saturday, March 13th]

[Anian]

By LOTR you mean something along Pippin's song (the one hobbit sings to the Steward of Gondr in third movie, All shall fade or something)? Something along those lines?

[Viking]

Yes, that's quite similar to plainchant, although it seems somewhat Celtic-influenced.  For example, there's ornamentation before some of the notes, and the notes are not mostly the same length (although you can see examples of both ornamentation and non-uniform durations in later plainchant and organum).

For a good example of what I mean by plainchant, play the audio on the Wikipedia chant page.

[Le Woltaire]

Missa:
http://spectrum.agsarchives.com/music/vocal.mp3
Sorry, I don't have a choir...

[Calin Leafshade]

I suppose this isnt technically an entry since its a cover.. but it was fun to make anyway.

http://www.thethoughtradar.com/songs/GhostofTom.mp3

Also I realise I'm not doing my status as a man any favours by posting choir boy singing.

[Viking]

Just a reminder that there are only two days left in this competition!  Don't be shy, go ahead and enter!

[Questionable]

Just a reminder that there are only two days left in this competition!  Don't be shy, go ahead and enter!

Uploading now...

UPDATE: http://www.box.net/shared/p2cc23no3c
Download available at Link

[Phemar]

Just a reminder that there are only two days left in this competition!  Don't be shy, go ahead and enter!

Isn't today the 13th?

[Questionable]

Just a reminder that there are only two days left in this competition!  Don't be shy, go ahead and enter!

Isn't today the 13th?

I think that TECHNICALLY, the official deadline is the 14th:

"All entries must be posted here by 12am Alaska Time (GMT-0900), Monday March 14th. "

[Viking]

@Phemar:

Hmmm, good point.  Actually, I intended to end the contest at the end of Sunday, the 14th.  I guess I should have checked my calendar more closely!

To clear up the confusion, I'll make the deadline be the end of Sunday the 14th, so that all entries must be posted here by 12am Alaska Time (GMT-0900), Monday March 15th.  I've edited the original post accordingly.

[Viking]

And the winners are...

With the silver, Questionable with the Gregorian Rave.

And with the gold, Le Woltaire with his Missa.  Please feel free to start a new contest!

Calin, I really liked your song!  It's a shame you didn't enter.

Sorry, I didn't have time to make trophies for this contest.

[Questionable]

I made you a trophy Le Wolt! If you like it, you might want to save it and upload it elsewhere as IMGShack tends to delete images after a short period of time.

[Le Woltaire]

Argh...
I always hate it when I win this...
I usually try to make my entries as shitty as possible so I am allowed to partecipate in the next one...
My tune was almost a cover version as well by the way...
Thanks.