cantus firmus

American  

[kan-tuhs fur-muhs] / ˈkæn təs ˈfɜr məs /

noun

1. the ancient traditional unisonal plainchant of the Christian Church, having its form set and its use prescribed by ecclesiastical tradition.

2. Music. a fixed melody to which other voices are added, typically in polyphonic treatment.

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Etymology

Origin of cantus firmus

1840–50; < Medieval Latin: literally, firm song

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cantus firmus

Each section is built on a simple cantus firmus — a brief, unharmonized chant — around which a rich, involving six-part harmonic fabric is woven.

From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2011

When the counterpoint is below the cantus firmus, the fifth of the chord needs special treatment.

From A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons by Friedrich Johann Lehmann

Write each three times, setting the cantus firmus in a different part in each solution.

From A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons by Friedrich Johann Lehmann

To cantus firmus a write two counterpoints above and two below, in the fourth species.

From A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons by Friedrich Johann Lehmann

Here it means the cantus firmus, the melody around which the old composers wove their contrapuntal ornamentation.

From Luther and the Reformation: The Life-Springs of Our Liberties by Joseph A. Seiss

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