plainsong
or plain song
the unisonous vocal music used in the Christian church from the earliest times.
modal liturgical music; Gregorian chant.
a cantus firmus or theme chosen for contrapuntal development.
any simple and unadorned melody or air.
Origin of plainsong
1- Also called plainchant (for defs. 1, 2).
Words Nearby plainsong
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use plainsong in a sentence
He appears familiar with the plainsong, and has based a symphony and portions of a quartet on Gregorian modes.
Musical Portraits | Paul RosenfeldAnd Winchester, too, has all and more than all, the surprise of the plainsong; the better you know it the more you are impressed.
England of My Heart--Spring | Edward HuttonDescant in music is the melodious accompaniment to a simple theme, the plainsong or ground.
Bussy D'Ambois and The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois | George ChapmanThere was a chapel in the house, of a High Anglican kind, where vestments and incense were used, and plainsong sung.
Hugh | Arthur Christopher BensonFlorid music, or all church music that is not plainsong, or its Lutheran equivalent the chorale-melody.
Bach | Charles Francis Abdy Williams
British Dictionary definitions for plainsong
/ (ˈpleɪnˌsɒŋ) /
the style of unison unaccompanied vocal music used in the medieval Church, esp in Gregorian chant: Also called: plainchant
Origin of plainsong
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse