plain·song

(plān′sông′, -sŏng′)

n. Ecclesiastical

1. Gregorian chant.

2. Monophonic medieval liturgical music without strict meter and traditionally sung without accompaniment. In both senses also called plainchant.

[Translation of Medieval Latin cantus plānus.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

plainsong

(ˈpleɪnˌsɒŋ)

(Music, other) the style of unison unaccompanied vocal music used in the medieval Church, esp in Gregorian chant. Also called: plainchant

[C16: translation of Medieval Latin cantus plānus]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

plain•song

(ˈpleɪnˌsɔŋ, -ˌsɒŋ)

n.

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

[1505–15; translation of Medieval Latin cantus plānus]

plainsong

A nonmetrical church chant.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

plainsong - a liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church

Gregorian chant, plainchant

chant - a repetitive song in which as many syllables as necessary are assigned to a single tone

cantus firmus - a melody used as the basis for a polyphonic composition

Translations

canto gregoriano

plainsong

[ˈpleɪnsɒŋ] N → canto m llano

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

plainsong

[ˈpleɪnˌsɒŋ] n → canto piano

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

gobsmacked by the roar as the band played Plainsong from 1989's Disintegration.

SUMMER SESSIONS

Sharing some of the repertoire with the tour programme, the recording covers everything from the delightful simplicity of plainsong chants Resonemus Laudibus and Veni, Veni Emmanuel to the purity of Lassus' polyphonic Videntes Stellam Magi and Byrd's jubilant This Day Christ Was Born.

Afternoon of seasonal choral delights; PREVIEW: The Sixteen at Christmas, St David's Hall, Cardiff

Clive has also toured and recorded with Richard Thompson (1982 to 1992), Nanci Griffith (1996 to 2007), Eddi Reader and Boo Hewerdine (1993 and 1999) and Plainsong (1997).

Guitarist calls in at the Victoria

Despite his complaints about the heat, the band put on a spirited performance of 'Plainsong' before following up with their other 1989 classic, 'Pictures Of You'.

The Cure Celebrate 40th Anniversary!

Bloch to sing of her a funeral plainsong of profound appreciation, of

"I Speak for the Leaves": Tribute Issue for Chana Bloch (1940-2017)

In a hugely enjoyable collection of more than two dozen choral items Jeffrey Skidmore offered something for everyone, from the serious to the tastefully silly, plainsong to popular.

REVIEWS

MUSIC Iain Matthews Co-founder of Fairport Convention and Plainsong and one of the most enduring and engaging songwriters and musicians whose work spans decades.

YOUR NEXT 48 hours CARDIFF HOT LIST

There are monuments and battlegrounds to see, mission buildings built by the Indians they served and colorfully decorated by Mexican artists, exuberantly ornamented churches built by European immigrants wanting to feel a touch of home, quiet cloister gardens that invite contemplation, and places where nuns still wear the traditional habit of their order and chant the Divine Office in heavenly Gregorian plainsong.

101 Places to Pray Before You Die; A Roamin' Catholic's Guide

Distinguished by their unique tone, breath-taking homogeneity, musical authenticity and a good dose of charm and humour, the Amarcord has exceled in a vast and highly diverse repertoire of music, from mediaeval plainsong to madrigals and Renaissance masses, to compositions and cycles of works of the European Romantic period and the 20th century.

Doing it the a-capella way

Most commonly, however, his name is affixed to plainsong as he was the one who recodified the liturgy and reorganized the schola cantorum, a definite group of singers and teachers dedicated to the training of boys and men as church musicians.

Silence, solitariness, and Gregorian chant

His last book, Our Souls at Night (Vintage, $15, 192 pages, ISBN 9781101911921), is set in familiar territory: Holt, Colorado, the small town that has provided the backdrop for his previous books, including Plainsong (1999).

Written in the stars

Often dubbed the "Godfather of British country music", Hank Wangford and his compadre Brad Breath - aka Andy Roberts of Plainsong, The Scaffold, Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens, Kirsty MacColl and The Bonzos - are promising a "honky-tonkin' emotional rollercoaster with heartbreakers, tear jerkers and toe tappers" on Sunday, May 8, at 7.30pm in Saltburn Community Theatre, tickets PS15.

Gigs to get toes tapping