Hypophrygian mode
Encyclopedia
The Hypophrygian mode, literally meaning 'below Phrygian', is a musical mode
or diatonic scale
in medieval chant theory, the fourth mode of church music. This mode is the plagal
counterpart of the authentic third mode, which was called Phrygian. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance this mode was described in two ways: the diatonic scale from B to B an octave above, divided at the mode final E (B–C–D–E + E–F–G–A–B); and as a mode with final E and ambitus
from the A below to the C above. The note A above the final (the tenor of the corresponding fourth psalm tone) had an important melodic function (Powers 2001b, 38). The melodic range of the ecclesiastical Hypophrygian mode therefore goes from the perfect fourth
or fifth
below the tonic to the perfect fifth or minor sixth above.
The name Hypophrygian originates in an octave species
of ancient Greek
music theory. According to Aristoxenus
, this octave species was originally described around the year 400 BC by the Harmonicist school of Eratocles in terms of the enharmonic genus
of the tetrachord
: a series of rising intervals of two quarter tone
s followed by a ditone
, together spanning a perfect fourth
. The Dorian
octave species begins with this tetrachord, which is followed by a whole tone and another tetrachord to complete the octave with a pattern of ¼, ¼, 2, 1, ¼, ¼, and 2 tones. This pattern is rotated downward one degree for the Hypolydian
, and one more for the Hypophrygian, for an octave species of 2, 1, ¼, ¼, 2, ¼, and ¼ tones (Barker 1989, 15).
The name was appropriated by Ptolemy of Alexandria
for one of his seven tonoi, or transposition keys. Ptolemy's system differed from the earlier Aristoxenian model, which had thirteen transpositional levels each a semitone from its neighbours. Ptolemy substituted a diatonic sequence of seven transpositions pitched either a whole tone or a semitone apart. The entire double-octave scale system was then transposed onto each of these relative pitch levels, requiring (in modern terms) a different key signature in each case, and therefore a different sequence of whole and half steps in the fixed central octave span. The Hypophrygian transposition was the second-lowest of these, a whole tone above the Hypodorian. A whole tone higher was the Hypolydian, followed a semitone higher still by the Dorian, then after another whole tone by the Phrygian, and so on (Powers 2001c; Richter 2001). Four centuries later, the term was taken from Ptolemy in exactly the same sense by Boethius, who described these seven names as "toni, tropi, vel modi" (tones, tropes or modes) in the fourth book of his De institutione musica. In the late 9th century, in the Carolingian treatises Alia musica and in a commentary on it called the Nova expositio, this set of seven terms, supplemented by an eighth name, "Hypermixolydian", was given a new sense, designating a set of diatonic octave species, described as the tonal embodiments of the eight modes of Gregorian chant (Powers 2001a).
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
or diatonic scale
Diatonic scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note, octave-repeating musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps for each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps...
in medieval chant theory, the fourth mode of church music. This mode is the plagal
Plagal mode
A Plagal mode may mean different church chanting modes, depending on the context.-In Western Practice:A plagal mode is a musical mode, which is one of four Gregorian modes whose range includes the octave from the fourth below the tonic, or final, to the fifth above...
counterpart of the authentic third mode, which was called Phrygian. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance this mode was described in two ways: the diatonic scale from B to B an octave above, divided at the mode final E (B–C–D–E + E–F–G–A–B); and as a mode with final E and ambitus
Ambitus (music)
Ambitus is a Latin term literally meaning "the going round", and in Medieval Latin means the "course" of a melodic line, most usually referring to the range of scale degrees attributed to a given mode, particularly in Gregorian chant. It may also refer to the range of a voice, instrument, or piece...
from the A below to the C above. The note A above the final (the tenor of the corresponding fourth psalm tone) had an important melodic function (Powers 2001b, 38). The melodic range of the ecclesiastical Hypophrygian mode therefore goes from the perfect fourth
Perfect fourth
In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...
or fifth
Perfect fifth
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...
below the tonic to the perfect fifth or minor sixth above.
The name Hypophrygian originates in an octave species
Octave species
In early Greek music theory, an octave species is a sequence of incomposite intervals making up a complete octave...
of ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
music theory. According to Aristoxenus
Aristoxenus
Aristoxenus of Tarentum was a Greek Peripatetic philosopher, and a pupil of Aristotle. Most of his writings, which dealt with philosophy, ethics and music, have been lost, but one musical treatise, Elements of Harmony, survives incomplete, as well as some fragments concerning rhythm and...
, this octave species was originally described around the year 400 BC by the Harmonicist school of Eratocles in terms of the enharmonic genus
Enharmonic genus
The enharmonic genus has historically been the most mysterious and controversial of the three Greek genera of tetrachords. Its characteristic interval is a major third, leaving the remainder of the tetrachord to be divided by two intervals smaller than a semitone...
of the tetrachord
Tetrachord
Traditionally, a tetrachord is a series of three intervals filling in the interval of a perfect fourth, a 4:3 frequency proportion. In modern usage a tetrachord is any four-note segment of a scale or tone row. The term tetrachord derives from ancient Greek music theory...
: a series of rising intervals of two quarter tone
Quarter tone
A quarter tone , is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale, an interval about half as wide as a semitone, which is half a whole tone....
s followed by a ditone
Ditone
In music, a ditone is the interval 81:64, which is 407.82 cents. It is the major third in Pythagorean tuning. The ditone is evenly divisible by two major tones and is wider than a just major third by a syntonic comma...
, together spanning a perfect fourth
Perfect fourth
In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...
. The Dorian
Dorian mode
Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different musical modes or diatonic scales, the Greek, the medieval, and the modern.- Greek Dorian mode :...
octave species begins with this tetrachord, which is followed by a whole tone and another tetrachord to complete the octave with a pattern of ¼, ¼, 2, 1, ¼, ¼, and 2 tones. This pattern is rotated downward one degree for the Hypolydian
Hypolydian mode
The Hypolydian mode, literally meaning "below Lydian", is the common name for the sixth of the eight medieval church modes . The name is taken from Ptolemy of Alexandria's term for one of his seven tonoi, or transposition keys...
, and one more for the Hypophrygian, for an octave species of 2, 1, ¼, ¼, 2, ¼, and ¼ tones (Barker 1989, 15).
The name was appropriated by Ptolemy of Alexandria
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
for one of his seven tonoi, or transposition keys. Ptolemy's system differed from the earlier Aristoxenian model, which had thirteen transpositional levels each a semitone from its neighbours. Ptolemy substituted a diatonic sequence of seven transpositions pitched either a whole tone or a semitone apart. The entire double-octave scale system was then transposed onto each of these relative pitch levels, requiring (in modern terms) a different key signature in each case, and therefore a different sequence of whole and half steps in the fixed central octave span. The Hypophrygian transposition was the second-lowest of these, a whole tone above the Hypodorian. A whole tone higher was the Hypolydian, followed a semitone higher still by the Dorian, then after another whole tone by the Phrygian, and so on (Powers 2001c; Richter 2001). Four centuries later, the term was taken from Ptolemy in exactly the same sense by Boethius, who described these seven names as "toni, tropi, vel modi" (tones, tropes or modes) in the fourth book of his De institutione musica. In the late 9th century, in the Carolingian treatises Alia musica and in a commentary on it called the Nova expositio, this set of seven terms, supplemented by an eighth name, "Hypermixolydian", was given a new sense, designating a set of diatonic octave species, described as the tonal embodiments of the eight modes of Gregorian chant (Powers 2001a).
Further reading
- Gissel, Siegfried. 1991. "Die Modi Phrygius, Hypophrygius und Phrygius connexus: Ein Beitrag zu den 'in mi' Tonarten um 1600". Musica Disciplina 45:5–94.
- Tilton, Mary C. 1989. "The Influence of Psalm Tone and Mode on the Structure of the Phrygian Toccatas of Claudio Merulo". Theoria 4:106–22.