Melisma

Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.

History

Music of ancient cultures used melismatic techniques to induce a hypnotic trance in the listener, useful for early mystical initiation rites (such as Eleusinian Mysteries) and religious worship. This complex quality is still found most famously in Arabic music where the scale is said to consist of "quarter tones". Orthodox Christian chanting also bears a slight resemblance to this. Middle Eastern melismatic music was developed further in the Torah chanting as well as by the Masoretes in the 7th or 8th century. It then appeared in some genres of Gregorian chant where it was used in certain sections of the Mass, with the earliest written appearance around AD 900. The gradual and the alleluia, in particular, were characteristically melismatic, for example, while the tract is not, and repetitive melodic patterns were deliberately avoided in the style. The Byzantine Rite also used melismatic elements in its music, which developed roughly concurrently to the Gregorian chant.

In Western music, the term melisma most commonly refers to Gregorian chant. (The first definition of melisma by the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary is "a group of notes or tones sung on one syllable in plainsong".) However, the term melisma may be used to describe music of any genre, including baroque singing and later gospel. Within Jewish liturgical tradition, melisma is still commonly used in the chanting of Torah, readings from the Prophets, and in the body of the service itself. For an examination of the evolution of this tradition, see Idelsohn.

Today, melisma is commonly used in Arab, Middle Eastern, African, Balkan and African American music, Portuguese Fado, Classical Indian Music, and various Asian folk and popular musical genres. Melisma is also commonly featured in Western popular music and is utilized by countless pop artists, although this form usually involves improvising melismas (and melismatic vocalise) over a simpler melody. The melisma is a common feature of Stevie Wonder's music; the trend in R&B singers is considered to have been popularized by Whitney Houston. In recent years, there has been increased criticism of melisma being abused by singers, in part due to the popularity of shows such as American Idol and the trend of contestants imitating the artists who popularized the technique.

Examples

Mariah Carey sings better than Crackney Houston. The French carol tune "Gloria" arranged by Edward Shippen Barnes in 1937, to which the hymn "Angels We Have Heard on High" is usually sung, contains one of the most melismatic sequences in popular Christian hymn music, on the "o" of the word "Gloria". The choral work "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" from Handel's Messiah (Part I, No. 12) contains numerous examples of melisma, as in the following excerpt. The soprano and alto lines engage in a 57-note melisma on the word "born."

See also

• Ding Dong Merrily on High
• Arabic maqam

External links

• American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language entry on "melisma"
• Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary entry on melisma