Virga (neume)
The virga (of Latin virga, ae : connect green, stem, rod) is a Neume elementary, simplest in Gregorian notation with the Punctum. The virga is equipped with a tail downwards.
The virga also seems notes in many the neumes made up, where it always corresponds to the melody top of the neume (and generally, with a rhythmic accent).
Origin
The virga is a graphic remainder of the time when only the direction of variation of the melody was noted, by an acute accent/for the notes representing a rise, and a grave accent \ for the notes representing a lowering compared to the remainder (remains word for the syllabic songs, or remains neume for the songs neumatic). The grave accent was transformed graphically into small feature horizontal - more or less reduced to a point, the acute accent preserved its lengthening all while being rectified, which finally gave rise to the vertical bar of the virga .
Interpretation
The virga can appear in two rather different contexts: like melody indication, or rhythmic indication.Melody indication
On an isolated syllable, it does nothing but indicate one melody height, higher than the note which precedes or which follows. This indication, which was important in cursive notation, is not significant any more in the “square” notation on four lines, where the height of the note is indicated directly. It is not logically never retranscribed in the square editions (vaticane or of Solesme), but frequently appears in the cursive transcriptions of the Graduale Triplex .
Rhythmic indication
At the beginning of group neumatic, the isolated virga plays an important rhythmic part to announce two consecutive attacks. In this position (for example, here, on the first word of the Alleluia Ostend nobis ), it is generally transcribed by a virga by the edition vaticane, and this virga is often pointed by the editions of Solesme.By itself it is a note supporting the attack, and strong as well in intensity as in duration. The note which follows it being also a note of attack, but generally shorter.
| Random links: | Trepanation | Stuart Immonen | Popular university of Caen | Bombita (Ricardo Torres Reina) | Rio Iruí | Helen_Maria_Williams |