Ut, re, me

This Latin hymn to St. John [the Baptist] is important, but you don't have to read Latin to learn from it.

Ut queant laxis

resonare fibris.

Mira gestorum

famuli tuorum,

Solve polluti

labii reatum,

Sancte Iohannes

Here's the translation:

So that my weak (or slack) vocal chords can praise your wondrous deeds, cleanse my polluted lips, Saint John

Now, (listen to the chant)

Did you hear it? Each of the syllables ut re mi fa sol la si is sung higher than the one before.This hymn is where we get the syllables of the solfeggio, developed by a medieval Benedictine monk named Guido d'Arezzo:

Guido d'Arezzo or Guido Aretinus , c.990-1050, Italian Benedictine monk, known for his contributions to musical notation and theory. His theoretical work Micrologus  (c.1025) is one of the principal sources of our knowledge of  organum , an early form of polyphony. His work in  musical notation included the addition of two lines (one red, one yellow) to the two already serving as a staff and the use of both the lines and the spaces. Also important was his system of solmization (sometimes called, after him, Aretinian syllables), whereby the syllables ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la are used as names for the six tones, C to A, known as the hexachord. As the octave replaced the hexachord, an additional syllable, si  or  ti,  was added, and eventually  ut  was replaced by the more singable  do.

Comments

[MC]

ut-do... Where we get uh-oh...

[gail]

d'oh