PLAIN CHANT MUSICAL. — In 1669 Henri Du Mont published five Masses that became universally celebrated.
It seems that he was also the inventor of the term used to designate those religious compositions of the 17th and 18th centuries which stand in opposition to polyphony because they are monodic, even though they do not derive from Gregorian chant. The origin of p. c. m. has not been precisely determined, and it is uncertain whether it originated in Italy.
P. c. m. presents itself as a compromise between Gregorian chant and modern taste, with the aim of offering easy pieces for all. It also claims to be simpler than Gregorian chant. From modern tonality it takes major and minor keys, modulations, phrasing, cadences, and chromaticism; from figured notation it takes longs, breves, and semibreves. Cultivated in France by Bourgoing (1634), by Cl. Chastelain, J.-B. de Contes, Du Mont, Nivers, Lully’s son, Poisson, Leboeuf, it found its best theorist in La Faillée (1748) and was used by the Gallican neoliturgy. Its masterpiece is the famous Messe en Trompette.