canticum
canticum, a musical monologue, recitative, monody
- Lit., a song in the Roman comedy, sung by one person, and accompanied by music and dancing; a monody, solo: nosti canticum (in Demiurgo Turpilii), meministi Roscium, Cic. Fam. 9, 22, 1: agere, Liv. 7, 2, 9: desaltare, Suet. Calig. 54: histrio in cantico quodam, id. Ner. 39: Neroniana, id. Vit. 11: Atellanis notissimum canticum exorsis, id. Galb. 13.—
- II A song, in gen.: chorus canticum Insonuit, Phaedr. 5, 7, 25: canticum repetere, id. 5, 7, 31: omne convivium obscenis canticis strepit, Quint. 1, 2, 8; 1, 10, 23; cf. id. 1, 8, 2; 1, 12, 14; 9, 2, 35; 11, 3, 13.—
- 2 Esp. Canticum Canticorum, the Song of Songs, the Canticles, Vulg.—Hence,
- B A singing tone in the delivery of an orator, Cic. Or. 18, 57; Plin. Ep. 2, 14, 13; cf. Quint. 1, 8, 2; 11, 3, 13.—
- III A lampoon, a libellous song, Paul. Sent. 5, 4, 15; cf. Ap. Apol. 75, p. 322, 8.—
- B A magic formula, incantation, Ap. Apol. p. 301, 12.
nec peto Castalidas metrorum cantica nimphas
~um,sum swegesang
quibus temporibus, ut quidam ferunt, surrexit ille Robertus Hude, de quo †fuerit [? l. fuerunt ] ~a
vidit ‥ Edwardum regem a magna multitudine demonum raptum et ad inferos cum ~o ductum
cantabat joculator quidam ~um Colbrondi ‥ in aula prioris(
a sange , cantus, ‥ cantilena, ~um
regularis observantie ‥ enormes transgressores, qui totius patrie scandalum sunt et ~um
ut ‥ ~um quod canebant [moniales ] tremefactae intermitterent
cum litteris edoctus psalmorum ~um discere maluisset
~is, psalmis, hymnis ‥ inbutus
~um,psalm æfter hærpansang
in Septuagesima dimittimus ~a caelestia, hoc est Alleluia et ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’, usque in vigiliam Pasce
in crastino [sc. die Purificationis ] ~a ‘Populus qui ambulabat ‥’ [] Is. ix 2
in ecclesia Dunelmensi interdictum est divinum officium cessavitque in ea omne divinum ~um
agentes processiones in hymnis et ~is, reconciliaverunt Deo loca universa diuturnis infidelium sordibus prophanata
ingenii vires in ediscendo memoriter psalterio, hymnis, ~is et id genus aliis exercuit
illis xij vere humilitatis gradibus ascensis, ~um graduum cantas
Augustinus super ~a graduum et usque ad finem psalterii in j volumine
quo [activo ] apud nos genere ~a ~orum scripta sunt ‥ ubi vox alternans Christi et ecclesiae ‥ manifeste reperitur
correctores dimiserunt illud in novis Bibliis et in omnibus antiquis quatuor ~orum similiter, ubi dicitur ‘sicut malum inter ligna silvarum’ [] Cant. ii. 3
‘recti diligunt te’ ~i j [] Cant. i 3
glose super ~a ~orum
praepetibus sic complens aera catervis, / garrula quae rostris resonantes cantica pipant
alauda ‥ / descendens format cantica lege nova
- 1. lied, gezang;
- 2. (in de Rom. komedie) lyrisch gedeelte met begeleiding v. fluiten; ➤ -um agere voordragen; -um desaltare pantomimisch voordragen;
- 3. (eccl.) geestelijk lied, psalm; ➤ ~ canticorum Hooglied.
est vox cantantis in lætitiam, inquit Isidorus lib. 6. Orig. cap. 19. Ruffinus Aquileiensis in Psalmum 75 :
Psalmus est cum cessante voce pulsus tantum organi canentis auditur. Canticum est, cum cantantium chorus libertate sua utens, neque in consonum organi astrictus obsequium, hymno canoræ vocis tantum exultat.
Sir Hasirim.
quia,Vide S. Hilarium in Præfat. Comment. in Canticum Graduum.inquit Eucherius, quindecim quondam gradibus ascendebatur in templum, atque ideo hi Psalmixv. Cantici graduum inscriptione signantur, quod nos per quosdam profectus ad sublimia spiritalium rerum provectione perducant.
Canticum Psalmi, est cum choro ante constante humanæ cantationis hymno, ars organi consonantis aptatur, vocisque modulis præcinentis pari psalterio suavitate modulatur.Vide S. Hilarium in Prologo ad Psalmos.
- cantus.—In comedy, a musical monologue, recitative, monody: nosti canticum: agere, L.—A song: chorus canticum Insonuit, Ph. —In an orator, sing-song.
CAN´TICUMThe grammarian Diomedes (p. 491, Keil) says: Latinae comoediae duobus tantum membris constant, diverbio et cantico; and he adds, in canticis una tantum debet esse persona, aut si duae fuerint, ita debent esse, ut ex occulto una audiat, nec colloquatur, sed secum, si opus fuerit, verba faciat. Hence it has been commonly supposed, on this authority, that the cantica were lyric monologues, sung to the music of the flute, while the diverbia were simply recited. But this hypothesis is at variance with another statement of the same grammarian, in Latinis fabulis plura sunt cantica quae canuntur: for lyrical monologues take a very subordinate place in most Roman comedies, and in some do not appear at all. Ritschl (Rhein. Mus. 26.599-637 =Opusc. 3.1-54) showed by a careful examination of the scenes to which the letters C (canticum) and DV (diverbium) are prefixed in certain MSS. of Plautus, that while the, diverbia are always written in iambic senarians, we must distinguish between two kinds of cantica: (1) those which are written in lyric metres, i. e. anapests, cretics, and bacchiacs; and (2) those which are composed in trochaic or iambic septenarians. The latter, marked in some copies of Terence with the sign M.M.C. (=modi mutati cantici), were delivered melodramatically, with a musical accompaniment; the former were sung to a sort of recitative. Taking these two kinds together, the cantica usually form a larger part of the play than the diverbia, and they appear to have been the better adapted to the taste of the Roman public, for there are instances in which, where the Greek original is in iambics, the Latin adaptation is written in septenarians. There is no doubt that cantica of both kinds occurred also in tragedies: cf. Cic. Tusc. 1.4. 4, 107, cum tam bonos septenarios fundat ad tibiam. According to Livy (Liv. 7.2), Livius Andronicus introduced the custom that the cantica should be sung by a young slave standing near the flute-player, while the actor accompanied his singing with the proper gesticulation. Whatever may be the historical value of this statement, it seems certain that in Livy's own time this was the practice; one which naturally led before long to the development of the pantomime. There are many indications that favourite cantica, like airs in modern operas, were sung separately at musical entertainments (Suet. Jul. 84; Tac. Ann. 13.15).
[A.S.W]A technical term of the Roman stage. In the narrower sense it denoted a melody or air composed in changing rhythms, the text to which was sung behind the stage to the accompaniment of a flute, while the actor expressed the meaning by pantomime. In Cicero's time, however, the cantica were sometimes performed by the actors. In a wider sense the word might mean any part in a play which was not simply recited, but sung or performed in melodrama with musical accompaniments. See Drama.