Centonization

In music centonization (from Latin cento or patchwork (Randel 2002, 123)) is a theory about the composition of a melody, melodies, or piece based on pre-existing melodic figures and formulas (Hoppin 1978, 69). A piece created using centonization is known as a "centonate" (Randel 2002, 123).

The concept of centonization was borrowed from literary theory, and first applied to Gregorian chant in 1934 by Dom Paolo Ferretti (Chew and McKinnon 2001; Treitler 1975, 7).

Centonization, according to Ferretti's theory, is a very old and widespread technique. The musical modes used in Gregorian chant are supposed to reflect this use; according to the theory, the modes were more collections of appropriate melodic formulas than a set of pitches. Similar ideas appear in the music theory of other cultures; for example, the maqam of Arab music, the raga of Indian music, or the pathet of Indonesian music. These do not designate merely scales, but sets of appropriate melodies and specific ornaments on certain tones (they are sometimes called "melody types") (Powers et al. 2001). The originality of the composer lies in how he or she links these formulas together and elaborates upon them in a new way.

Regardless of whether the application of the concept to other branches of Christian chant, or other types of music is valid, its use with respect to Gregorian chant has been severely criticized, and opposing models have been proposed (Hiley 1993, 74–75; Treitler 1974, 356; Treitler 1975, 14–15 & 22–23). The term "centonate" is not applied to other categories of composition constructed from pre-existing units, such as fricassée, pasticcio, potpourri, and quodlibet (Chew and McKinnon 2001).

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