4

I know there are several different ways to pronounce Latin. I think no one sings classical music using Classical Latin pronunciation in which, for instance, "c" is pronounced as /k/. I believe the reason is that, during the Medieval era, Latin has evolved so that its pronunciation has changed all around Europe.

However, I've noticed that music ensembles that play Early Music based on a historically informed approach tend to use different pronunciations of that used in nowadays Ecclesiastical Latin. For instance, it's quite usual to hear "c" before "e" pronounced as /ks/ in words such as "luceat eis" or "excelsis" instead of the /tʃ/ nowadays Ecclesiastical pronunciation, but I believe (I'm not sure about that: this is one of the reasons for my question) there are Early Music ensembles that use alternative pronunciations based on regional differences. I've also heard the "qui" of "requiem" pronounced in several different ways.

Can anyone give an introductory overview to that phenomenon?

Charo
  • 143
  • 6
  • Here you can find some interesting examples of several different ways to pronounce Latin based on a historically informed approach: http://jandrewowen.com/en/category/language/latin/. – Charo Mar 18 '17 at 23:49
  • Related [question](http://music.stackexchange.com/q/48385/2600) – guidot Mar 19 '17 at 12:26
  • In my opinion there are these possible pronounciations for *luceat*: 1) /k/ (current view, how Latin was spoken), 2) /ts/ (old view, how Latin was spoken), 3) /tʃ/ (Italian style, debatable for Latin, but wide-spread). – guidot Mar 19 '17 at 12:34
  • @guidot: I've seen it, but I'm not sure if that question refers to nowadays Eclessiastical Latin, that is the Latin as it's pronounced in the Vatican. – Charo Mar 19 '17 at 12:43
  • @guidot: I think there are other possible pronunciations of "c": /s/ or /θ/ (in Spanish Latin after the XVI century according to [this article](http://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/28/97/03estrada.pdf)). – Charo Mar 19 '17 at 12:55
  • @guidot: I think it's not a matter of "how Latin was spoken, current view" or "how Latin was spoken, old view". The point is that, from the Middle Ages, it's known that Latin was pronounced in different ways in different areas of Europe and in different periods of time. So, as it's explained in [this website](http://jandrewowen.com/en/latin-diction/), in a historically informed approach to Early Music, "to determine which Latin is correct, one must first look at the composer’s nationality, then the composer’s time." – Charo Mar 19 '17 at 13:13
  • If you are interested, there is a Latin.stackexchange.com site – Doktor Mayhem Mar 19 '17 at 14:19
  • @guidot: I mean "Ecclesiastical Latin": I can't correct my previous comment. – Charo Mar 19 '17 at 15:04
  • Yes, thank you @DrMayhem, I know, but I'm not sure if this kind of question would be on-topic there because it specifically refers to singing Early Music in Latin. – Charo Mar 19 '17 at 15:23
  • My suspicion is that a lot of the "rules" of pronunciation came from the various churches & their rules for spoken Latin. I'm not convinced this matters any more than wondering whether to sing a song in American or Australian English. – Carl Witthoft Mar 20 '17 at 12:41
  • @CarlWitthoft: The point is that it's something that is usually taken into account by the ensembles that make [historically informed performances](http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/misc/whatis.htm). – Charo Mar 20 '17 at 19:06

1 Answers1

2

Yes, many ensembles do pay attention to differences in Latin pronunciation at different times and places. The classic (and only really comprehensive) guide is Harold Copeman's Singing in Latin, or Pronunciation Explor'd, 1990, which is out of print but possibly available used. I haven't found any online resources yet for historical pronunciation. There's an overview of modern regional Latin pronunciation at wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_regional_pronunciation

Scott Wallace
  • 6,314
  • 15
  • 23
  • Thank you for mentioning Harold Copeman's book, *Singing in Latin, or Pronunciation Explor'd*: I didn't know of its existence. Looking for information about this book, I've discovered [this website](http://jandrewowen.com/en/category/language/latin/), which I find very interesting. – Charo Mar 19 '17 at 14:16
  • I think that one of the ensembles that pay particular attention to this kind of things is Gabrieli Consort and Players, directed by Paul McCreesh. This morning I've been listening to some of its recordings and you can really appreciate differences in pronunciation of Latin when performing pieces by different composers. – Charo Mar 19 '17 at 15:23
  • @Charo- you're welcome. I, too, was able to find tidbits of information online, but nothing as comprehensive as Copeman's book, which I have in an old photocopy. Of course, a lot of the reconstructed pronunciations are more or less speculative, but that's true of many aspects of performance practice for early music. – Scott Wallace Mar 19 '17 at 20:20