plainchant and plainsong : the earliest form of sung music in the Christian church, consisting of a single melody or tune with no particular rhythm, to which the words of the Psalms or other sacred texts were chanted. Its origins may even be traced back to the music of the Jewish synagogue. It was the only form of music in the western Church until the introduction of Polyphony (where additional melodies are woven into the musical texture) in the ninth century. Find out more…