ABSTRACT
The earliest preserved monuments of Christian music date from the Middle Ages.There are a handful of ninth-century manuscripts from Carolingian centres such as Corbie and Compiègne that provide the texts (but not the music) of the Mass Proper chants for the entire liturgical year.1 These are followed around ce 900 by books from locations such as St Gall, Laon and Chartres that have the same texts with a primitive type of musical notation.2
