ABSTRACT
The musical archive of a seminary college established in the early seventeenth century may seem initially an unlikely venue for the study of plainsong. The Council of Trent deliberated upon the issue of music in the services, it did not make any final resolutions on the matter and left the musical decisions to the provincial ecclesiastical authorities. In the Levant of Spain, and in particular the Valencian region, a number of issues shaped the music and especially the plainsong used there. The Valencian ecclesiastical authorities used the term tono valenciano to refer both to the melodies which presently appear unique as well as to those chants which conformed to Roman dictates but were altered to suit Valencian tastes. The Valencian chant maintains a somewhat simpler and largely syllabic setting using few neumes. The opening intonation is distinct and there are modest variants at 'orationem' and 'aedificarem templum' in the Valencian chant.
