It is to the antiphon that we may look as the precursor of harmony and counterpoint, and thus the origin of modern music.
Antiphony was the ancient mode of rendering music, in which two sets of voices sang alternately. They were placed on opposite sides of the choir, as may be seen in Catholic and Anglican
churches to-day, and were respectively entitled "Decani" and "Cantoris."
For long they recited on the same note, then came a change in which one side varied it, probably by a perfect fourth or fifth above or below. Afterwards, the chanting of them together indicated the first advance towards harmony—that is to say, a combination of notes sounded simultaneously. The undulations of the voices of priest and choir signalled the advance towards melody.
The next and most decisive step was the advent of counterpoint; that is the pointing of one note or series of notes against another. Thus while one side would be chanting a series of long notes, the other would be singing quicker ones, which were either momentarily discordant or subsequently in harmony with them.
With the birth of this new development may be associated the origin of music, as we know it to-day.
The process of each was, however, gradual, and it is difficult to suggest, with any conviction, their respective periods of evolution.
To come to later times, with the invention of the organ and its entry into the service of the church, we are well within sight of historical accuracy. It is easy to realise what a stimulus to musical invention this must have proved, and from that time, about the middle of the eighth century, the progress has been continuous if not rapid.
The monks, being the first musicians, were the first teachers, and thus we arrive at the
beginning of musical education in England. During the long centuries in which the people, mostly serfs as they were, looked to the monasteries for such amenities of life as were possible in those days, the progress in music was confined to those employed in the service of the ritual of their chapels, but with the increase of population and the building of churches outside, the conditions became materially changed.