[Purpose]    [Widgets]    [Tone files]    [Psalm files]    [Meta files]    [Pho files]    [Phoplayer.exe]    [Credits]

Psallite eum

Click here to download chant folder with the programlet and accompanied folders. After downloading it unzips to chant folder, and redy to run as psall.exe. The necessary MBROLA files are in mbs folder.

Some samples converted to audio files

Psalm 90 first line read

Psalm 90 chanted 8G tone

Te lucis ante terminum first verse

Completorium starting invocation

Purpose

The purpose of this programlet is to explore the capabilities of MBROLA speech synthesizer related to the Gregorian chant. The project is in very early stage, and published only for the reason that may be somebody with better musical knowledge will improve it.

The process
  • starting from saved ASCII text tone file

  • and also ASCII text psalm file

  • converts the verses of the selected psalm to the MBROLA phoneme set, and composites the result with the selected tone file as meta file

  • converts the meta file onto a pho file acceptable by MBROLA phoplayer.exe

  • finally calls phoplayer.exe program to play the generated pho file

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Widgets

The programlet comes up with the page:

main page


  • The square traditional four line notation represents the loaded or edited content of the selected tone file. After editing the tone file, click show tab, to update the notation; selection automatically updates the notes. The computer generated representation of the neumas is somewhat simplified

  • Option buttons allows to select a tone or psalm, the selected file is automatically loaded

  • text areas show the files, and allow save-able/load-able editing

  • blue tabs are active widgets to load, save, play the appropriate files, or verses of the psalm file

  • Click on the Repeat pho tab to play the content of pho Text area indefinetelly, click on Stop pho tab to stop phoplayer.exe

  • scales at the bottom left allow to set the parameters for phoplayer.exe MBROLA program

  • If play it box is checked, the generation of meta or pho file is automatically completed by calling phoplayer.exe, otherwise play pho tab must be clicked.

  • scales at bottom right allow to change the optional parameters for clef line, or generated as part of pho file conversion

Changing the Text widgets (either by Option widget or loading editing) will take effect after the next Play call; changing the scales will take effect with the next verse.

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Tone files

Tone files start with the clef line, followed by comma separated note units. At this phase only psalm tones are handled. Psalm tone consists of five lines
  • clef line

  • Initial tone, which is applied only for the beginning of the first line of the psalm blending onto the tenor note, the tone of the recitation until change The note image automatically terminates the initial line by a short bar

  • flex line starts with the tenor, followed by the notes for the flex if any. The note image automatically terminates the flex line by a half bar

  • Mediant line also starts with the tenor, followed by the notes for the mediant The note image automatically terminates the mediant line by a full bar

  • Terminating line, starting with the tenor followed by the notes for the termination. The note image automatically closes itself by a double bar

The full form of the clef is: 
clefdo|cleffa=key-line=key_pitch=base_time=cons_time,
where :
  • clefdo or cleffa decides the type of the clef
  • key-line is the position of the key, even numbers on the lines (2 is the bottom, 8 is the top), odd numbers below, between or above the lines. main page
  • key_pitch : optional, default 160, pitch for the do or fa represented by clef
  • base_time : optional, default 240 ms, time for a square as vowel
  • cons_time : optional, default 60 ms, time for consonants
Times are modified time ratio as multiplier, pitch is modified by as multiplier, frequency is set as absolute value.

See the definition for vowel_perc and added-l controls at pho file section

The set of notes are comma separated lists of individuals notes. A single note is composited of
  • note line, as above for clef
  • optional - sign for b modifier
  • note letter, which may be:
    • p = square punct
    • v = virga
    • t = tenor square
    • a = accented note, represented by a vertical episema on the image
    • f = filling for unaccented syllable, empty square on the image
  • . = dot for horizontal episema (short elongation) or .. = double dot for dot in the image (doubling the time for the note).


Composite notes are a ~ tilde separated list of single notes, on the image anything but the pedatus or clivis is represented by diamonds.

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Psalm files

Psalms files had to be divided onto verses as lines, and in each verse one or two asterisks, separating the mediant, or the flex and the mediant. Proper application of the tones requires accented text at least at the end of the sections. As it is regular accent should be set only for the words having more than two syllables.

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Meta files

Meta files consist of comma separated units, alternating the notes and the text. Composite note shall be followed by exactly one syllable, single note as tenor, may be followed by more syllables. Due to the diphthong type execution of MBROLA, the syllabization may be incorrect, except that only one vowel per syllable. [1-4]m notification means break, larger number longer break.

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Pho files

Pho files consist of lines according to the requirements of phoplayer.exe. There are three types of lines, the elements separated by space
  • consonant consonant-time
  • _ break time (ms)
  • vowel_time vowel_perc pitch
vowel_perc means the percentage for the given pitch, (which could be repeated, 99 means no change of pitch during the pronunciation of the vowel). Composite neumas are generated repeating the vowel adding an 'l' with added_l time, to avoid MBROLA errors.

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Credits

MBROLA is the pruduct of Faculte Polytechnique de Mons

Latin voice from Olivier Bianchi, also from the MBROLA site

Raw (mbrplay output) => mp3 conversion by Switch Audio file converter program of NCH software

Tones from the Liber Usualis 1962 downloaded from the Musica Sacra site

Accented latin texts from David Siefker Breviarium Romanum electronic version

T.A.D.M.N.
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[Purpose]    [Widgets]    [Tone files]    [Psalm files]    [Meta files]    [Pho files]    [Phoplayer.exe]    [Credits]