Junctura
Connecting note or melodic joint between two chant phrases.
What it means
Junctura, Latin for “joint” or “connection,” denotes in chant analysis a connecting note or a short melodic turn that links two phrases of a chorale or Gregorian chant. It ensures that the transition between two sections appears musically smoothed rather than abrupt.
Musical use
In the analysis of Gregorian melodies one examines how individual phrases are strung together and which notes carry this connection. A junctura can be, for instance, a note that sonically links the end of one phrase with the beginning of the next, or a small melodic figure that shapes this transition. The term belongs to the vocabulary of detailed melodic analysis, as practised for instance in chant research.
The junctura should be distinguished from the phrase itself, which comprises a whole melodic section, and from the cadence, which sonically closes a phrase. The junctura concerns specifically the point of transition between two such sections.
Performance practice
When analysing or singing a chant melody, note how the individual phrases pass into one another, and look for notes that carry these transitions. Sing such connecting points deliberately smoothly, so the chant melody appears as a coherent whole rather than a string of separate sections.