by Sr Fidelis
Title: A la Mode
Mode 8 completes our look at the various Church Modes. It recites on DO, with a home tone of SOL. It has a bright, major sound, which you can hear by listening to the first phrase of the Magnificat antiphon.
(My soul doth magnify the Lord.)
It is interesting that the majority of the Divine Office antiphons are either in Mode 1 or 8. If we look at the Mass Chants in the Gradual, we find that all the Modes are a little more evenly represented, but Modes 1 and 8 are the ones most often used.