jubilus

music

Also known as: pneuma

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June 29, 2026

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The term "jubilus" refers to a specific musical element in Christian liturgy. It is the melisma, or a series of notes sung on a single syllable, on the final "a" of the word "alleluia." This melisma is considered the precursor to the sequence, a type of hymn that developed in the medieval mass. The word itself comes from Medieval Latin and ultimately from Latin, meaning "to sing hymns of joy".1

The related term "Jubilate" can refer to the 100th Psalm in the King James Version, or more generally, a joyous song or outburst. It also denotes the third Sunday after Easter.2

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sequence
…text, or both) to the jubilus, the florid ending of the last syllable of the Alleluia. The melodic tropes were normally broken into phrases that were repeated in performance (as aa, bb, cc,…) by alternating choirs. Texts set to these and to Alleluia melodies were originally prose and thus were…
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…text, or both) to the jubilus, the florid ending of the last syllable of the Alleluia. The melodic tropes were normally broken into phrases that were repeated in performance (as aa, bb, cc,…) by alternating choirs. Texts set to these and to Alleluia melodies were originally prose and thus were…
Read More