Definitions for gemmel
gem·mel

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. gemmel

   In medieval and early Renaissance English polyphonic music, gymel (also gimel or gemell) is the technique of temporarily dividing up one voice part, usually an upper one, into two parts of equal range, but singing different music. Often the two voices sing a passage of intricate polyphony, beginning and finally converging on a unison, and often, but not always, the other voices drop out for a time. While the earliest use of gymel seems to have been around the mid-14th century, the earliest notated gymels survive from approximately 1430. It is probable that some earlier notated examples have been lost, since the vast majority of English manuscript sources from before the 1530s were destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. Indeed, the earliest surviving notated examples are from continental sources. The significance of the development of gymel is three-fold. First, that a single voice part could be split into two indicates that the music of the time was being sung with multiple voices on a part, as opposed to the practice of secular polyphony at the time, in which there was only one voice on a part. Second, considerable virtuosity is required for many of the surviving examples of gymel, indicating a rise in the singing standards in England in the 14th and 15th centuries. Third, the use of gymel shows that composers were becoming aware of the importance of textural contrast as a structural device; this is one of the critical distinctions between medieval and Renaissance music, a distinction which would carry forward to the present day. It also seems that many times gymel was improvised by skilled singers. An anonymous treatise of around 1450, known as the Pseudo-Chilston, includes the instruction: "And alwey beginne and ende thi Countertenor in a 5 [the interval of a fifth]. And thi Countergemel begynne and ende in unisoun." (1) That the singers would be given instruction on which intervals to use to begin and end indicates that they were not reading from written music, but improvising. Composers of gymel include John Dunstaple, William Cornysh, Richard Davy, John Browne, and (much later) both Thomas Tallis and Robert Parsons, as well as the numerous named and anonymous composers in sources such as the Eton Choirbook and the Caius Choirbook, among the few collections of English music to survive from the 15th century.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. GEMMEL

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Gemmel is ranked #67318 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Gemmel surname appeared 293 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Gemmel.
   
   94.8% or 278 total occurrences were White.
   2% or 6 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   2% or 6 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.

How to pronounce gemmel?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say gemmel in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of gemmel in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of gemmel in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of gemmel in a Sentence

1. Karen Bass:

   I’m stunned by the news of Gemmel’s death and the tragic and sad circumstances surrounding it, what I am hearing and reading about [Buck’s] conduct with Gemmel is deeply disturbing. If there are other victims, they should come forward immediately.

2. Karen Bass:

   What I am hearing and reading about [Buck’s] conduct with Gemmel is deeply disturbing. If there are other victims, they should come forward immediately.

References

1. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemmel
2. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html