From the beginning of the article: Two Beginnings
Two beginnnings – an invitatory from the medieval office services, and the speaker’s voice introducing a concert with Bob Dylan; the two sound events that are depicted above do not necessarily lend themselves to comparison beyond the fact that they are both beginnings. In the case of the Gregorian invitatory, we ‘know’ that this is about ritual, a Medieval liturgical ceremony. Likewise, ‘Would you please welcome Columbia Recording Artist Bob Dylan!’ is just as obviously an announcement of a rock concert. So what do they have to do with each other?
Or one might turn the question around and ask if there are not fundamental similarities that outweigh the obvious differences between the two actions. One might suggest that they are both formalized ways, repeated exactly the same way every time, of introducing communal actions that involve people in different roles that are more or less fixed (and an architectural space with certain specific characteristics that are fitting or even necessary for the occasion), and they are both laden with meaning that goes beyond the mere fulfillment of the action.
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