Second Az, you sure do know your history. I have been reading a bit on the subject but haven't gotten it stamped in the noggit just yet. On the subject of hypo modes, I have found several different explainations. All seem to be legit in their own way but one seems really simple and easy to distinquish. Since I have had some people ask about them, I'd like to have your take on it if you would.
* The simplest and easiest was an explanation that hypo-modes are easily used by playing a mode (say D Dorian) and start the melodic phrase on the fifth being A. So then the finalis would work out to be D, the plagal note of A aeolian. So if you were to play a tune starting on A and ending on D, it would be A hypo-aeolian.
This seems alittle more modern for some reason but it reasons with the ideas of starting a tune of the fifth rather than the tonic. Simply by renaming the fifth as the first, and the old first becomes the new fourth. Sorry if that's hard to understand. Anyways your thoughts on this would be appreciated since you seem to know more about this than I do.
"My whole life is a dark room...ONE BIG DARK ROOM" - a.f.i.