Gregorian Chant Details. Gregorian Chant Definition What is chant, and we do we call it "Gregorian? " The following excerpt from Willi Apel’s classic work on the subject, Gregorian Chant, addresses both questions: You should also be aware that you will hear this music called by other terms, such as Roman chant, plain-chant or plain song. History The history of Gregorian chant is as fascinating as the music itself. We’ll start our exploration with an overview, provided courtesy of the monks of Solesmes. There is a wonderful audio version of this material that can be purchased through Paraclete Press. If that whet your appetite and you are dying to find out more, here are some sources to consider: Medieval Society and Monasticism Medieval monasticism, that is, the monks' way of life, was in a certain sense a fusion of feudalism and religious life. "Monasticism played a vital role in the creation, preservation, and transmission of culture in the Middle Ages.
Characteristics General Characteristics Specific Characteristics. Gregorian Chant Notation. Gregorian-chant.info. Gregorian chant (music. Gregorian Chant Benedictinos. Abbaye de Solesmes - Histoire du Chant Grégorien. Gregorian Chant is a musical repertory made up of chants used in the liturgical services of the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, the liturgical tradition which the Church has given us is a vocal, monophonic music composed in Latin using sacred texts from the Ancient and New Testaments. This is why Gregorian Chant has often been called a "sung Bible". Linked intimately to the liturgy in this way, the goal of the Gregorian melodies is to favor spiritual growth, reveal the gifts of God and the full coherence of the Christian message. What we call Gregorian chant today first appears distinctly in the Roman repertory of the fifth and sixth centuries.
Its implimentation and perhaps some of its composition was in the hands of a group of ministers in a service specially dedicated to the Roman basilicas, the schola cantorum. Gregorian chant also appears to have been an aural music, that is, transmitted by ear and committed to memory - like all other music of the world at the time. Gregorian Chant. Help support New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99... The name is often taken as synonymous with plain chant, comprising not only the Church music of the early Middle Ages, but also later compositions (elaborate melodies for the Ordinary of the Mass, sequences, etc.) written in a similar style down to the sixteenth century and even in modern times.
In a stricter sense Gregorian chant means that Roman form of early plain chant as distinguished from the Ambrosian, Gallican, and Mozarabic chants, which were akin to it, but were gradually supplanted by it from the eighth to the eleventh century. Of the Gallican and Mozarabic chants only a few remains are extant, but they were probably closely related to the Ambrosian chant. The principal proofs for a Gregorian tradition may be summarized thus: Comments Sources About this page APA citation. MLA citation.