Though Gregorian chant eventually became the music of the church, its use has had periods of intense popularity throughout the centuries and eras when it receded, McDonnell said. So, we saw Gregorian chant flourish again. However, in the 16th century, after culture was put back together, Renaissance polyphony -- with its elaborate texturized harmonies -- became the dominant music in the church and eclipsed Gregorian chant for a time, McDonnell said.
The chant underwent another revival in the early 20th century with liturgical reforms in Pope Pius X's "Tra Le Sollecitudini" "Among the Concerns" in While documents issued during Vatican II in the s supported the use of Gregorian chant, the switch from the Latin Mass to the vernacular prompted most parishes to favor musical forms similar to popular culture, such as praise and worship and folk genres, McDonnell said.
The philosophy was, if you are celebrating Mass in the language of the culture, you should be singing in musical genres popular in local societies, he said. Then, in the s, an enormously popular album recorded by the Benedictine monks of Santo Domingo de Silos, Spain, titled "Chant" was released, once again renewing interest in the practice, he said.
Though Gregorian chant isn't the principal force in parish life that it once was, McDonnell said that if history repeats itself, it's in the recovery stage and could once again become a church music staple. Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more.
Timothy S. Vincent Chapel. Gregorian chant is the singing of the liturgy and its texts are almost entirely scriptural. The melodic sounds are unique and often called mysterious. Gregorian chant is named for St. Gregory the Great, who was pope from to Chaz Muth - Catholic News Service. Show Comments. Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more. Most popular. Are racial justice movements straying from Catholic tradition — or are Catholic leaders out of touch?
The popes between the 5 th and 7 th centuries, especially Leo the Great, Gelasius and Gregory the Great to whom Gregorian chant owes its name , helped organize the repertoire throughout the liturgical year. In the mid-8 th century, the Frankish kingdom of Pepin the Short adopted the Roman liturgy.
Roman cantors crossed the Alps and spread the chant by oral transmission. Proof of this is found in the manuscript liturgical books, which contain chant texts but no melodies.
A new repertoire emerged in northern Gaul, representing a successful fusion of Roman and Gallican chants. With Charlemagne and the crucial role of monasteries in spreading chant throughout Western Christendom, what was now known as Gregorian chant really took off.
During the 10 th century, this extended repertoire was transcribed onto manuscripts using various musical notations. The monks complied, and Pius X gave their work his stamp of approval. From this papal directive was born a long string of influential publications from or licensed by Solesmes, most of which are still in use today, most notably the Liber Usualis, the Graduale Romanum, and the Antiphonale Monasticum.
Here is what Vatican II had to say on the subject:. Liturgical worship is given a more noble form when the divine offices are celebrated solemnly in song. The treasure of sacred music is to be preserved and fostered with great care. Choirs must be diligently promoted. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy, with the result that, other things being equal, it ought to be given the foremost place in liturgical services.
But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action. The original Liturgical Movement out of which these stirring words came was devoted to restoring and recovering the richest and most beautiful traditions of Catholic prayer.
Unfortunately, an explosive combination of false antiquarianism and novelty-mongering modernism threw a gigantic wrench into the works, leaving a war zone of competing visions in which we are still entrenched — and in which chant has suffered near extinction. The good news is that the tide is beginning to turn here and there. Chant will never die because it is perfect liturgical music. Peter Kwasniewski. Reprinted with permission from LifeSite and Peter Kwasniewski.
The original article can be found here. Peter Kwasniewski holds a B. He is now a full-time author, speaker, editor, publisher, and composer.
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