Gregorian chant

What it means

Gregorian chant is the monophonic, unaccompanied Latin liturgical chant of the Roman Church. It is named after Pope Gregory I, to whom the collecting and ordering of the repertoire was legendarily attributed. In fact the chant arose in a longer process and was recorded and standardised in the 8th and 9th centuries in the Frankish realm.

Musical use

Gregorian melodies flow freely and without a fixed metre; the rhythm follows the Latin text. They rest on the eight church modes and are written down in neumes, an early notation from which the staff lines and today's notation later developed. The chant comprises Mass chants such as the introit, gradual, and alleluia as well as the chants of the Divine Office. In the 19th century it was revived especially by the Benedictines of Solesmes.

Gregorian chant should be distinguished from polyphony, which developed out of it later, and from other traditions such as Ambrosian, Mozarabic, or Old Roman chant, which have repertoires of their own. It is also to be kept apart from the Protestant chorale, congregational singing in the vernacular.

Performance practice

Sing Gregorian melodies with calm, even breath and without strong vibrato, and let the text and its natural stresses guide you. Listen to the line of the melody and avoid hard accents so that the flowing character is preserved.