“Gregorian chant” is one of the richest and most subtle art forms in Western music—indeed, in the music of any culture. It is also, for many reasons, the type of music most perfectly suited to the sacred liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, as her official documents repeatedly teach. In this lecture, I first offer a sketch of the history of chant as the “musical clothing” of the Roman rite, then delve in some detail into the eight characteristics of chant that cumulatively separate it from all other music forms: (1) primacy of the word; (2) free rhythm; (3) modality; (4) unison singing; (5) unaccompanied vocalization; (6) anonymity; (7) emotional moderation; (8) unambiguous sacrality.
This presentation was recorded at the 2019 Sacred Liturgy Conference in Spokane, Washington. Although I had a slide show along with it, the text is quite comprehensible without the slides.
Gregorian Chant: Exemplary Music for the Catholic Liturgy