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PAGE OF A CHOIRBOOK - 1470 AD
MUSIC STUDIES
The singing of which the Church makes use as an accompaniment to the Mass, is what is known as the Gregorian chant. We owe Plain Chant or Gregorian to Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan 397 A.D. and Saint Gregory the Great 604 A.D., and its developments to many other artists. This music may be heard at High Mass, when the priest sings the preface or the Pater Noster, and when he begins the Gloria or Credo. This style of music is called Gregorian, because it was brought to perfection and introduced into general use by Pope Saint Gregory the Great. It is believed that it was by divine inspiration or through direct revelation that the saint did so much in the interests of the Church music.
This chant is marked by extreme gravity, tranquil solemnity, majestic dignity. It is free from all rapid movements, florid passages, all striving after effect. It is the language of another, a higher sphere, it is truly the voice of prayer and of praise. In the Gregorian style special attention is paid to the text, the words of which are plainly audible; the beautiful, subdued melody holds a secondary place. This style of changing is not hampered by restrictions of time and measure, and that gives it the irresistible power is t possesses over the feelings, as an eloquent discourse carries away the heart.
Gregorian music undergoes no change; like Latin, the language of the Church, it is always and everywhere the same. Hence it admirably corresponds to the nature and characteristics of the Church, particularly her unity and universality. Many devout Christians prefer this style of music to any other, because it is a stimulus to recollection and devotion. In addition to the Gregorian Chant we have in our churches congregational singing, hymns in which the people join. Instrumental music, as an accompaniment to the singing, is played on the piano, violin or other musical instruments.
-- Rev. Francis Spirago (1899)
Professor of Theology
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