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Gregorian Chant

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'''Gregorian chant''', or less commonly known as '''Carolingian chant''' is the central tradition of Western [[w:plainsong|plainchant]], a form of [[w:monophony|monophonic]] [[liturgy|liturgical]] music within [[Western Rite|Western Orthodoxy]] that accompanied the celebration of [[Divine Liturgy]] and other ritual services. It is named after [[Gregory the Dialogist|Pope Gregory I]], Bishop of Rome from 590 to 604, who is traditionally credited for having ordered the simplification and cataloging of music assigned to specific celebrations in the church calendar. The resulting body of music is the first to be notated in a system ancestral to modern musical notation. In general, the chants were learned by the viva voce method, that is, by following the given example orally, which took many years of experience in the Schola Cantorum. Gregorian chant originated in monastic life, in which celebrating the 'Divine Office' eight times a day at the proper hours was upheld according to the [[Rule of St. Benedict]]. Singing psalms made up a large part of the life in a monastic community, while a smaller group and soloists sang the chants. In its long history, Gregorian chant has been subjected to many gradual changes and some reforms, especially after the [[Great Schism]].
==History==
Not much is known about the particular vocal stylings or performance practices used for Gregorian chant in the Middle Ages. On occasion, the clergy was urged to have their singers perform with more restraint and piety. This suggests that virtuosic performances occurred, contrary to the modern stereotype of Gregorian chant as slow-moving mood music. This tension between musicality and piety goes far back; Gregory the Great himself criticized the practice of promoting clerics based on their charming singing rather than their preaching.<ref>Hiley, ''Western Plainchant'' p. 504.</ref> However, Odo of Cluny, a renowned monastic reformer, praised the intellectual and musical virtuosity to be found in chant:
{{cquote|"For in these [Offertories and Communions] there are the most varied kinds of ascent, descent, repeat..., delight for the ''cognoscenti'', difficulty for the beginners, and an admirable organization... that widely differs from other chants; they are not so much made according to the rules of music... but rather evince the authority and validity... of music."<ref>Apel, p. 312.</ref>}}
True antiphonal performance by two alternating choruses still occurs, as in certain German monasteries. However, antiphonal chants are generally performed in responsorial style by a solo cantor alternating with a chorus. This practice appears to have begun in the Middle Ages.<ref>Apel, ''Gregorian Chant'' p. 197.</ref> Another medieval innovation had the solo cantor sing the opening words of responsorial chants, with the full chorus finishing the end of the opening phrase. This innovation allowed the soloist to fix the pitch of the chant for the chorus and to cue the choral entrance.
The renewed interest in early music in the late 19th century left its mark on 20th-century music. Gregorian influences in classical music include the choral setting of four chants in "Quatre motets sur des thèmes Grégoriens" by Maurice Duruflé, the carols of Peter Maxwell Davies, and the choral work of Arvo Pärt. Gregorian chant has been incorporated into other genres, such as London Boys's "Requiem" and some other dance compositions, Enigma's "Sadeness (Part I)", the chant interpretation of pop and rock by the German band Gregorian, the New age project Era, the techno project E Nomine, many of the songs by American Power/Thrash metal band Iced Earth, and the work of black metal band Deathspell Omega. The modal melodies of chant provide unusual sounds to ears attuned to modern scales. It has also been used in The Omen's main theme, Ave Satani.
===Notes==
<references/>
 
==References==
*''Graduale triplex'' (1979). Tournai: Desclée& Socii. ISBN 2-85274-094-X
[[Category:Church Music]]
 
[[ro:Cântarea gregoriană]]
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