PEHM 9 Name: ____________________ Unit1: Lesson 2: Gregorian Chants Date: ____________________ 1st Q

Learning Targets
In this lesson, you should be able to:
 explain the relevance of the development of a system of writing down music;
 describe what Gregorian chants are;
 read and perform simple neume notation; and
 classify Gregorian chants according to syllabication, melodic line, and texture.

THE BEGINNINGS OF WRITTEN NOTATION

Much like the difficulties you had in getting the same message across, one of the challenges of the ancient times was
that music was passed down through word of mouth. One of the most invaluable developments during the Medieval
period was the development of a system of writing for music. This allowed music to be passed on with a little more
precision and accuracy rather than being learned merely by ear. Music went from something that was purely heard as
something that was also seen. This development was brought about by some political and military conditions of the
time, which transferred the center of Christendom from Rome to other parts of Europe. It was when this migration
happened that the development of the notation system
occurred.
GREGORIAN CHANTS
The material which was notated was the very first big body of
work notated in the history of Western music repertoire.
These works were called Gregorian chants -
unaccompanied songs used in the Roman Catholic Church.
These chants were monophonic, which means that the
music was composed of a single musical line. This was
because they believed that the purity of the single musical
line encouraged the listener to focus on the divine without
distractions. The chants were in the Latin, the language
used by the Roman Catholic Church.
These chants are named after Pope Gregory, although he
has almost nothing to do with these chants as they became widespread 200 years after he had become pope. Upon the
time of the migration, those in power used his name to gain a false following, claiming that the Gregorian Chants were
the same as the Old Roman Chants which were used before the church had left Rome. These Gregorian Chants then
easily replaced the other chants that were being used in different parts of Europe.
There are different qualities that give Gregorian Chants a distinctive musical flavor. One is its use of different modes.
Quite similar to the concept of our major and minor scales, Gregorian chants usually use one of 8 modes - each a
unique combination of intervals which is the difference between two pitches/sounds. The chants do not have a specific
rhythm and are meant to flow like they are spoken. They can also be sung in any comfortable key, so long as the
intervals are retained. These chants, as they were sung by the clergy, were usually sung by men.
NOTATION
The Gregorian staff is almost the same as the staff that we use to notate music today, except it contains one line and
space less. The pitches are represented by neumes which can be put on top of each other which stands for the
sequence upon which they are sung.
FORM
There are many ways to categorize Gregorian Chants.
If we put into consideration how many neumes or notes/pitches are assigned to a single syllable, we categorize them
categorize them as either syllabic, neumatic or melismatic chants. Syllabic chants will usually have one neume
assigned to a syllable. Neumatic chants will predominantly have about 2-3 notes per syllable. Lastly, melismatic
chants will range from five to up to thirty or more neumes per syllable.
The Gregorian chants can also be classified by their melodies. Recitative melodies have one pitch that is dominant in
the chant. This pitch is called the reciting pitch. The chants that are generally more complex (and mostly melismatic)
are considered to be free melodies.
Another way that we can categorize the Gregorian chants is through its texture. Antiphonal Chants are chants that are
usually sung by two choirs- the first reading a psalm verse, the second singing a common response or an antiphon.
Responsorial Chants, on the other hand, were sung in alternation by a soloist and a choir, with the psalm verses being
read by the soloist and the response called the responses sung by the choir.

FT 1: Matching type: draw a line between the first and second column to match the following terms to their definitions.
Column A Column B
1. melismatic chants chants involving two choirs
2. antiphonal chants Standard chants of the Roman Catholic Church
3. gregorian Chant chants that have more than 6 pitches/syllable
4. neumes a unique combination of interval
5. mode represents pitches in gregorian notation