GREGORIAN CHANT

By Raisa Saluja

WHAT IS THE GREGORIAN CHANT?

Gregorian chant is a form of plainchant, a type of liturgical music sung in the Western
Roman Catholic Church. It is named after Pope Gregory I and is characterized by
monophonic, non-metric melodies. These melodies are traditionally written using
neumes, an early form of musical notation from which the modern four-line and five-line
staff developed. Gregorian chant texts are typically sacred poems with double-line
stanzas having the same accentuation and number of syllables for each two lines

WHAT IS THE BEAT?

Rhythm. As far as we can tell from the sparse historical
record, Gregorian chant was sung without a regular beat.
This gives plainchant a flowing, freedom that can be loosely
described as having no rhythm. This is certainly the way we
most commonly hear chant performed today.

IS THIS CHANT STILL USED TODAY?

The use of Gregorian chant waned in the late Middle Ages as
it was supplanted by ever more elaborate musical forms. But
it never altogether disappeared. Gregorian chant is no longer
required as part of Roman Catholic liturgy, but its use is still
encouraged.

WHY IS IT FAMOUS?
Gregorian chant had a significant impact on the development of medieval and
Renaissance music. Modern staff notation developed directly from Gregorian neumes.
The square notation that had been devised for plainchant was borrowed and adapted for
other kinds of music.

WHO INVENTED IT?

Pope Gregory I
The peak period for the development of Gregorian chant was 9th and 10th-century
Europe. Confusingly, the form takes its name from Pope Gregory I, who has often been
credited with the invention of Gregorian chant during his lifetime.

FAMOUS CHANTS
 About. Basic chants for your schola. Quality over quantity!
 Ave verum corpus.
 Lux aeterna (Requiem)
 Pange lingua.
 Parce, Domine (Lent)
 Stabat Mater (Lent)
 Sub tuum praesidium.
 Tantum ergo.