Gregorian Chant: History, Characteristics, and Liturgical Context

Gregorian chant was created through the codification of liturgy and music under Roman leaders, aided by Frankish kings. It stands as a memorial to religious faith in the Middle Ages and embodies the community spirit and artistic sensibility of that time.

Characteristics of Gregorian Chant Performance

There are three manners of performance:

• Responsorial: A soloist alternates with a choir.
• Antiphonal: Two groups alternate with each other.
• Direct: The choir sings together without alternation.

There are three styles of setting text:

• Syllabic: Almost every syllable has a single note.
• Neumatic: Syllables carry one to six notes.
• Melismatic: Features *melismas*, which are long melodic passages on a single syllable. Chants with these are called melismatic.

Psalms

Psalms were poems from the Hebrew Book of Psalms.

Cantillation

Cantillation was a system for chanting sacred texts, based on melodic formulas that reflected the phrase divisions of a text.

The Church Calendar

Every year, the Church commemorated events from Jesus’ life or the lives of saints with feasts, in a cycle known as the *Church Calendar*. The most important feasts are Christmas, celebrating Jesus’ birth, and Easter, celebrating Jesus’ resurrection.

The Church Calendar is important for understanding the liturgy because certain aspects change with the day or season.

The Mass

Introductory Section

• Introit
• Kyrie
• Gloria
• Collect

Readings and Psalms

• Epistle
• Gradual
• Alleluia
• Sequence
• Gospel
• Sermon
• Credo

Prayers and Communion

• Offertory
• Sanctus
• Agnus Dei
• Communion
• Ite missa est

Proper of the Mass

The *Proper of the Mass* always has different texts, varying by day or season.

Ordinary of the Mass

The *Ordinary of the Mass* always has the same texts, regardless of the day or season.

Purpose of Liturgy and Music

The liturgy and music of the Roman Church aimed to address God and reinforce the faith of the audience.

Gregorian Modes

Modes were codified for classifying chants and arranging them into books for liturgical use. There are eight modes, each paired with another that shares the same final.

The Divine Office

The *Office* (or *Divine Office*) is a series of eight services that, since the early Middle Ages, have been celebrated daily at specified times. It also codified the times throughout the day and night when early Christians prayed and sang psalms.

Chant Tropes: Expansion Methods

A trope could expand a chant in three ways:

• By adding words and music *before* the chant and often *between* its phrases.
• By adding melody only, extending existing melismas or adding new ones.
• By adding text only, which was set to existing or extended melismas.