“The Importance of Gregorian Chant“
By Fr. Isaiah Schick
You may have noticed over the past year or so that some of the music at Mass has been a little different. You may have heard more parts of the Mass sung, even occasionally in another language, and in a style of music that is called “chant”. I thought I would take the opportunity to explain why chant is used in the Mass and in other prayers of the Church. Many people know that the most recent ecumenical council of the Church was the Second Vatican Council (or “Vatican II”), but most people do not know what the council actually taught – very few people have actually taken the time to read any of the documents (much less all of them!). Two of the documents of Vatican II particularly deal with music at Mass – the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) and the Instruction on Music in the Liturgy (Musicam Sacram). Here’s what they have to say:
The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action…” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 116)
“(a) Gregorian chant, as proper to the Roman liturgy, should be given pride of place, other things being equal. Its melodies, contained in the “typical” editions, should be used, to the extent that this is possible.
(b) ‘It is also desirable that an edition be prepared containing simpler melodies, for use in smaller churches.’…” (Musicam Sacram 50)
Far from doing away with chant and the “old” music, Vatican II actually encourages it and asks that congregations be taught it according to their ability, with simpler melodies available for smaller or more rural parishes. Why? Well, a few characteristics of chant make it special. Firstly, it is unaccompanied, meaning that it is designed to just use the human voice – because the human voice is the “highest” instrument in a way because it was created by God precisely to praise him! Secondly, it is “monophonic”, meaning it is designed to be sung by everyone together without splitting into harmonies – expressing the unity of the Church in the praise of God. Thirdly, it has no time signature, no “beat” if you will, though it definitely has a flow that imitates the flow of speech – and this points to the timelessness of the act of worship, that at Mass we are participating in the eternal worship and praise of God that happens in heaven! Gregorian chant specifically is sung in Latin (and occasionally Greek, as with the Kyrie), as it is the historical sacred language of the Church in the West and is one of the languages connected with the Cross of Christ – although there is also vernacular chant sung in all the other languages of the world, like when we sing the various parts of the Mass in English. Learning Gregorian chant, especially common ones like the various Marian antiphons such as the Ave Maria or the Salve Regina, allows us to sing the same songs as the whole Church spread around the world, and it allows us to come together to pray and sing when we get the chance, even if we each normally speak our own different languages. I know it may occasionally feel strange, especially when it is new, to chant or to sing in another language – but learning ultimately comes with practice, and the Church seems to think it is worth it enough to tell us so at something as important as an ecumenical council! As always, if you have more questions about it, feel free to ask one of your priests or Andre Audette, the new Director of Worship – and if you desire more practice, I am sure Andre would love to have you at choir practice at 7pm on Wednesdays at St. Joseph in Rice Lake!