Gregorian chant is borne out of the Liturgy, and exists for the sake of the Liturgy. What is the Liturgy? It is a touching point where temporal and eternal meet: a participation in the salvific sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and in the heavenly banquet of the Lamb.
Countless saints have expounded upon the nature of the Sacred Liturgy. Hildegard von Bingen, recently named a Doctor of the Church, is known best in the musical sphere for the sumptuous chants she composed (example here). In spite of a lack of training, she was also an accomplished theologian and a liturgist. Hildegard saw the Liturgy as epic and cosmic. Her chants were an expression of this belief, and written to nurture her community's participation in this same experience.
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated: and his train filled the temple. Upon it stood the seraphims: the one had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew. And they cried one to another, and said:
"Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory." Isaiah 6:1-3
The Liturgy is comprised of sacred texts, the chanting of which fosters a sense of solemnity, awe and reverence. Though Hildegard's music today tends to be performed more in the concert setting than in the Liturgy, it was, in fact, written for liturgical use, and her music was inspired by the Gregorian liturgical forms.
A liturgical gaze
The earthly liturgy is an extension of the heavenly Liturgy: a point of contact between the temporal and eternal, human and divine, mutable and immutable. As such, the Liturgy is made present on earth through the chants in a myriad of concrete, sensible aspects:
Degree of solemnity —> ornamentation of the chants
Location of the day/season on the liturgical calendar —> proper texts
Number of people in the processions/length of time occupied by the processions —> number of verses to be sung
Whether the music is meant to cover a liturgical action, or if it is the liturgical action —> whether the music must be stretched out/shortened, or if is always sung in the same manner
Prescribed liturgical texts —> inclusion/omission of certain chants (e.g. exclusion of the Gloria and the word alleluia during Lent)
Vocal capabilities of those charged with singing (priest, deacon, cantor, schola, or congregation) —> degree of melodic complexity, and level of difficulty for memorization
Two primary liturgies: the Mass and the Divine Office
Utter the word liturgy to a church musician, and they will probably recall the weekly Sunday Eucharist. There is, however, another liturgical form which tends to slide under the radar (at least among Catholics): the Divine Office (or Liturgy of the Hours). The Office is comprised of hymns, antiphons, psalms and canticles which punctuate each day at specific Hours, the regular observance of which contributes to the sanctification of time. It dates back to the Desert Fathers in the third century, and originates in an even older form of Hebrew prayer. “Seven times a day I praise you” (Psalm 118 [119]: 164). The chants of the Office will be treated in Part II of this article, further down.
Terminology
Many special terms are utilized in this blog article. Most of them are defined in the ICA Lexicon. One particular group of terms is worth reviewing again here:
tone: specific melodic formula to which a text can be sung, following certain syllabic placement rules. A tone is somewhat akin to a hymn tune, insofar as the melody can be repeated in whole, with many different verses of text, but it is different from a hymn tune insofar as it has no meter. The primary means which distinguishes the two is the flexible use of a reciting tone. There are countless kinds of tones, including psalm tones, Gloria Patri tones, simple tones, solemn tones, monastic tones, prophecy tones, epistle tones, and gospel tones.
syllabic: characterized, for the most part, by one pitch per syllable. Adoro Te Devote and the simple tone Salve Regina are examples of syllabic chants. Different from a chant sung on a reciting tone, which fits many syllables to a single pitch.
neumatic: characterized by many pitches (loosely 2-6) per syllable. The Te Deum is a neumatic chant, and so is the Introit.
neumatic-melismatic: possessing the characteristics of both a neumatic and a melismatic chant.
melismatic: characterized by the presence of the melisma, a flourish of many pitches on a single syllable. It is not uncommon to find melismas of thirty or more pitches in Gregorian chant.
Sources
This article draws heavily from two authors, to whom I gently refer the reader who wishes to dive deeper:
Gregorian Chant by Willi Apel
Gregorian Chant: A Guide to the History and Liturgy by Dom Daniel Saulnier
I am eternally indebted to the contributors to Gregobase for the sheet music contained in this article.
Nativity of John the Baptist
For this article, I have chosen proper chants for the Nativity of John the Baptist, which is observed each year on June 24, to illustrate the various genres of Gregorian chant. The feast is one of the oldest to be included on the liturgical calendar, and John, the prophet charged with preparing the way for the arrival of the Messiah, is a crucial figure in the Gospels. The births of John the Baptist and of his cousin, Jesus, were both prophesied, and both are critical in the history of salvation. Today, his feast is perhaps best known among musicians due to its proper hymn Ut queant laxis, which is the origin of solfège: ut/do-re-mi-fa-sol-la...
I. Gregorian Chants of the Mass
Anyone who complains that all Gregorian chant sounds the same does not appreciate the liturgical function of these chants (nor of their modes, into which we will delve in Part IV of this blog series). Indeed, there are a myriad of Gregorian genres, each with its own precise purpose and form.
INTROIT/Entrance chant
Liturgical function: 1) covers the liturgical action of the procession of priest and ministers into the church; 2) text sets the tone for the day, and is usually derived from the Psalms; 3) general character of gentle and moderate motion, paralleling the motion of the procession
Form: AVA or AVAVA (antiphon - verse - antiphon, may be extended with more verses and more repetitions of the antiphon, but always concludes with the antiphon)
Who sings it: the schola, in alternation with the cantor's verses
Characteristics: 1) moderate in length; 2) moves evenly and relatively horizontally through text syllables with neumes of 2-5 notes; 3) strophici (repeated notes on a single syllable) very common; 4) boldly ascending/descending melodic motion practically absent, 5) e u o u a e (vowels from the conclusion of the doxology, sae - cu - lo - rum a - men) indicating the cadential formula of the verse; 5) verses are utilized to match the length of the music to the length of the procession
See also: What *is* an Introit Chant?
Introit: De ventre matris meae recording
Isaiah 49: I, 2; Ps. 91 From my mother's womb the Lord called me by my name; and he made my mouth like unto a sharp sword; he protected me in the shadow of his hand, and he made me as his chosen arrow. Ps. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to praise your name, O Most High.
KYRIE, GLORIA, CREDO, SANCTUS and AGNUS DEI
Each of these chants are part of the Mass Ordinary, that is, the texts of the liturgy which do not change. Due to their repetitive nature, these chants are relegated to singing by the schola and the congregation. As this blog article is already of considerable length, we will leave treatment of these chants to another day.
READINGS/LESSONS and GOSPEL
These portions of the Liturgy are sung according to simple, text-heavy tones. In contrast with neumatic or melismatic chants with little text (such as the Gradual, Tract, and Alleluia), together they help to unify the whole Liturgy in song, and more readily engage the listener.
The origin of singing the scriptures according to tones appears to be twofold: 1) singing brings an air of solemnity to the sacred texts, and 2) singing enables them to be heard over a greater distance. What is more, there are different tones for the different parts of the Bible, underlining to the listener exactly what is happening at any given moment of the Liturgy of the Word. There is a special Old Testament "Prophecy" tone, a New Testament "Epistle" tone, and a couple standard "Gospel" tones. (Visit here if you would like to learn more about these tones.) Of course, there is a much richer variety of these tones beyond these standard melodies, and on days of particular solemnity, the tones may be quite elaborate, with sweeping ascending/descending motions and large intervallic leaps.
Here is a recording of the Passion of Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew, in English. Notice that each of the singers follows a different tone: one for the chronista (narrator), one for Jesus Christ, and one for the rest of the characters (Pontius Pilate, the high priest, the crowd, etc.).
GRADUAL
Liturgical function: 1) the Gradual is the liturgical action, and occupies the same position in the Mass as the Responsorial Psalm, i.e. after the First Reading, 2) the word Gradual refers to steps, particularly the steps leading up to the altar, from which the chant would be sung in the old form of the Mass prior to the Second Vatican Council; 3) serves as a meditation chant
Form: R - V (Respond - Versicle); originally named the Responsorium Graduale, with the form of R - V - R, but the repeat of the respond was dropped over time. In the example below, the repeat of the respond is observed, or else textually the thought would remain incomplete.
Who sings it: the schola, with a soloist or smaller group singing the Versicle
Characteristics: 1) most melismatic of all the Gregorian genres, frequently exhibiting 10-30 notes on a single syllable, allowing the listener to meditate on the more textually dense Lesson/Reading just preceding it; 2) the enrichment of melodic ornamentation coincides with a shortening of the text; 3) Versicles are typically more ornate than the Responds and set slightly higher in range (hence the convention of a soloist singing the Versicle); 4) reiterative pitches on a single syllable (bistropha and tristropha) very common; 5) confined primarily to Modes I, III, V, and VII, with V being the most popular; 6) migrating melismas, standard melismas that are used over and over again throughout the genre of Graduals, makes them easier to memorize for the cantors, and carry over from the Jewish practice of melody troping (not to be confused with text troping); 7) composed via centonization, with the exception of the Justus ut palma group (see Special note below).
Centonization...is achieved by selecting from a fund of traditional chants a certain number of formulae that are modally compatible, and piecing them together in the manner of a mosaic, or a “patchwork,” such that the resulting chant will fit the shape of the text to be sung. Centonization lies at the heart of the composition of a large part of the Gregorian repertoire, not only the Graduals. — Dom Daniel Saulnier in Gregorian Chant: A Guide to the History and Liturgy, Chapter 5.
Special note: One group of Graduals, known as the Iustus ut palma melody-type, share practically identical melodies. Willi Apel includes this table (based on the pre-Vatican II calendar) in his book, Gregorian Chant, pp. 357-358.
Gradual: Priusquam te formarem recording (NB: This recording follows the current convention for Graduals, and does not repeat the Respond, although the text of this particular chant is not complete without the repeat, and thus the rubrics suggest that the repeat be included.)
Jeremiah 1:5, V. 9 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb, I consecrated you. V. The Lord put forth his hand and he touched my mouth, and he said unto me: (repeat Respond: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb, I consecrated you.)
TRACTS and CANTICLES
Liturgical function: 1) Tracts and Canticles are the liturgical action, serving as meditation chants; 2) Tracts replace the Alleluia during Lent, occupying the position just before the Gospel; 3) these are considered to be from the most ancient layer of chant, the form of which is believed to be derived from the cantor's psalmody in the synagogue
Form: 1) sung in directum, that is, from start to finish without the insertion of an antiphon or a respond; 2) includes anywhere from 2-14 verses
Who sings it: originally a soloist, later transferred to the schola
Characteristics: 1) richly neumatic — more ornate than the introits, including both monotone recitation and neumes of 4-6 notes per syllable; 2) relegated to just two modes, II and VIII; 3) composed almost exclusively by means of centonization, standard phrases which are used over and over again throughout the genre; 4) texts of the Tracts come from the Psalms; Canticles are taken from other parts of scripture.
Special note: Five of these chants are proper to the Easter Vigil Mass, and all five of them draw their material from just eight standard phrases! See the table below from Willi Apel, p. 320.
There is no Tract/Canticle assigned to the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, so included below is Sicut cervus from the Easter Vigil, inspiration for the renowned polyphonic work by Palestrina.
Tract: Sicut Cervus chant recording (with a few altered pitches); Palestrina recording (includes the lesser performed second half, Sitivit anima mea), from the Easter Vigil. The red lettering corresponds to the standard melodies in Apel's chart just above.
Psalm 41: 2, 3, and 4 As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, O God. V. My soul thirsts for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of my God? V. My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me daily: "Where is your God?"
ALLELUIA
Liturgical function: The Alleluia chant is the liturgical action, serving as a meditation chant and heightening the sense of expectance for the singing of the Gospel. The word comes from the Hebrew: Alle (Hebrew Hallel) = Praise + Ya (Hebrew YHWH) = THE LORD, and is sung just before the Gospel, except during Lent, when the Tract is sung in its place. In Eastertide, a second Alleluia chant takes the place of the Gradual. The Verse texts of the Alleluia chant are related to the liturgical calendar.
The jubilus…[is] a vocalization on the divine Name Yah, an abbreviation of the ineffable sacred tetragram. This manner of chanting and of exteriorizing one’s inner feelings, by a vocalization transcending the limitations of syllables and therefore of concepts, is probably as ancient as humanity itself. Such a chant is admirably suited to function as a preparatory acclamation to the reading of the Gospel… — Dom Daniel Saulnier in Gregorian Chant: A Guide to the History and Liturgy, Chapter 5
Form: Alleluia - Verse - Alleluia (AVA); usually the melisma (called a jubilus when part of the Alleluia chant, expressing wordless jubilation) closing the Verse is identical to the melisma at the end of the Alleluia, in which case the more accurate form is A+j - V+j - A+j. Such repetition provides a thematic unification to the piece as a whole.
Who sings it: The schola, with a cantor or smaller group singing the Verse
Characteristics: 1) Sweeping scalar patterns with one or more extended climacus neumes; 2) systematic repeats of musical material within the same chant, a compositional characteristic not found in earlier chants, which is rather indicative of later developments; 3) adaptation of melodies to new texts is very common, the main difference being the different numbers of syllables, which sometimes demands an omission of entire passages.
See also: What the heck is a Sequence?
Special note: Alleluia Tu, puer for the Nativity of John the Baptist shares a melody, both Respond and Verse, with Alleluia dies sanctificatus for Christmas Day: sheet music and recording.
Alleluia Tu, puer recording
Luke I: 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; you will go before the Lord to make ready his ways.
OFFERTORY
Liturgical function: cross between meditation chant and processional chant, sung to cover the liturgical action, but far more lavish than the Introit and Communion chants, especially when one considers the Offertory verses. This chant is called a "sumptuous musical offering" by Dom Saulnier.
Form: In its original form, the Offertory chant is a Responsorial chant. Up til the 12th century, these chants were sung with highly ornate verses, and concluded with a portion of the main chant being repeated (the Respond). We see a vestige of this Responsorial form in the Requiem offertory chant Domine, Jesu Christe, with repetition of the Respond, "Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus." sheet music and recording.
Who sings it: The schola (with soloists entrusted to any verses)
Characteristics: 1) neumatic-melismatic, with very few syllabic passages; 2) unique and exceptionally bold melodic progressions; 3) repetition of entire portions of the text; 4) profuse melismas of the reiterative type as well as melismas showing a clear-cut repeat structure; 5) unifying devices such as common endings or recurrent phrases and motifs (2 - 5 are direct quotes from Gregorian Chant by Willi Apel, p. 375); 6) these chants vary considerably in length and in level of difficulty; 7) the texts do not always tie in with the theme of the day quite as evidently as the Introit and Communio texts do; 8) some do not have psalm texts at all, and a couple are not even derived from scripture (e.g. Domine Jesu Christe and Protege)
See also: The mysterious origin of the Offertory chant and its verses
Special note: The Offertory chant assigned to the Nativity of John the Baptist is proper to all manner of different saints: Apostles, Confessors, Martyrs, and Doctors of the Church. The Cantus Index lists about 40 different feasts to which this chant has been assigned. Upon reading its text, you will immediately understand why this is so.
Offertory: Justus ut palma recording (without verses)
Psalm 91 [92]:13 The righteous man shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow up like a cedar of Lebanon.
COMMUNIO
Liturgical function: 1) covers the liturgical procession; 2) ties the Liturgy of the Eucharist to the Liturgy of the Word
Form: Antiphon - Verse - Antiphon (AVA or AVAVA or AVAVAVA, etc.)
Who sings it: schola (with cantor singing verses)
Characteristics: 1) mostly neumatic, including some simpler antiphons and others with extended melismas; 2) vary in length; 3) many exhibit tonal instability and ambiguity of modal assignment; 4) texts tend to be drawn from the first half of the Mass (the Liturgy of the Word); 5) verses are utilized to match the length of the singing to the length of the procession
Special note: The Communio for the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist is almost identical in text to the assigned Alleluia verse. It is speculated that the few places of textual disagreement are due to the pairing of the Alleluia verse text to a pre-existing melody.
Communio: Tu, puer propheta recording (without verses)
Luke I: 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; you will go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways.
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II. Gregorian Chants of the Office
The article, 7 things that Sung Vespers can teach us about life, provides some overall context for this form of Liturgy. In the Office, all of the sung music is the liturgical action, meaning the music is not dedicated to covering another action more important than itself (such as a procession).
PSALMODY
Liturgical function: daily recitation of the Psalter, so that the whole day and night around the globe are punctuated by praise of God
Form: usually sung in directum (from beginning to end without interruption), concluding with the doxology; a psalm's assigned antiphon is sung at the beginning and again at the very end (although sometimes the antiphon may also be inserted between certain verses as well)
Who sings it: the entire community, frequently in two groups alternating verses
Characteristics: 1) sung according to easily memorized tones; 2) specific tones and terminations are determined by the mode of the corresponding antiphon; 3) some communities sing all 150 psalms in a week, while others take longer, but all follow a systematic, codified plan for each day and each Hour
Listen to First Vespers for the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, with the first Psalm, Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109 [110]) starting at 10:08, following the first antiphon Ipse praeibit at 9:45. Below is a PDF of the psalm, if you would like to follow along as it is sung.
GREATER CANTICLE
There are three Greater Canticles, all derived from the Gospels. They are sung in the same manner as the Psalmody, except the intonation formula is sung at the beginning of every verse, and not just the first verse. This verse-intonation contrast with the rest of the Psalmody indicates the privileged place of the Gospels among the scriptures.
Benedictus (Canticle of Zachariah) is sung at Lauds (Morning Prayer)
Magnificat (Canticle of Mary) is sung at Vespers (Evening Prayer)
Nunc Dimittis (Canticle of Simeon) is sung at Compline (Night Prayer)
Mag-Nunc: Anglican Evensong is a combination of Vespers and Compline, and features matching settings of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis
ANTIPHONS of the OFFICE
Liturgical function: introduce and conclude the Psalmody, providing a theme for the day/season
Form: sung before and after its assigned Psalm or Canticle
Who sings it: schola, sometimes with the entire community joining
Characteristics: majority consist of nothing but single notes interspersed with two-note neumes, while antiphons for the Greater Canticles tend to be slightly more elaborate and longer than the rest; there are several layers of composition: 1) antiphons of the weekday Office are short refrains with a brief text of a few words (generally half a verse) taken in most cases from the beginning or the end of the psalm; 2) antiphons of the ancient feasts are more developed, with "melody-types" made up of a few short phrases; 3) the third, more recent, layer of composition results from a process of centonization — the piecing together of melodic/verbal formulae, rather like the creation of a mosaic; 4) in later compositions, musical invention was given free rein, ending up with madrigal forms or figurative features, announcing the dawn of a new musical era (1 - 4 are direct quotations from Gregorian Chant: A Guide to the History and Liturgy, Chapter 4 by Dom Daniel Saulnier)
1) Vespers psalm antiphon: Innuebant recording
Luke 1:62-63 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he wrote, saying: John is his name.
2) Magnificat antiphon: Puer qui natus est nobis recording
Cf. Matthew 11:11 and Luke 7:28 The child that is born unto us is more than a prophet: for this is he of whom the Savior saith: Among those born of women, there hath not risen greater than John the Baptist.
RESPONSORIUM BREVE/Short Responsory
Liturgical function: carries over from Jewish psalmody, as is illustrated in Psalm 117 [118], in which verses 1-4 and 29 conclude with the words, "for his mercy endureth forever".
Form: 2 sections, Respond and Verse, with the Respond repeated, either complete or partially, after each Verse
Who sings it: cantor, alternating with entire community
Characteristics: the standard doxology was added at a later date
Responsorium breve: Elisabeth Zachariae (no recording available)
Elisabeth, wife of Zachary, * gave birth to a great man. V. John the Baptist, predecessor of the Lord. * gave birth to a great man. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Elisabeth, wife of Zachary....
RESPONSORIA PROLIXA/Great Responsories
Liturgical function: contemplative musical commentaries, designed to engage the participation of the listeners, one following each Reading/Lesson of the Night Office (Matins/Vigils), with as many as 9-12 sung in a single liturgy
Form: identical to the Responsorium Breve (just above)
Who sings it: cantor, alternating with the schola
Characteristics: 1) standard phrases which recur in a number of different melodies (though not to the degree of centonization as is found in the Tracts), intermixed with free elements, except in Modes II and VIII, which are exceptionally formulaic; 2) extended melismas at the ends of many Responds; 4) one well defined verse-melody per mode
Great Responsory: Elisabeth Zachariae (no recording available)
Elisabeth, wife of Zachary, gave birth to a great man, John the Baptist, predecessor of the Lord, + who prepared the way of the Lord in the desert. V. There was a man sent by God, whose name was John. + Who....
HYMN
Liturgical function: promotes congregational participation, and illuminates certain theological truths
Form: literary text in poetic form, following a certain syllabic meter, coupled with a standardized, metrical melody which repeats from verse to verse; in the Office, the hymn is sung in its entirety, without any truncation
Who sings it: the entire community
Character: Stylistically, hymns can be divided into three categories: 1) a small number of melodies approach the character of a recitation tone by using the same pitch for the major portion of their phrases, used for the Day Hours of ordinary weekdays; 2) quite a number combine syllabic style with melodic motion in each of the phrases, ascending, descending, or in the contour of a curve; 3) melodies of a relatively ornate style, with two- or three-note neumes on a number of syllables, and occasionally with a somewhat more extended melisma on the last syllable of a phrase (1-3 are quotations from Gregorian Chant, p. 428 by Willi Apel)
Special note: Hymns were not always looked upon so favorably, as they are "man-made" rather than divinely inspired Sacred Scripture. They first became popular due to their ability to promote the participation of the faithful: first as a means of promoting heresy (the hymns of Bardesanes in 223), and not long after, as a means of combating said heresy (hymns of Saint Ephraim in 306-373).
Hymn for Saint John the Baptist: Ut queant laxis recording including all 5 verses; a neat polyphonic rendition by Orlando di Lasso here
Pictured here is the first verse of the hymn, and the origin of the solfège syllables: UT/DO, RE, MI, FA, SOL, and LA (with SI/TI and upper DO not introduced to the scale til considerably later). It is conjectured that this melody was actually contrived as a pedagogical tool by Guido d'Arezzo (although the text was already in use). Today, the hymn is sung faithfully according to this melody every June 24.
Do let our voices
resonate most purely,
miracles telling,
far greater than many;
so let our tongues be
lavish in your praises,
Saint John the Baptist.
paraphrase by Cecile Gertken, OSB (1902–2001)
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