Gregorian chant, the Catholic Church's very own music, is proper to the Roman liturgy, but during the course of its long history it has experienced periods of ascendancy and decline. A century ago, Pope Pius X called for a restoration of the sacred melodies, and the result was the Vatican Edition. This book presents for the first time in English the fully documented history of the Gregorian chant restoration. The original French edition was published by the Abbey of Solesmes in 1969.This book describes in careful, vivid detail the strenuous efforts of personalities like Dom Joseph Pothier, Dom Andre Mocquereau, Fr. Angelo de Santi, and Peter Wagner to carry out the wishes of the pope. The attentive reader will not fail to note that many of the questions so fervidly debated long ago are still current and topical today. Robert A. Skeris' introduction to this edition illuminates the current discussion with documentation, including the Preface to the Vatican Gradual and the Last Will and Testament written by Dom Eugene Cardine.

Presents the "Solesmes Method" in two parts. The first part sets forth the principles that constitute the method. The second part presents the actual rules for singing.

The Gregorian Melody is a resource of music pedagogy that centers on one of the most ancient musical repertoires honored by the church and music historians. Though it may not be common to see the word expressive describing Gregorian chant, a repertoire often associated with subdued solemnity, this volume by renowned scholar and practitioner Alberto Turco includes an abundance of insights into the Gregorian art and proposes that chant is first and foremost sung prayer, an interaction of word and melody, which both include proper and appropriate expression. The material included in this resource is foundational as it lays out the elements of the Gregorian melody through a careful analysis of first principles. It will be useful as an introduction to Gregorian chant and for helping readers to understand the Gregorian melody. Readers of all levels may turn to this book to sing the liturgical chant with a deepened appreciation for the expressive power of the Word.

Plainchant is the oldest substantial body of music that has been preserved in any shape or form. It was first written down in Western Europe in the eighth to ninth centuries. Many thousands of chants have been sung at different times or places in a multitude of forms and styles, responding to the differing needs of the church through the ages. This book provides a clear and concise introduction, designed both for those to whom the subject is new and those who require a reference work for advanced study. It begins with an explanation of the liturgies that plainchant was designed to serve. It describes all the chief genres of chant, different types of liturgical book, and plainchant notations. After an exposition of early medieval theoretical writing on plainchant, Hiley provides a historical survey that traces the constantly changing nature of the repertory. He also discusses important musicians and centers of composition. Copiously illustrated with over 200 musical examples, this book highlights the diversity of practice and richness of the chant repertory in the Middle Ages. It will be an indispensable introduction and reference source on this important music for many years to come.

Richard L. Crocker offers in this book and its accompanying compact disc an introduction to the history and meaning of the Gregorian chant. He explains how Gregorian chant began, what functions and meanings it had over time, who heard it and where, and how it was composed, learned, written down and handed on. Crocker explains Gregorian chant and its functions within modern catholic liturgy as well as its position outside this liturgy, where the modern listener may hear it just as music. He describes the origins of the chant in the early Middle Ages, details its medieval development and use, and considers how it survived without, and later with, musical notation. The author probes the paradoxical position of the chant in monastic life -- serving as an expression of liturgical fellowship on the one hand and as the medium of solitary mystic ascent on the other. The book also includes a detailed commentary on each of twenty-six complete chants performed by the Orlando Consort and by the author on the accompanying compact disc. --From publisher's description.

What is Gregorian chant, and where does it come from? What purpose does it serve, and how did it take on the form and features which make it instantly recognizable? Designed to guide students through this key topic, this book answers these questions and many more. David Hiley describes the church services in which chant is performed, takes the reader through the church year, explains what Latin texts were used, and, taking Worcester Cathedral as an example, describes the buildings in which it was sung. The history of chant is traced from its beginnings in the early centuries of Christianity, through the Middle Ages, the revisions in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the restoration in the nineteenth and twentieth. Using numerous music examples, the book shows how chants are made and how they were notated. An indispensable guide for all those interested in the fascinating world of Gregorian chant.

The purity and simplicity of Gregorian chant is what fed the musical and liturgical life of Christianity for more than a millennium before there were any Protestants. But after the reforms of the Vatican II concils in the 1960s, chant went into disuse. Gregorian chant is back, and more popular than it has been in the last forty years. This handy book is for musicians of all denominations and levels of ability to sing chant, and to understand it more than ever before. New for the second edition of this classic work are: an entirely new interior design that is easier to navigate and read, many additional chants, and historical and spiritual introductions to each of them.