Page 134 - Glasbenopedagoški zbornik Akademije za glasbo v Ljubljani / The Journal of Music Education of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, leto 13, zvezek 27 / Year 13, Issue 27, 2017
P. 134
SBENOPEDAGOŠKI ZBORNIK, 27. zvezek
Gregorian singing as the foundation of Western European cultural and musical
heritage
Gregorian singing presents a various repertory of Christian monodic music, which was
created and standardised in the first millennium for liturgical rituals of the Roman church.
These rituals include Eucharistic Celebration and the Liturgy of the Hours1 (Martinjak,
1997). Following the standardisation of Western Christian singing, This type of singing
was named after Pope Saint Gregory the Great (c. 540-604), following the standardisation
of western Christian singing. Totality of Gregorian heritage was generated by joining
different local traditions of liturgical singing which had been created until the eight
century (Koprek, 2013). One of the essential qualities of Gregorian melody is a close link
with the text which was most frequently based on the Scripture. So, it represents the sound
image of a certain Biblical text. The exceptions are Gregorian hymns and later created
sequences in which we find strophic and prose types of poetry from the first millennium of
Christianity. Due to the fact which testifies that Gregorian chant is a singed prayer, this
type of singing got the name holy singing (Martinjak, 1997; Koprek, 2013).
Recognisability of Gregorian melody has been shaped through many centuries. Its main
characteristics are: unison singing, diatonic singing based on the tonal scales without the
chromatics, free rhythm singing which follows the law of spoken words giving the melody
its naturalness, spontaneity, festiveness and serenity; and finally, modal singing founded
on the tonal system of eight scales or modes of the Old Church (Martinjak, 1997).
In the cultural sense, Gregorian singing as art overrides the ancient Greek and Jewish
musical practice by incorporating the spirit of Western Christianity. That makes
Gregorian singing a foundation of a great part of Early Modern Times European music
practice. Musicologist Jacques Challey (2006) claims that not only old traditions were
passed around in the old convents, but also new musical techniques which lead to today’s
music must have been created.
Since Christian singing was in the making since the beginning of Christianity, exclusively
for the needs of Service, it incorporated in itself many older traditions. Martinjak (1997)
stresses that, although today’s Gregorian repertory was created in later centuries, the way,
purpose and style of liturgical singing were transferred into compositions which were
being made later.
Despite the fact that liturgy in Jerusalem temples used various string, wind and percussion
instruments, Christians have nonetheless taken psalmody from Hebrew musical culture,
the way it was practiced in synagogues. This type of singing was based on modular
reciting in free non-metrical rhythm which connects psalmody, as the foundation of
1 Repertory of Eucharistic Celebration or Mass consists of parts that vary or the proper (proprium): Introit
(introitus), Gradual (graduale), Sequence (sequentia), Alleluia (alleluia), Trop (tropus), Tract (tractus),
Offertory (offertorium) and Communion (communio). Invariable parts are: Lord, Have Mercy (Kyrie
eleison), Glory (Gloria), Creed (Credo), Sacred, Blessed (Sanctus, Benedictus) and Lamb of God (Agnus
Dei). Repertory for the Liturgy of the Hours consists of: a hymn (hymnus), antiphony (antiphona), psalm
(psalmus), responsory (responsorium) and song of praise (cantica).
134
Gregorian singing as the foundation of Western European cultural and musical
heritage
Gregorian singing presents a various repertory of Christian monodic music, which was
created and standardised in the first millennium for liturgical rituals of the Roman church.
These rituals include Eucharistic Celebration and the Liturgy of the Hours1 (Martinjak,
1997). Following the standardisation of Western Christian singing, This type of singing
was named after Pope Saint Gregory the Great (c. 540-604), following the standardisation
of western Christian singing. Totality of Gregorian heritage was generated by joining
different local traditions of liturgical singing which had been created until the eight
century (Koprek, 2013). One of the essential qualities of Gregorian melody is a close link
with the text which was most frequently based on the Scripture. So, it represents the sound
image of a certain Biblical text. The exceptions are Gregorian hymns and later created
sequences in which we find strophic and prose types of poetry from the first millennium of
Christianity. Due to the fact which testifies that Gregorian chant is a singed prayer, this
type of singing got the name holy singing (Martinjak, 1997; Koprek, 2013).
Recognisability of Gregorian melody has been shaped through many centuries. Its main
characteristics are: unison singing, diatonic singing based on the tonal scales without the
chromatics, free rhythm singing which follows the law of spoken words giving the melody
its naturalness, spontaneity, festiveness and serenity; and finally, modal singing founded
on the tonal system of eight scales or modes of the Old Church (Martinjak, 1997).
In the cultural sense, Gregorian singing as art overrides the ancient Greek and Jewish
musical practice by incorporating the spirit of Western Christianity. That makes
Gregorian singing a foundation of a great part of Early Modern Times European music
practice. Musicologist Jacques Challey (2006) claims that not only old traditions were
passed around in the old convents, but also new musical techniques which lead to today’s
music must have been created.
Since Christian singing was in the making since the beginning of Christianity, exclusively
for the needs of Service, it incorporated in itself many older traditions. Martinjak (1997)
stresses that, although today’s Gregorian repertory was created in later centuries, the way,
purpose and style of liturgical singing were transferred into compositions which were
being made later.
Despite the fact that liturgy in Jerusalem temples used various string, wind and percussion
instruments, Christians have nonetheless taken psalmody from Hebrew musical culture,
the way it was practiced in synagogues. This type of singing was based on modular
reciting in free non-metrical rhythm which connects psalmody, as the foundation of
1 Repertory of Eucharistic Celebration or Mass consists of parts that vary or the proper (proprium): Introit
(introitus), Gradual (graduale), Sequence (sequentia), Alleluia (alleluia), Trop (tropus), Tract (tractus),
Offertory (offertorium) and Communion (communio). Invariable parts are: Lord, Have Mercy (Kyrie
eleison), Glory (Gloria), Creed (Credo), Sacred, Blessed (Sanctus, Benedictus) and Lamb of God (Agnus
Dei). Repertory for the Liturgy of the Hours consists of: a hymn (hymnus), antiphony (antiphona), psalm
(psalmus), responsory (responsorium) and song of praise (cantica).
134
