What is Gregorian Chant ?
Why is called "Gregorian"?
Where and when did start,in which country,in
which centoury?
Why we can still listen to Gregorian Chant after playing rock music?
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Did you know that Gregorian chant disappered for 500 years and was "reestablished"by some French monks
at the beginnig of the twentieth century?
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1.Let us listen now to a piece of Greek music ,a song that was sung in the first century B.C.It was
found on a grave in the Middle East .A dead man speaks to his human friends:"As long as you live ,shine!Don't
worry about anything .Life is short .One must take into account the importance of time." The "sad joy"
we have in this world!
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Now for a piece of Gregorian Chant ,an Easter song from the early Middle East :" Victime Paschali
".It is a dialogue between the Church and Mary of Magdala on the day of the Ressurection " To the Paschali
victim,Christians ,bring your sacrifice of praise ! The lamb hath redeemed his sheep .Tell us Mary,what
didst thou see on the way? I saw the tomb of the living Christ and the glory of the risen Christ.I saw
the Angels ,His witnesses,the napkin and the linen cloths.Christ, my hope hath risen.He will go before
you into Galilee."And the Church bursts into song of praise : We know that Christ hath truly risen from
the dead.Victorious King,have mercy on us.......!"
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3.There are hundreds of Gregorian compositions ,anonymous ,perfect and beautiful.We choose some parts
of Gregorian music, from the treasures of Gregorian compositions : The Kyrie (Lord ,have mercy) X century,The
Sanctus IX (Holy,Holy) XIV century The Agnus dei( Lamb of God) X century
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We tried to answer these questions by presenting"The Journey of the Centuries ",a Gregorian Chant
concert ,on November 11,1998 at St.Boniface Cathedral (located in St.Boniface in Winnipeg,Manitoba,Canada).We
thus wished to be your guide through a realm of beauty,from sixth century B.C. up to our times.Our motto
was:"Beauty has begotten beauty!". The musical treasures we possess today date from rules discovered
2,600 years ago.Where? In Greece .And these discoveries were preserved for fifteen centuries in Gregorian
Chant,the nusic of the Christian world .It is one of the greatest treasures of our civilization.
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4.Gregorian Chant is monodic .One tune ,one melody.For centuries,people wondered:" It is posssible
to sing and combine more melodies together to generate a new musical experience ,melodious and beautiful?."
Attempts were made,often futile and ridiculous .Let us listen to a piece from the thirteenth century
,in which two melodies are sung together without any internal relation: Precedentem Sponsum de thalamo(
a combination pf wordly words and biblical terms).
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5. Through the folowing centuries ,attempt continued to be made - and were crowned with succes.Using
the permitted relations of the old music ( fifths ,sixths and fourhs),the secret of harmony was gradually
discovered.In the sixteenth century ,Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina left us a true realm of Beauty in
his more than 300 compositions .Leading many voices ,he binds harmonies and cadences .The following
ages gave us more and more beauty .Let us listen to a demonstration ,part of the "German Mass" by Franz
Schubert: " Heilig ,Heilig,Heilig"
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6. We end with two Gregorian songs
First ,accompanied by the harp ,Psalm 114,which was sung
every Sunday of the afternoon Liturgy of the Church(Vespers).(With a great power God saved his people
from bondage in Egypt). " In Exitu Israel de Egypto" ( When Israel left Egypt)
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The last song is an Antophon ,a short song from the Middle Ages in honour of the Mother of the Saviour."
Ave,Regina Caelorum"( Hail,Queen of Heaven)
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