Origins of Gregorian Chant and Liturgical Music

[hoop0826]

Gregorian Chant is beautiful, and lift the soul to heavenly things. It is also very old, yet still lasts. It is liturgical music used for the worship of God. The worship of God is not a new thing. What music would have been used in worship in the Jewish temple? What about before the Jewish religion? The Hebews, Isaac? Abraham? What about before the deluge? Was there liturgical chant and has any of it still with us today?

 

[Usige]

I don’t know about the music in the temple, but I understand in the synagogue that the psalms were “chanted.” I put that in quotes because I understand that musical instraments were forbidden in the synagogue by rabbinic law (something to do with tuning or carrying an instrument on the Sabbath being unessicary labor), so chant is really meant as simple songs without musical accompaniment. When I was looking for the roots of chant I read an article that said Gregorian chant is based on Jewish psalmody according to one rabbi. Google for “Jewish roots of chant” and you might find the article. How closely the sound of the psalms being chanted by Christ and the apostles is to modern Gregorian chant will never be certain.

 

[Snowwhite16]

Ahhhh Music to my ears.
Now if only it was allowed to be piped into our parish. Loud enough to cover up the awful 2 bit square dancing insturments during mass. I try hard not to make crinkled up faces however if the music director really believes they are playing beautiful music I tend to believe HE is sinful for making us listen to it.

OP I cant wait to click on your link…thanks for sharing.

 

[hoop0826]

Does the verse from Genesis 4:21

"And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of them that play upon the harp and the organs. "

have any link to liturgical music?

 

[irenaeuslyons]

Remember that Christ himself sung hymns.

credobiblestudy.com/roman/en/catholic-bible-douay-rheims-nt-book-mark-mk-chapter-14/48/14/26

I remember reading in the ‘City of God’ by Augustine that he recalls how chant made its way into the liturgy from the East, and how it lifted the spirits of the persecuted Christians in Rome.

Gregorian Chant is beautiful, and lift the soul to heavenly things. It is also very old, yet still lasts. It is liturgical music used for the worship of God. The worship of God is not a new thing. What music would have been used in worship in the Jewish temple? What about before the Jewish religion? The Hebews, Isaac? Abraham? What about before the deluge? Was there liturgical chant and has any of it still with us today?

 

[Rand_Al_Thor]

I don’t know about the music in the temple, but I understand in the synagogue that the psalms were “chanted.” I put that in quotes because I understand that musical instraments were forbidden in the synagogue by rabbinic law (something to do with tuning or carrying an instrument on the Sabbath being unessicary labor), so chant is really meant as simple songs without musical accompaniment. When I was looking for the roots of chant I read an article that said Gregorian chant is based on Jewish psalmody according to one rabbi. Google for “Jewish roots of chant” and you might find the article. How closely the sound of the psalms being chanted by Christ and the apostles is to modern Gregorian chant will never be certain.

I believe that was from an interview with Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ. He talked about a conversation he had with a Rabbi about how Jesus and the Apostles would have prayed. The Rabbi said something like, “You know your Gregorian chant? That’s it.” Although I suspect it would have been much more Eastern-sounding than Gregorian.

Also, here’s a great page with lots of old Roman chants in Latin, probably the style used before Gregorian chant was codified.
youtube.com/user/Callixtinus/videos?view=0

 

[VanSensei]

Yeah, I think it came from a tradition still in use known as cantillation, where the day’s Torah portion is chanted in Hebrew. It’s not with notes, but moreso with points on the Hebrew letters showing where to raise/lower the note.

youtube.com/watch?v=Oq4niagVL24<— an example. It’s beautiful.

 

[opus101]

You might want to read what Bishop Olmsted wrote in his article “Singing the Mass”, under the headings “Sacred Music in Judaism before the time of Christ”, and “Sacred music in the early church”.

Here is the link:adoremus.org/0512SingingtheMass.html