TLC :: The Monastery :: Gregorian Chants

Learn About Gregorian Chants

A Gregorian chant is an instrument-free, sacred song of the Roman Catholic Church. Listen to the brothers of Christ in the Desert monastery sing and learn, from Abbot Philip, about the tradition and meaning of each of the chants. Enjoy!

Agnus Dei

This is a part of the Roman Catholic Mass that occurs almost immediately before communion, while the priest is breaking the consecrated bread. It was introduced into the Holy Mass by Pope Sergius I in the year 687. He decreed that it be sung during the breaking of the consecrated bread. At Christ in the Desert we sing this chant in Latin or English in settings from the 10th through the 15th centuries.

This particular arrangement is from the 14th century. The words reflect the words of Saint John the Baptist in the Gospel: Behold the Lamb of God, behold the one who takes away the sins of the world. The song helps us focus our attention on the fact that God is truly present in the consecrated bread and wine and wants to take away our sins.

Alleluia, Confitemini

This is the Alleluia used for the great Vigil of Easter, which is the high point of our Roman Catholic Liturgy for the whole year. We have not sung Alleluia during the days of Lent that precede Holy Easter and now, after such a long silence, we burst into this wonderful musical setting of an Alleluia from at least the 10th century if not earlier.

Alleluia! Trust in the Lord for He is good and His love endures for ever! The celebrant intones the antiphon three times, each on a slightly higher note, and those who are present repeat the alleluia. Then the verse is sung and finally the Alleluia is repeated once again. This Alleluia bursts forth and expresses the great joy and delight that we feel in the celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord.

Cherubic Hymn

This is a hymn from the Eastern Churches which is used in their Divine Liturgy and has been used since near the end of the sixth century. The particular arrangement that we sang for this recording is one of many, many arrangements for this hymn, from the Byzantine Church, in modern harmony in the major mode.

At Christ in the Desert, at one period of our history, we sang many hymns and antiphons from the Eastern Churches. For a medium sized monastic choir, we found that singing the Gregorian Chant with no harmonies worked for us much better and today that is what we do. But the wonderful beauty of the four-part harmony of some of the music from the Easter Churches is hauntingly beautiful. Many people who hear this hymn immediately sense its spiritual invitation to let go of all of their troubles and enter into the mystery of God’s presence.

Dawn

This is an English translation of part of the Latin hymn “Aurora lucis rutilat,” and this part is used for the Hymn of Lauds during Easter Season here at Christ in the Desert. The Latin hymn is from the 4th to the 6th century and its author is not clearly known at all. It is called an “Ambrosian” hymn because it was at one time attributed to Saint Ambrose. The music is full of life and echoes the words so that all of the Easter Season Lauds have a feeling of joyful praise.

The Gloria

This is a song of joy and gladness that is sung in the Holy Mass on great occasions. The first words echo the words of the angels in the Gospels as part of the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a Doxology, which means a song of praise to the Holy Trinity.

In our singing at Christ in the Desert, the Gloria is sung either in Latin or in English—but always with traditional Gregorian melodies—on feastdays and solemnities. We sing this song with many Gregorian settings, mostly from the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries. Those who wrote these Gregorian melodies are simply part of the tradition and are generally not known by name. This particular Gloria is from the 10th Century. Spiritually in our Roman Catholic Mass, it expresses the joy of the celebration and invites us to reflect on Jesus our Lord as both God and human.

Nos Autem

This piece is the Entrance Song for Holy Thursday, the celebration of the Last Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Latin text is taken from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians.

The music goes back to at least the 10th century. At Christ in the Desert we use an English translation and adaptation of the melody for Holy Thursday. The spiritual meaning is very clear: all of our meaning and our life comes from the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Sanctus

This is one of the oldest musical elements in any of the celebrations of the Holy Mass and is mentioned already by Saint Clement of Rome in the year 104 A.D. The singing of the Sanctus takes place after the Preface, which introduces the most solemn part of the Holy Mass, the Eucharistic Prayer. The Sanctus is a song of praise to God for the marvelous works that He has done in creation and in redeeming us. The words are taken from the Prophet Isaiah and from the Psalms. Spiritually we are invited to become aware of the divine presence in all that is and has been and to focus that awareness in this particular celebration of God’s presence among us. The musical settings of the Sanctus come from the 10th through the 15th centuries, but mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries. This particular Sanctus is from the 11th century.

Pictures: DCI |

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