Preface

Summary

This book tries to answer some of the questions which are often raised about Gregorian chant: what is it about and why is it the way it is? where does it come from, who composed it, and for whom? These are questions about its history, and the book is orientated towards historical matters. Thinking about the nature of Gregorian chant may nevertheless help explain why so many are interested in it and like to listen to it. For it may very well be that more people listen to Gregorian chant today, or have heard it at some time or other, in some form or other, than at any time in history. In sheer numbers, that is, not as a percentage of the population in lands with a Christian heritage. Every so often a recording of Gregorian chant climbs towards the top of the sales charts (as I write these words, the singing of the monks of the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz in Austria is making the running). No beat, no harmony, such simple note patterns! Sung quietly, free from tension, it is far removed indeed from modern music of almost every kind, and a welcome respite from the haste and clamour of everyday life. Its ‘other-worldly’ character appeals to esoteric movements, and it has been thoroughly exploited in branches of the entertainment industry.

By contrast with this popularity of Gregorian chant outside the church, things are less happy in the original home of chant, the worship of the Christian church.