Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin used in the Roman Catholic Church. It developed mainly in western and central Europe during the ninth and tenth centuries, with later additions and revisions; although popular legend credits Pope Gregory I with inventing it, scholars believe he only ordered a compilation of melodies from across the Christian world, and that most of the melodies represent a later Carolingian synthesis of Old Roman chant and Gallican chant.
Facts
MediumMonophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin of the Roman Catholic Church. 1 Signature TechniqueNeumatic notation, perfected at the Schola Cantorum, recording melody without a fixed pitch staff. 1 Place of OriginWestern and central Europe, developed mainly during the 9th and 10th centuries. 1 Notable ExampleVictimae paschali laudes, one of the best-known Gregorian sequences. 1 Connections
Associated With
Choral Music, Art Forms Gregorian chant, the medieval monophonic liturgical repertoire, is the historical root from which the later Western choral tradition grew.
Movements
Gregorian chant was codified and standardized as the official liturgical chant of the Frankish Church during the Carolingian reforms of the 8th and 9th centuries.
Sources
1. Gregorian Chant (Wikipedia)
Wikipedialead section, Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions.
Sequence section, Gregorian chant
Gregorian sequences include such well-known chants as Victimae paschali laudes and Veni Sancte Spiritus.
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