Gregorian Chant and Plainchant in the Middle Ages

Introduction to Plainchant and Gregorian Chant

Pope Gregory I is famous for standardizing, in the sixth century AD, the form of monastic choral music known as chant. This form—known as plainchant, or alternatively as Gregorian chant—essentially served as the standard vocal music for church services (mainly Masses and the Divine Office) held throughout the Church, primarily in Europe, for the entirety of the Middle Ages. Plainchant consisted of Scriptural verses chanted by the members of the choir, usually monastics. It was a single line of music, with no overlapping lines as found in polyphonic music. It was monophonic, yet could consist of lines of great range and variation—from simple melodies built on a single pitch to highly elaborate melodies consisting of long, flowing lines. Plainchant was anything but plain and boring.

In fact, it was considered one of the greatest expressions of human art and helped to nurture and sustain the Christian faith for centuries. Its purity of sound and the unison manner in which choirs sang every single note produced a most compelling experience for those listening to the marvelous wall of sound. As Wilson notes, Gregorian chant was the height of medieval music: sacred rather than secular, it gave the Church a powerful way to influence and inspire souls seeking the way to Heaven in a very uncertain time in Europe.

Historical Roots and Early Development

The Roman Empire had essentially crumbled to pieces by the fifth century. Charlemagne conquered the barbarian tribes threatening the stability of what was becoming Christendom by the end of the eighth century, and on Christmas Day in 800 AD he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope for having saved the See of Peter from the barbarian threat (Laux). By introducing a political stability that had been missing in Europe, Charlemagne was also able to reinforce the foundation that Gregory had laid for the rise of sacred music during the medieval era.

Plainchant consisted of the chanting of verses in Latin. Singing hymns had been part of the Jewish tradition, and it was certainly noted as part of the Roman rite of Christian services by the third century, when Hippolytus described its usage on certain feast days in the Church (Hiley).

St. Anthony, a Christian monk from Egypt, introduced the recitation or singing of the Psalms in a continuous manner, with his monks going through all 150 Psalms every week throughout the course of the year. Antiphons were introduced around the same time by St. Ambrose towards the end of the fourth century AD. The Schola Cantorum was founded in Rome the following century to help develop the musical talents of the Church (Grout).

Pope Gregory I and the Standardization of Chant

Saints Augustine, Benedict, and Gregory all used some form of plainchant in their approaches to guiding religious services. Benedict was responsible for developing the Rule of the Divine Office, in which plainchant figured predominantly. Pope Gregory was responsible for codifying the liturgy and the use of plainchant in the Mass. He took over the Schola Cantorum and applied the standard throughout the Church by incorporating various chants from different churches across Christendom. The aim of Gregory was not to make all music everywhere identical, but to bring all the traditional melodies together under one roof where they could be learned, practiced, and brought to perfection (Grout). Gregory was considered the epitome of a music lover, and his fondness for purity in musical forms is evident in what is now known as Gregorian chant.

Works Cited

Grout, Donald. A History of Western Music. W. W. Norton & Co, 1960.

Hiley, David. Western Plainchant: A Handbook. Clarendon Press, 1995.

Laux, J. Church History. TAN, 1989.

Meconi, Honey. Hildegard of Bingen. University of Illinois Press, 2018.

Wilson, David. Music of the Middle Ages. Schirmer Books, 1990.