Friday, September 3rd, was, in the liturgical calendar, a kind of “double header” for those of us who love Gregorian chant. Two holy popes who have connections with chant happen to be remembered on this day. How can this be?
Well, it so happens that in the traditional calendar—that of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass—September 3rd is the feast of Pope Saint Pius X (r. 1903-14). In the modern calendar—that of the Ordinary Form of the Mass—September 3rd is the Memorial of Pope Saint Gregory I, “the Great” (r. 590-604). Both of these pontiffs are unofficial patrons, as it were, of Gregorian chant.
Although modern scholars doubt that Gregory the Great truly composed the chants, the legend still lives on, especially through the many medieval illuminations of Gregory with the dove of the Holy Ghost perched on his shoulder and imparting the chant into his ear while Gregory dictates it to a scribe. This apparently is where we get the expression, “A little bird told me.” The attribution of Gregory would seem to come from the Carolingians, who used the authority of his revered name to establish the Roman (i.e., Gregorian) chant as the uniform chant of their realm. Gregory was certainly a gifted pastor, administrator, and writer, in addition to being a very holy Pope, so his name will most likely continue to be associated with Gregorian chant in sæcula sæculorum.
Unlike with Pope Gregory the Great, there is copious documentation to connect Pope Pius X with Gregorian chant. Even though Giuseppe Sarto was born in 1835 to a poor family in rural Italy, he developed his personal love for Gregorian chant when he was a young boy. While still an altar boy, Giuseppe started a boy’s schola at his parish. As a young priest, Padre Sarto started a parish schola, a school of chant instruction, and encouraged his parishioners to sing the chant at Mass. In addition, he followed with great interest the vital Gregorian chant research being conducted in France at the Abbey of Saint Peter of Solesmes. In 1884 he was ordained Bishop of Mantua and he lost no time in starting a schola for the diocesan seminarians and even personally teaching courses in chant and sacred music at the seminary. In 1893 Bishop Sarto helped Pope Leo XIII with a document on sacred music. Bishop Sarto’s ideas would reappear in his later writings as Patriarch of Venice and then, ultimately, as Pope Pius X.
Ascending to the Chair of Peter on 4 August 1903, Pius X issued his famous motu proprio on sacred music on 22 November, the feast of Saint Cecilia. In the motu propio the Holy Father not only proclaimed Gregorian chant “the chant proper to the Roman Church”, he also urged that the faithful be instructed in singing the chant so that they could “take a more active part in the ecclesiastical offices, as was the case in ancient times.” Following the motu proprio, wherever pastors were receptive to the pope’s instructions, Gregorian chant began to flourish over time, only to be silenced after the Vatican Council II. Now, after so many years of liturgical and musical darkness, Gregorian chant is once again experiencing a revival, as many parishes are starting to introduce, or reintroduce it into Sunday Masses. Even more interesting is the number children’s “Chant Camps” and chant scholas that have been appearing. Ex ore infantium, Deus, et lactentium perfecisti laudem propter inimicos tuo!.
Hi
My computer crashed a few months ago and all the music I had on it is currently on my iriver. Is there anyway to put that music back onto my computer? Using windows media player or real player does not allow me to do anything except delete content or add more music.
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Performance is the physical expression of music. Often, a musical work is performed once its structure and instrumentation are satisfactory to its creators; however, as it gets performed, it can evolve and change. A performance can either be rehearsed or improvised.
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