Gregorian Chant Should be Given Pride of Place in the Liturgy

As part of the Church reforms made during the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI promulgated “Sacrosanctum Concilium” subtitled as the “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy”. This document affirmed the role of Gregorian Chant in the liturgy. We find this topic appropriate to be studied today as we celebrate the Feast of Saint Gregory the Great. Article 116 of Sacrosanctum Concilium stated:

“The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.” (SC 116)

However, today, we rarely hear Gregorian chant during our liturgical celebrations. Some would argue that Vatican II did away with Gregorian chant since “popular musical genres are appropriate for Masses celebrated in the liturgy.”

It may be true that Vatican II permitted the use of other forms of music as stated in the second paragraph of Sacrosanctum Concilium Art. 116:

“But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action, as laid down in Art. 30.” (SC 116)

But it should be noted that since prior to this paragraph, the Church declared Gregorian chant as “suited to the Roman liturgy”, it is undeniably true that Vatican II never intended to put Gregorian chant into the trash. The arrangement of the texts of SC 116 shows that the use of Gregorian chant should be the norm, and the use of other kinds of music are exceptions to this norm, not the other way around as can be observed in most parishes today.

But why is the Church fond of Gregorian chant?

Is it because of nostalgia for the past? Absolutely no. The Church promotes Gregorian chant because it is most suitable to the liturgy. In his encyclical entitled “Musicae Sacrae” (not to be confused with Musicam Sacram), Pope Pius XII instructed that music used in the liturgy should possess “holiness and goodness of form”, should be holy not profane, and should interpret the force and efficacy of the text. A careful study of Gregorian chant and a simple comparative study with other forms of music will show that Gregorian chant bears these qualities mentioned by Pope Pius XII.

MS 41: “First of all the chants and sacred music which are immediately joined with the Church’s liturgical worship should be conducive to the lofty end for which they are intended. This music — as our predecessor Pius X has already wisely warned us — “must possess proper liturgical qualities, primarily holiness and goodness of form; from which its other note, universality, is derived.””

MS 42: “It must be holy. It must not allow within itself anything that savors of the profane nor allow any such thing to slip into the melodies in which it is expressed. The Gregorian chant which has been used in the Church over the course of so many centuries, and which may be called, as it were, its patrimony, is gloriously outstanding for this holiness.”

MS 43. “This chant, because of the close adaptation of the melody to the sacred text, is not only most intimately conformed to the words, but also in a way interprets their force and efficacy and brings delight to the minds of the hearers. It does this by the use of musical modes that are simple and plain, but which are still composed with such sublime and holy art that they move everyone to sincere admiration and constitute an almost inexhaustible source from which musicians and composers draw new melodies.”

MS 44. “It is the duty of all those to whom Christ the Lord has entrusted the task of guarding and dispensing the Church’s riches to preserve this precious treasure of Gregorian chant diligently and to impart it generously to the Christian people. Hence what Our predecessors, St. Pius X, who is rightly called the renewer of Gregorian chant, and Pius XI have wisely ordained and taught, We also, in view of the outstanding qualities which genuine Gregorian chant possesses, will and prescribe that this be done. In the performance of the sacred liturgical rites this same Gregorian chant should be most widely used and great care should be taken that it should be performed properly, worthily and reverently. And if, because of recently instituted feast days, new Gregorian melodies must be composed, this should be done by true masters of the art. It should be done in such a way that these new compositions obey the laws proper to genuine Gregorian chant and are in worthy harmony with the older melodies in their virtue and purity.”

FIFTY YEARS AFTER VATICAN II, we might say that the Church failed in fulfilling the vision of the Council Fathers to promote Gregorian chant in the liturgy. However, it is a relief to find out that in recent years, Gregorian chant seems to slowly regain its popularity in liturgies and even in popular devotions. Gregorian chants that are frequently sung in Philippine parishes today include the Salve Regina and Regina Coeli (for Easter). In God’s good time, hopefully, Gregorian chant will once again gain its prominence in the Sacred Liturgy of the Roman Rite.

REFERENCES:
Lewis, M. (2021, August 10). Gregorian chant and the post-Vatican II liturgy. Catholic Outlook. https://catholicoutlook.org/gregorian-chant-and-the-post-vatican-ii-liturgy/

Pius XII (1955). Musicae Sacrae. Retrieved from https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_25121955_musicae-sacrae.html.

Schmid, W. (2018, January 28). The Beauty of Gregorian Chant in the Liturgy — St. Mary Magdalene, Gilbert, AZ. Http://www.Smarymag.Org. https://smarymag.org/blog.php?month=201801&id=46944628&cat=&pg=1&title=The+Beauty+of+Gregorian+Chant+in+the+Liturgy

Vatican II Council (1963). Sacrosanctum Concilium. Retrieved from https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html.

NB: This story was originally published at www.facebook.com/dcfvanguardsoftruth