I know why you put Gregorian chant in the title instead of late renaissance sacred polyphony - to get more clicks - but you should not have done so. Also, Allegri's Miserere is performed with this ludicrously high section due to modern musicologists' misunderstanding of renaissance clefs and transposition. For an explanation, see the RUclips channel Early Music Sources' video on the piece.
I'm Nigerian and I love the Gregorian Chant. Ideas don't have color or race.... they may emerge from on part of the world but are ever the common heritage of all mankind. I think the Gregorian Chant is truly beautiful ✝️
My Chinese protestant best friend came into a Catholic Church and was in awe of the Gregorian chant! She said it was one of the most beautiful things ever. My Muslim Arabic friend also said the same thing about Catholic cathedrals. This isn’t Eurocentricity! It’s recognizing beauty!
Atheists/Secularists make everything about race, wealth, geography, etc-concerns of the world-but history tells a completely different and much more compete story when you realize religion was the MAIN motivation and the MAIN accomplishment. And when Secularists boast of practically anything, they're taking attribution away from religion and reascribing it to ethnic or geographic communities instead of the spiritual ones who recognize no such barriers... "Neither Greek nor Jew, slave nor free...." It's stolen history. Like every single instance the Secularists blithely use "BCE" to sterilize the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian monks weren't just musicians, they were mathematicians, architects, and basically everything the secular world drools over except perverts. That's why modern attacks on the Church HAVE to push the pervert narrative, even if it takes planting real ones to try to destroy it from within. The result is-just look around-ugly art, ugly architecture, and ugly music, delusionally lauding itself as existentially self-contained; because true sophistication actually CANNOT stand apart from acknowledgement of God. "Believing themselves wise, they became fools...."
Exactly! I’m a born and raised Methodist from central Arkansas, but I think the sound of the muezzin calling Muslims to prayer is beautiful. Hearing that sound coming from the minaret, spreading over the rooftops of some ancient city…it gives me goosebumps.
Myself and my fiancé are practicing Catholics but her parents are not religious at all and come from a non-denom Christian background. They came with us to my godson’s first communion and it happened to be the day that the music director at the church was retiring . Because it was the music director’s last day, the choir and orchestra at church went “all out”. While not Gregorian chant, it was extremely beautiful and reverent tradition western Christian music. Both my future in-laws were remarkably moved and were both saying afterwards how they wanted to start going to Catholic Mass afterwards. Really shows the transformative power of music and beauty.
@@olgac.h.1278 We as the Church need to strive until it DOES happen every day! This music is part of our EVANGELISM, and we want to be effective in our evangelism. (It also edifies the people of God at Mass). Sacred Music first came into my life in 1991 as part of a History of Music class in college, and I LOVED it so much that it became a part of my CD music collection. Listened to it a lot. It worked on my heart in the background of my life for 30 years, and it helped the process when I encountered Catholic apologetics arguments I couldn't overcome during some intense debates and I suddenly realized I needed to become Catholic. My experiences with that music, as well as the messages in that music (i.e., related to "eating the body and drinking the blood" of Jesus) had prepped me for this and made the decision not nearly so hard as it would have been otherwise (I HATED Catholicism most of my life!). "Music tames the savage beast"? I really think so! We should not tolerate "modern" music in the Church.
@@henrybn14ar you could have just said it has roots in Eastern Mediterranean culture. You mention that it evolves, where did it primarily evolve? Europe, hence the name Gregorian after a European Pope. If you make significant developments you have rights of intellectual/artistic property.
Several years ago, I was on pilgrimage in Spain (Camino). One of the most memorable interactions I had with a fellow pilgrim was with a Chinese ex-buddhist who was newly evangelical Protestant. She had never heard any type of Sacred Music such as Gregorian chant or any type of polyphony. Fortunately, I brought with me an MP3 player containing various chants and polyphony. One day she asked me about what I listened to during periods of hiking and meditating. I explained that I listened to sermons, talks, and sacred music. I tried my best to explain it but realized she could only benefit by listening. The look on her face is etched in my mind when she first heard Gregorian chant. Next, the polyphony nearly blew her away. She had never before heard anything like this praising God and was simply taken aback. Her countenance seemingly transformed as if seeing an angel. She was serious, joyful, and serene as the melodies lifted her soul. It was a beautiful moment and one I hope helped this young lady begin her journey home.
one of the worst things about Mass today is the horrible music, the over use of microphones, the "songs" keyed in soprano which excludes men, and the melodies that are stupid even by musical standards, let alone Catholic liturgical standards.
Guaranteed that many more people would convert and actually show up to Mass if Gregorian chants were a regular part of the music rather than folksy guitars and 70s hymns.
I can't stand the music, even the low mass the parishioners feel like they need to accapella I would prefer no singing to folk music, but I am really there for Jesus not the music
As I told our priest, "If I wanted to see a second rate musical, I would go see a high school show. I want the Mass to be as special as is the reason we celebrate the Mass.
My husband had a team of oxen as a teen. He always played classical music in the barn and the oxen were relaxed and eating. My husband’s brother thought it was funny to change the radio station to rock music. With the rock music playing the oxen became very agitated , anxious and stressed and they stopped eating.
Father Ripperger says that the demons hate Gregorian chant. It drives them away. I listen to my CD of the chant at home while doing chores. Always puts me in a reverent space.
We get the Old Testament passage, Psalm, New Testament passage, and the Gospel every time we go to Church. Also, how can we have more Books in the Bible than yours but we don’t have and don’t know what Bible is?
@@ChomperZomber Who are you talking to? Yes the "Orthodox" have more books they claim. You can get the King James Bible with apocrypha if you really believe it. The story of David playing to Saul relates to topic. Read it all. One verse a week isn't satisfying your hunger. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God!
@@lasousoupe That's just false. Everyone was King James Only for years. "Yet among English Catholics the King James Version was widely accepted from the 18th century; moreover, when the Douai-Reims Bible was updated in the mid-18th century, the translator, Richard Challoner (1691-1781), a convert from Protestantism to Catholicism, largely worked from the King James Version"- encyclopedia brittanica.
Allegri's Miserere is in my opinion the best piece of music ever written, and that's coming from a classical pianist who has listened to tons of classical music as well as many other works of chant.
On Mother's Day at N.O. Mass I heard Ave Maria sung by legit opera singer and I almost cried b/c it was so beautiful. I'm new to Church in general but I know for a fact that Sacred Music moves me more to a prayerful mind in the Mass.
Bach and Mozart's instrumental music is what I listened to, on the few LPs we had 50-odd years ago, to focus as I studied Eng. Lit. for my Honours degree. Gregorian chant was heard rarely in those days, if ever. Allegri I knew nothing about. (We lived in a "backwater" then! In faraway India.) But once heard loved inexpressibly. I am a devout, practising Catholic, now crippled in all limbs, praying to be taken home. Allegri's Miserere (in this recording) expresses all I say to the Lord, perfectly. Thank you, Brian for this video. 🕊
Brian, worry not! Gregorian is almost heavenly. As such it is meant to uplift the soul, ergo it is universal. Just like classical music, which is played in Korea, China, Japan, Europe and in America from Canada all the way thru Central America, and every country in South America as far as Argentina and Chile. Sacred music is a heritage of Christianity.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that, for those who argue music like this is an imposition of "colonialism," this same attitude and criticism extends Christianity in general. They just aren't as open about that bit. It's all about chipping away at the foundations, identifying perceived vulnerabilities in anything associated with their hated status quo.
You are not wrong Brian. The people who do not appreciate Gregorian chants and polyphonic sacred music are all too often in a hurry to go on with their own things in life and such music to them seems to be a waste of time and should be suppressed. God, however, is today touching the hearts of many among the young generations. Pray and keep being positive; things are changing and turning hearts towards the sublime.
I love this! (And Allegri's Miserere has been with me for many years now, long before I ever considered becoming Catholic in 2021. The first time I ever heard it, I was stunned speechless, it moved me so, even to tears! Unbeknownst to me, it and a few other Gregorian-type Catholic works in my then-growing music collection were working on me even then, preparing me for what someday would be. This music is very, very powerful stuff, and I'm absolutely floored that we collectively have allowed the "modernists" to try to discard it in favor of their preferred modern music styles - so sad! This is the music of Heaven, and it moves hearts!)
As a protestant Christian believer....i was so moved that...i almost wept with joy and wonderment at this stunning and amazing clip of these three villagers being..blessed and inspired and blown away by what they were hearing!!... that being said.....this whole excersize sir....was a tremendous and powerful way of witnessing to these sincere souls about the good news of the Gospel of The King of Kings... .The Lord Jesus Christ!! (even if they didnt comprehend the language..yet.....The Spirit of God....moved them in their heart of hearts)...... Thank you so much...for sharing this stunning clip with the world!! May God bless you and keep you sir!!...Because you truly "get it"......and are a true believer!!.....Thank you sir for blessing me (and all watching this)... in such a profound way...with this clip and your inspired words along with it!!
The beauty of Gregorian chant for me goes from calming, to beauty, to emotional connection to God, to joining into the prayer of the chant to God. Also, on a stressful or frustrating day, Gregorian chant resets me. So love Gregorian chant.
I can understand that. And I can agree with that. I’ve grown up in Protestant churches (Presbyterian, Southern Baptist, Assemblies of God, and charismatic non-denominational as the most recent). I’ve even been to a Bible College with music training specifically for worship teams in a prayer room context (think 24/7 prayer with singers and musicians). So I get what it is like to be fully immersed in Christian music born outside of the Catholic Church context. From that perspective there is some sense of a difference between Christian worship music and music with a Christian worldview for those like me who have pursued to know and obey God sincerely. Now that I’ve been in the Catholic Church and undergoing RCIA I understand further a kind of music suited for reflecting upon the mysteries of God as seen in the Mass. Myself and others in my friendship circle were leaning towards that kind of music that successfully invites us to reflect upon God. What I am noticing and experiencing in the Catholic Church is more, “it’s always been here. And it is rooted in the core parts of the Catholic faith that have carried on for thousands of years now.”
I agree that many only engage with forms of worship for the entertainment factor but God is not a mystery otherwise we wouldn’t be able to “take in accurate knowledge” of God in the first place. Calling it a mystery only serves us to distance from Him when He wants us to draw close to Him.
I’m Protestant and I pray with chants on what it does for me is brings me into a space where I feel like I’m in the presence of God worshipping along with the saints and angels in heaven I’m more focus on God and less focus on my emotions…it’s truly powerful
"we've an obligation",& "we all know"😅🤣, you may be preaching to the choir ha ha but not at all. Spare us all from being obliged to what you think and, - no, - we don't all or even in large proportion "know" any such thing. Both comments are more of a clique thing. It's not an extreme either or absolute.
It is definitely divine. The first time I heard it live was in a Latin mass. It felt like heaven came down to be with us as we received Him. I rescued a vintage copy of a set of Gregorian vinyl LPs recorded in a monastery. It’s amazing that I scored such a rare recording in 100% playable vinyl, pretty much new, for 10 dollars. I love playing it.
We musicans need the support of good Shepperds that will help the flock understand the theology of worship. The music is a reflection of our ego centric culture and worship attitudes. Musicians and pastors have to be one with this. I've worked for priests that have told me they want to give people a lift and feel good about things, and I've worked for priests that get it and have the mind of the church. Pray for sheppards to tend to the flock that will put effort into changing hearts towards a more Christ center worship. Too many are bogged down by demands of administration and are overworked. We need more priests
I’m a catholic convert but I still teach vocal lessons to Protestant worship leaders. The songs are mainly from Hillsong, Maverick City, Elevation Worship etc…It’s very energetic music. It takes so much effort to sing. I couldn’t imagine being sick or just tired or sad going to church and basically not being able to participate because I wouldn’t be able to get into the “energy” of the music. It’s about creating a mood and evoking emotions. I would say this isn’t relying on the Holy Spirit but a stirring of emotions.
You can see how the grace acts, Gregorian Chant has the capacity to lift up the soul to God and that's what gives peace because its something so sublime and It makes us think of Heaven and drives us to conversion. Im proud of being Catholic and being part of the Only and real Church, God and Mary bless you all
I started learning Gregorian with the intention of applying it to the mass I serve as a cantor, this after learning what the missal and SC says about sacred music and what place Gregorian Chant holds in the liturgy. It was not an easy task as there is no other community in my diocese that does this that I’m aware of and the material that is available online is not quite clear for someone that never had a prior experience with this kind of music, but I slowly started adding Gregorian chants as I learned them (at this point I already expressed to my priest that I wanted to learn it and sing it) I got to the point of singing the entire ordinary, as my end goal was to be able to sing the propers as well, but I got stopped as my parish priest told me I should actually not sing the entirety of the ordinary, after interchanging some words he asked me why I wanted to do this, I told him is what SC says must be done, then he said I was reading SC literally and not in the spirit of the council, I was speechless, I thought the phrase “spirit of the council” was a caricature or exaggeration from traditional circles but no. I can’t help but feel like wanting to follow the rules is punished by our own pastors. I ask for your prayers.
I went to my TLM last Sunday in Edmonton, it’ moved me in a different kind of way, I felt a beautiful connection - it’s almost as though the mass came alive - I’ve never heard chant in real life - it brought tears to my eyes - they don’t have TLM where I live
On the topic of sacred music and it's impact on us, a family member of mine who is not a practicing catholic once attended a confirmation Mass that had very, very beautiful music and said that if she had grown up with music like that in the Mass she probably would have stayed catholic.
What I love about your presentations, Brian, is that you so beautifully unwrap them explaining the subject matter in a precise and crystal clear method. Always intellectually satisfying. Thank you.
As a specialist in this field, I agree with everythig you said. I believe the position of those against authentic sacred music (ie Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony) stems from relativism and sentimentality. Words like euro-centric and colonialism, as such, don’t belong in a discussion about Catholic sacred music. Whenever someone starts speaking in those terms to me it tells me good will is not their motivation, so I form my responses carefully but completely in line with Church teaching about sacred music. Yes, different forms of sacred music can be used liturgically, but one always has to keep the rule of Pope St. Pius X in mind. The closer a composition resembles Gregorian chant, the more it is appropriate for Mass, and the less it sounds like Gregorian chant, the less it is appropriate for Mass.
Yup sometimes I walk out during the last hymn because its either like a childish nursery rhyme or a silly advertising jingle, or something schmaltzy from a 50s movie.
I used to go to TLM but after moving house there is only NO here. I feel like if I have to listen to "all things bright and beautiful" one more time......😢
"The main place should be given, all things being equal, to Gregorian chant, as being proper to the Roman Liturgy" (GIRM 41, cf. SC 116). But what gets the main place at many Masses these days? Classics like Missa My Little Pony and friends.
The objection to Gregorian chant and other similarly traditional forms of religious music as euro centric would carry more weight… if all the alternatives were not similarly western in character.
There's nothing wrong with Gregorian Chant being "Euro-centric" either, I would say it is "Western". It is designed by and for for Western people primarily. It is the ancestral tradition of Western people. The Church doesn't have a one size fits all traditional music, rather we have a great diversity of timeless traditions with their respective sacred music for those peoples. Gregorian chant for the Latin rite, and Byzantine chant for the Greek Catholics etc. However, like the other traditional forms of sacred music, Gregorian Chant has features that are objectively beautiful, which is what places it above the more modern/contemporary forms of Church music. Surpassing our changing tastes, orienting us towards a transcendent beauty, and connecting us with our ancestors.
the objection to gregorian chant as "euro centric" is woke hors****t and should be ridiculed and exposed as irrational, spiteful and basically a non-problem.
Objections based on being offended is missing the point anyway to me. It takes away from the worship of God and puts the focus on a person being a grump.
@@a.p.5429 Gregorian Chant is a European form of music from the Eastern Mediterranean. European music is typically in a major or minor scale. Gregorian Chant is modal ie Eastern.
I have a little treat for you Brian. In Ireland there is a style of singing that goes back 800 years. Its called Sean Nos and it treats the art of singing as a divine gift. The songs thenselves are personal stories about people who lived and in most of the songs experienced sad and tragic events. If your interested they can be found on RUclips. The singers i recommend are Piaras O'Larcain, Seamus and Caoimbhe Flaherty. Also, i recommend for Gregorian music, Jan Garbarek and the Hilyard Ensemble - Officium. It uses the alto sax in Gregorian music!
The same is true in nursing homes especially the dementia wing. The horrible staff insisted on playing aggressive rap music and couldn't figure out why the patients were always so agitated and violent
This piece of music is perhaps the most beautiful of all time. Tallis Scholars performance of this piece tops them all, but this powerful piece has been my favorite for over 40+ years. Thank you for addressing this piece, this genre of music.
There has been so much beautiful music written around the Christian faith and this piece honors God to the highest no matter what culture. And it’s all done with the human voice and this makes it pure of Heart and Spirit! I tend to agree with you about this piece and it’s always been one of my best favorites! Kind Thanks and Many Blessings, Love, Peace, Abundance and Joy of Being! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
@@delvingeorge2807Not required in a short Latin sentence. Back then, they were smart enough to understand the “est” without having to write or utter it. “Lex orandi, lex credendi” is the saying; no “est,” and that’s fine, though it would be fine with it too. “Ex pluribus unum” would also be just as valid as “e pluribus unum,” but it would be far less poetic.
We went to a St. Josephine Bakhita Mass when we first moved to the new area. They were howling, using percussion instruments, a tambourine, an electric keyboard… I actually developed a headache. The bishop allows that but not the TLM there.
We do not worship music, we worship Christ. Yes it is beautiful, but it is also egotistical since mans ego has created it.. To over value such things can lead us astray. Enjoy it, but do not let it's absence lead you away from what is right.
I totally agree it helps you to reflect and humbly wait upon the Holy Spirit to hear God's voice in that still small voice without distraction. It encompasses you, envelopes you in his love and understanding to encourage you to move into his presence. Love it.
Brian. As a person who struggles with prayer and isn't musically inclined... that was God's way of saying I should join the choir. "He who sings well, prays twice". I became a chanter at the TLM for the better part of a decade. Just needed a choir director who was patient enough. Some professional musicians tell me I actually got good. I gave God my ineptitude with music and stubbornly attended choir practice. It takes alot of swallowing of pride, giving God my embarrassment, etc. All my obstacles and excuses.
I'm not Catholic but I love Gregorian Chant. I learned how to read their music when I was in the College of music. However, I also enjoy Praise and Worship songs. If only I can put them together, that would be a blast❤ There is a time for everything.
You should write a comment under the video of the Common Man Show, saying that you made a reaction video to our beloved Babu, Sarru and Raeen (from right to left). I think they would be very happy about it! I also loved their reaction to the Christmas story. :)
Great vid Brian. Your points are well made. The "not prayer" argument you made is very compelling! Why on this Earth would anyone want music for Mass that is not prayer? Music made without prayer in mind is indeed a distraction and not a help!
I had the privilege of singing in the Vatican today. Ave Maria Angelus Domini sounded incredible. You can’t get that at the 11:30 Folk Mass or the 5:00 Praise and Worship Mass. I’m sorry, but nothing compares. I joke that music peaked when polyphony hit the scene… maybe it’s true after all
Thank you, Mr. Holdsworth for the video on Gregorian chant. I've loved it since it was first heard in the early '70's. When asking our music teacher about it, she thanked me for giving her the lesson. So many people want to pooh-pooh it as "ancient" or, too difficult to sing; and get irritated when it's pointed out that modern hip music that's played church is far more difficult. Thanks again for your efforts.
Recently someone said that Jesus sang a lot, a lineage of music minded inheritance. Beautiful angelic vibes, the chants of old are sounds of comfort. I also adore the singing nun, a joyful tune, Dominic, apostleship relatives🔆🙏🏽❤️
The nearest church to me plays and sings pop music throughout Mass. I drive an extra 8 miles to go where they have a beautiful organ and amazing choir. It is SO important to me.
I'm catholic. I used to sing gregorian with men choir, with big choirs, church choirs... If God allows me a zest of paradise, I'll know it while hearing gregorian chants. Jesus's messages went through me by catholic church. But if evil inspire bad church, he'dnget rid of ART...such as gregorian chants. But, The Church is Christians Hearts in Faith, and unity in Prayers, the Love of Jesus Christ through Live, Truth, the Only Way. We may have difficulties ahead but, formthe Love our Lord, We'll stay united in Prayers!
That version of the Miserere is a mixture of old and modern. Mozart transcribed the original (allegedly from memory after listening to a performance). But the arrangement most commonly used nowadays includes modifications from the 19th and 20th centuries.
This video was recommended after watching the Common Man Show reaction to both the Misereri and also the Dies Irae. I too was thinking about how all the Novus Ordo, modernist arguments for "relevant" sacred music in the vernacular (which really just means appropriating Baptist and other Protestant styles of popular Christian music into the liturgy) falls apart when watching these men react to both songs, the transcendence they experience without knowing a single word. If you haven't watched the Dies Irae one, I highly recommend, as it is the better of the two reactions (their LoTR reaction video is also very good). Babu, the older man, actually makes the signum crucis duing Dies Irae! As a counter-revolutionary Catholic who solely assists at the TLM, I'm grateful to have found your channel! Pax et bonum!
"If you remove the lyrics of Gregorian Chant, it still sounds like prayer." Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the main theme from the original "Halo: Combat Evolved". No lyrics but I instinctively found something "sacred" about it without knowing a single thing about Gregorian chant or Catholicism in general. The music is partially what made me obsessed with the franchise as a kid in the first place.
Yep. Gregorian Chant is so deeply ingrained in the minds of Western people it literally became a meme for a time. It's good to remember when speaking with others, Gregorian Chant is more popular than people think.
I love this video. I couldn’t agree more, and I’m getting very sick of all the gaslighters trying to downplay the importance of genres for sacred music.
Beautiful is beautiful, music is music, both are subjective in nature. I'm not religious but i still appreciate beauty and magic when i hear or see it.
Great video btw. I love your work. You recommended a great YT channel last year that does sacred music called Harpa Dei. You should re plug them when you get a minute! I still listen to them.
I listen to Gregorian Chant all the time. I heard the devils don't like it when they hear it being played. I believe it so powerful chant. Glory be to God 🙏✝️❤️
No, I have the same thought as you. I have sang liturgy and it always provides the same food for the soul. God brings us music to evoke different emotions and for different purposes.
It wasn’t until the 40-50s that 440 became the standard tuning. But this frequency isn’t soothing like 432, which was the standard and not irritating as 440 can be. Being a guitar player many years, I’ve played compositions for friends in these different tunings. In 432 friends have asked, what did you do differently from the last time, this version puts me in an elevated state, like floating. Early music has all this, Love, Faith, Heart and Glory Be To God! Just Beautiful beyond words! Thanks Again! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
Sometimes beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, sometimes beauty simply is. It doesn't need to be excused for, and anyone arguing against it self-evidently wants that beauty stripped in favor of an agenda - they are ugly to the core. In the time many of these chants were written, discovering the scientific laws of the world and creating art were done in the pursuit of understanding God's creation. Meaning beauty is natural, inherent, and a product of the divine, not solely of a human interpretation.
My wife and I had the blessing of being in a church choir that performed this piece, "Miserere mei, Deus" by Allegri. It's one of those pieces that are so moving I have to fight back my emotions, it's kind of hard to sing with tears welling up. We've since moved to a much smaller parish and sadly will probably never have the pleasure or performing this piece again.
To everyone who says that this song is polyphony and not Gregorian chant, I address this almost immediately in the video starting at 0:39.
I know why you put Gregorian chant in the title instead of late renaissance sacred polyphony - to get more clicks - but you should not have done so.
Also, Allegri's Miserere is performed with this ludicrously high section due to modern musicologists' misunderstanding of renaissance clefs and transposition. For an explanation, see the RUclips channel Early Music Sources' video on the piece.
I'm Nigerian and I love the Gregorian Chant.
Ideas don't have color or race.... they may emerge from on part of the world but are ever the common heritage of all mankind.
I think the Gregorian Chant is truly beautiful ✝️
❤🔥
I love this
My Nigerian brother no one could have said this better. I'm so grateful for this beautiful genre especially at Mass
god bless you
It's more than ideas, it's faith :)
The first time my little grandson heard it he thought it was God.
he got the whole point.
He got it right, some times we don't get it.
That is so beautiful!
❤🥹🙏
So adorable 💕
My Chinese protestant best friend came into a Catholic Church and was in awe of the Gregorian chant! She said it was one of the most beautiful things ever. My Muslim Arabic friend also said the same thing about Catholic cathedrals. This isn’t Eurocentricity! It’s recognizing beauty!
Yep, True
Come to think of it the oldest religions in world the language and manner of prayer and supplication is by singing!
Atheists/Secularists make everything about race, wealth, geography, etc-concerns of the world-but history tells a completely different and much more compete story when you realize religion was the MAIN motivation and the MAIN accomplishment. And when Secularists boast of practically anything, they're taking attribution away from religion and reascribing it to ethnic or geographic communities instead of the spiritual ones who recognize no such barriers... "Neither Greek nor Jew, slave nor free...." It's stolen history. Like every single instance the Secularists blithely use "BCE" to sterilize the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian monks weren't just musicians, they were mathematicians, architects, and basically everything the secular world drools over except perverts. That's why modern attacks on the Church HAVE to push the pervert narrative, even if it takes planting real ones to try to destroy it from within. The result is-just look around-ugly art, ugly architecture, and ugly music, delusionally lauding itself as existentially self-contained; because true sophistication actually CANNOT stand apart from acknowledgement of God. "Believing themselves wise, they became fools...."
Exactly! I’m a born and raised Methodist from central Arkansas, but I think the sound of the muezzin calling Muslims to prayer is beautiful. Hearing that sound coming from the minaret, spreading over the rooftops of some ancient city…it gives me goosebumps.
@@jiayoujamie7225There is a beautiful statement attributed to St. Augustine that says: “The one who sings prays twice”.
Myself and my fiancé are practicing Catholics but her parents are not religious at all and come from a non-denom Christian background. They came with us to my godson’s first communion and it happened to be the day that the music director at the church was retiring . Because it was the music director’s last day, the choir and orchestra at church went “all out”. While not Gregorian chant, it was extremely beautiful and reverent tradition western Christian music. Both my future in-laws were remarkably moved and were both saying afterwards how they wanted to start going to Catholic Mass afterwards. Really shows the transformative power of music and beauty.
Maybe they'll stop going when they realize that doesn't happen everyday.
@@olgac.h.1278 Who told you it need to happen everyday? Mass is not meant to be a session of stimulation of the senses.
I do believe this was God's purpose in music.
@@olgac.h.1278 We as the Church need to strive until it DOES happen every day! This music is part of our EVANGELISM, and we want to be effective in our evangelism. (It also edifies the people of God at Mass).
Sacred Music first came into my life in 1991 as part of a History of Music class in college, and I LOVED it so much that it became a part of my CD music collection. Listened to it a lot. It worked on my heart in the background of my life for 30 years, and it helped the process when I encountered Catholic apologetics arguments I couldn't overcome during some intense debates and I suddenly realized I needed to become Catholic. My experiences with that music, as well as the messages in that music (i.e., related to "eating the body and drinking the blood" of Jesus) had prepped me for this and made the decision not nearly so hard as it would have been otherwise (I HATED Catholicism most of my life!). "Music tames the savage beast"? I really think so!
We should not tolerate "modern" music in the Church.
@@kimlersueRemember power of biblical music in scripture? When David played for Saul?
Euro-centrism does not have an ugly head. If others are allowed to be proud of their ethnic heritage, so are we.
Gregorian Chant isn't really European. It evolved out of the music of the Eastern Mediterranean.
@@henrybn14ar Eastern Mediterranean, like Greece and Turkey... which are European.
@@racheljames7turkey is not Europe
@@oliveri9407part of Turkey is Europe.
@@henrybn14ar you could have just said it has roots in Eastern Mediterranean culture. You mention that it evolves, where did it primarily evolve? Europe, hence the name Gregorian after a European Pope. If you make significant developments you have rights of intellectual/artistic property.
Several years ago, I was on pilgrimage in Spain (Camino). One of the most memorable interactions I had with a fellow pilgrim was with a Chinese ex-buddhist who was newly evangelical Protestant. She had never heard any type of Sacred Music such as Gregorian chant or any type of polyphony. Fortunately, I brought with me an MP3 player containing various chants and polyphony. One day she asked me about what I listened to during periods of hiking and meditating. I explained that I listened to sermons, talks, and sacred music. I tried my best to explain it but realized she could only benefit by listening. The look on her face is etched in my mind when she first heard Gregorian chant. Next, the polyphony nearly blew her away. She had never before heard anything like this praising God and was simply taken aback. Her countenance seemingly transformed as if seeing an angel. She was serious, joyful, and serene as the melodies lifted her soul. It was a beautiful moment and one I hope helped this young lady begin her journey home.
I truly wish more Catholic Masses would utilize Gregorian chant. It is sacred beautiful and prayerful.
one of the worst things about Mass today is the horrible music, the over use of microphones, the "songs" keyed in soprano which excludes men, and the melodies that are stupid even by musical standards, let alone Catholic liturgical standards.
@@erikriza7165 I’m a woman, and I still can’t sing along with most of the songs! I have to keep changing octaves up & down! 😅🥲
It's OK to ask for it....and putting your dollars behind it is even better.
Yes, but in many places, just play the music over a speaker. Do not try and go it yourself....
😅fthis comment and replies centering round singing along with, and, Gregorian chant makes me😁 smile . How many congregations could sing along. 🤔
Catholic music, both Polyphony and Gregorian chant, is the highest form of music possible on earth. As Catholics we need to say that without shame.
Guaranteed that many more people would convert and actually show up to Mass if Gregorian chants were a regular part of the music rather than folksy guitars and 70s hymns.
We do Byzantine Chant and new people keep coming. It's just a trickle but over the years the numbers have built up.
I can't stand the music, even the low mass the parishioners feel like they need to accapella I would prefer no singing to folk music, but I am really there for Jesus not the music
I think the higher iOS know this as well and that is why they don’t want it
Long Live Dom Lefebvre! Long Live SSPX!
Aww, both are swell!
4:21 "Listening to this music feels like it is connecting with God, as if absorbed in the devotion of God." Yup. There you have it.
Guy on the right was feeling it.
This music is absolutely beautiful. It is why the Church is considered very beautiful.
As I told our priest, "If I wanted to see a second rate musical, I would go see a high school show. I want the Mass to be as special as is the reason we celebrate the Mass.
I began singing my rosary prayers when I have enough time to do it slowly and it’s been so profound to bonding my hearts to the words of the prayers
My husband had a team of oxen as a teen. He always played classical music in the barn and the oxen were relaxed and eating. My husband’s brother thought it was funny to change the radio station to rock music. With the rock music playing the oxen became very agitated , anxious and stressed and they stopped eating.
No more proof needed 😉
@@busterdee8228 proof of what
There is a beautiful statement attributed to St. Augustine that says: “The one who sings prays twice”.
I am a Roman Catholic from India
And the Church in India was founded by the Apostle Thomas! People in the west think Christianity Is new over there; it isn't.
@@MrMack65 yes, in india 300 years before ireland. People are shocked.
Father Ripperger says that the demons hate Gregorian chant. It drives them away. I listen to my CD of the chant at home while doing chores. Always puts me in a reverent space.
Do you remember in scripture how David played for Saul? Get a King James Bible and believe. Read John.
We get the Old Testament passage, Psalm, New Testament passage, and the Gospel every time we go to Church. Also, how can we have more Books in the Bible than yours but we don’t have and don’t know what Bible is?
@@ChomperZomber Who are you talking to? Yes the "Orthodox" have more books they claim. You can get the King James Bible with apocrypha if you really believe it. The story of David playing to Saul relates to topic. Read it all. One verse a week isn't satisfying your hunger. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God!
@@MichaelAChristian1 KJV is a bad translation, with parts removed from it
@@lasousoupe That's just false. Everyone was King James Only for years. "Yet among English Catholics the King James Version was widely accepted from the 18th century; moreover, when the Douai-Reims Bible was updated in the mid-18th century, the translator, Richard Challoner (1691-1781), a convert from Protestantism to Catholicism, largely worked from the King James Version"- encyclopedia brittanica.
Allegri's Miserere is in my opinion the best piece of music ever written, and that's coming from a classical pianist who has listened to tons of classical music as well as many other works of chant.
On Mother's Day at N.O. Mass I heard Ave Maria sung by legit opera singer and I almost cried b/c it was so beautiful. I'm new to Church in general but I know for a fact that Sacred Music moves me more to a prayerful mind in the Mass.
Schubert or Bach-Gunod?
Bach and Mozart's instrumental music is what I listened to, on the few LPs we had 50-odd years ago, to focus as I studied Eng. Lit. for my Honours degree.
Gregorian chant was heard rarely in those days, if ever. Allegri I knew nothing about. (We lived in a "backwater" then! In faraway India.)
But once heard loved inexpressibly.
I am a devout, practising Catholic, now crippled in all limbs, praying to be taken home. Allegri's Miserere (in this recording) expresses all I say to the Lord, perfectly.
Thank you, Brian for this video. 🕊
I’m so sorry to hear about your condition. I will pray for you❤️
@@deborahdanhauer8525 Thank you and God bless you.❤🙏
@@ludwigfranzpl You’re welcome and same to you❤️
Brian, worry not! Gregorian is almost heavenly. As such it is meant to uplift the soul, ergo it is universal. Just like classical music, which is played in Korea, China, Japan, Europe and in America from Canada all the way thru Central America, and every country in South America as far as Argentina and Chile. Sacred music is a heritage of Christianity.
Get ready for the "decolonization" of gregorian chant. It's already a big movement in classical music.
@@bibbatybobbityboo God willing that ain't gonna happen
I don't think it's a stretch to say that, for those who argue music like this is an imposition of "colonialism," this same attitude and criticism extends Christianity in general. They just aren't as open about that bit. It's all about chipping away at the foundations, identifying perceived vulnerabilities in anything associated with their hated status quo.
@@bibbatybobbityboo "decolonization" is code for dechristianization. Their goal is to remove Christianity from everything.
Gregorian Chant isn’t just ‘music’ it’s raising our hearts and minds to God in PRAYER and WORSHIP..I listen to it everyday
without displacing the sacred text. With chant, the text does not suffer. It is supported, held up.
I’m east Indonesian Christian and I love the Christian hymns and chants, Irish, Gregorian Russian orthodox all glorious beautiful worship….
That video was heartwarming.
You are not wrong Brian. The people who do not appreciate Gregorian chants and polyphonic sacred music are all too often in a hurry to go on with their own things in life and such music to them seems to be a waste of time and should be suppressed.
God, however, is today touching the hearts of many among the young generations. Pray and keep being positive; things are changing and turning hearts towards the sublime.
I love this!
(And Allegri's Miserere has been with me for many years now, long before I ever considered becoming Catholic in 2021. The first time I ever heard it, I was stunned speechless, it moved me so, even to tears!
Unbeknownst to me, it and a few other Gregorian-type Catholic works in my then-growing music collection were working on me even then, preparing me for what someday would be. This music is very, very powerful stuff, and I'm absolutely floored that we collectively have allowed the "modernists" to try to discard it in favor of their preferred modern music styles - so sad! This is the music of Heaven, and it moves hearts!)
As a protestant Christian believer....i was so moved that...i almost wept with joy and wonderment at this stunning and amazing clip of these three villagers being..blessed and inspired and blown away by what they were hearing!!...
that being said.....this whole excersize sir....was a tremendous and powerful way of witnessing to these sincere souls about the good news of the Gospel of The King of Kings... .The Lord Jesus Christ!! (even if they didnt comprehend the language..yet.....The Spirit of God....moved them in their heart of hearts)...... Thank you so much...for sharing this stunning clip with the world!! May God bless you and keep you sir!!...Because you truly "get it"......and are a true believer!!.....Thank you sir for blessing me (and all watching this)... in such a profound way...with this clip and your inspired words along with it!!
The beauty of Gregorian chant for me goes from calming, to beauty, to emotional connection to God, to joining into the prayer of the chant to God. Also, on a stressful or frustrating day, Gregorian chant resets me. So love Gregorian chant.
Excellent work! May God bless you and your family. Amen
Maybe some people come to church to be entertained, hence secular music with “religious “ lyrics instead of coming to worship in the mystery of GOD.
I can understand that. And I can agree with that.
I’ve grown up in Protestant churches (Presbyterian, Southern Baptist, Assemblies of God, and charismatic non-denominational as the most recent). I’ve even been to a Bible College with music training specifically for worship teams in a prayer room context (think 24/7 prayer with singers and musicians).
So I get what it is like to be fully immersed in Christian music born outside of the Catholic Church context. From that perspective there is some sense of a difference between Christian worship music and music with a Christian worldview for those like me who have pursued to know and obey God sincerely.
Now that I’ve been in the Catholic Church and undergoing RCIA I understand further a kind of music suited for reflecting upon the mysteries of God as seen in the Mass. Myself and others in my friendship circle were leaning towards that kind of music that successfully invites us to reflect upon God. What I am noticing and experiencing in the Catholic Church is more, “it’s always been here. And it is rooted in the core parts of the Catholic faith that have carried on for thousands of years now.”
@@brianahanson6449
Try listening to Byzantine Chant as used in Greece and the Balkans eg Mount Athos. It is the precursor to Gregorian Chant.
We need to preach a theology of worship that fights against the materialism and narcissistic tendencies of this world.
I agree that many only engage with forms of worship for the entertainment factor but God is not a mystery otherwise we wouldn’t be able to “take in accurate knowledge” of God in the first place. Calling it a mystery only serves us to distance from Him when He wants us to draw close to Him.
I had never heard this piece...I burst into tears
We sing this every Holy Week. I'm sad you never heard this before now, but I'm sure glad you have! 🙂
You are not alone so did I the l old man on the right gets it too
The gifts of the church are universal, not merely cultural!
I’m Protestant and I pray with chants on what it does for me is brings me into a space where I feel like I’m in the presence of God worshipping along with the saints and angels in heaven I’m more focus on God and less focus on my emotions…it’s truly powerful
Miserere Mei psalm 51 ❤ create in me a clean heart oh god and a new and right spirit within me
Yes. We have obligation to introduce Gregorian chant to masses that we all know suffer enormously under current church hymns.
"we've an obligation",& "we all know"😅🤣, you may be preaching to the choir ha ha but not at all. Spare us all from being obliged to what you think and, - no, - we don't all or even in large proportion "know" any such thing. Both comments are more of a clique thing. It's not an extreme either or absolute.
It is definitely divine. The first time I heard it live was in a Latin mass. It felt like heaven came down to be with us as we received Him.
I rescued a vintage copy of a set of Gregorian vinyl LPs recorded in a monastery. It’s amazing that I scored such a rare recording in 100% playable vinyl, pretty much new, for 10 dollars. I love playing it.
We musicans need the support of good Shepperds that will help the flock understand the theology of worship. The music is a reflection of our ego centric culture and worship attitudes. Musicians and pastors have to be one with this. I've worked for priests that have told me they want to give people a lift and feel good about things, and I've worked for priests that get it and have the mind of the church. Pray for sheppards to tend to the flock that will put effort into changing hearts towards a more Christ center worship. Too many are bogged down by demands of administration and are overworked. We need more priests
I’m a catholic convert but I still teach vocal lessons to Protestant worship leaders. The songs are mainly from Hillsong, Maverick City, Elevation Worship etc…It’s very energetic music. It takes so much effort to sing. I couldn’t imagine being sick or just tired or sad going to church and basically not being able to participate because I wouldn’t be able to get into the “energy” of the music. It’s about creating a mood and evoking emotions. I would say this isn’t relying on the Holy Spirit but a stirring of emotions.
You can see how the grace acts, Gregorian Chant has the capacity to lift up the soul to God and that's what gives peace because its something so sublime and It makes us think of Heaven and drives us to conversion. Im proud of being Catholic and being part of the Only and real Church, God and Mary bless you all
I started learning Gregorian with the intention of applying it to the mass I serve as a cantor, this after learning what the missal and SC says about sacred music and what place Gregorian Chant holds in the liturgy.
It was not an easy task as there is no other community in my diocese that does this that I’m aware of and the material that is available online is not quite clear for someone that never had a prior experience with this kind of music, but I slowly started adding Gregorian chants as I learned them (at this point I already expressed to my priest that I wanted to learn it and sing it)
I got to the point of singing the entire ordinary, as my end goal was to be able to sing the propers as well, but I got stopped as my parish priest told me I should actually not sing the entirety of the ordinary, after interchanging some words he asked me why I wanted to do this, I told him is what SC says must be done, then he said I was reading SC literally and not in the spirit of the council, I was speechless, I thought the phrase “spirit of the council” was a caricature or exaggeration from traditional circles but no.
I can’t help but feel like wanting to follow the rules is punished by our own pastors. I ask for your prayers.
"in the spirit of the clowncil".... And what pray Dear Father is this so-called spirit?
Spirit of mediocrity
I am sorry to hear that, my friend. Please don't give up on bringing beauty to the mass.
I absolutely love chant. I listen to it whenever I pray the rosary. It helps turn my mind and focus on God
I went to my TLM last Sunday in Edmonton, it’ moved me in a different kind of way, I felt a beautiful connection - it’s almost as though the mass came alive - I’ve never heard chant in real life - it brought tears to my eyes - they don’t have TLM where I live
On the topic of sacred music and it's impact on us, a family member of mine who is not a practicing catholic once attended a confirmation Mass that had very, very beautiful music and said that if she had grown up with music like that in the Mass she probably would have stayed catholic.
What I love about your presentations, Brian, is that you so beautifully unwrap them explaining the subject matter in a precise and crystal clear method. Always intellectually satisfying. Thank you.
The other day a beautiful choir performed in my church on Sunday mass. I was delighted… until they introduced percussion.
As a specialist in this field, I agree with everythig you said. I believe the position of those against authentic sacred music (ie Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony) stems from relativism and sentimentality. Words like euro-centric and colonialism, as such, don’t belong in a discussion about Catholic sacred music. Whenever someone starts speaking in those terms to me it tells me good will is not their motivation, so I form my responses carefully but completely in line with Church teaching about sacred music. Yes, different forms of sacred music can be used liturgically, but one always has to keep the rule of Pope St. Pius X in mind. The closer a composition resembles Gregorian chant, the more it is appropriate for Mass, and the less it sounds like Gregorian chant, the less it is appropriate for Mass.
Yup sometimes I walk out during the last hymn because its either like a childish nursery rhyme or a silly advertising jingle, or something schmaltzy from a 50s movie.
I used to go to TLM but after moving house there is only NO here. I feel like if I have to listen to "all things bright and beautiful" one more time......😢
"The main place should be given, all things being equal, to Gregorian chant, as being proper to the Roman Liturgy" (GIRM 41, cf. SC 116). But what gets the main place at many Masses these days? Classics like Missa My Little Pony and friends.
The objection to Gregorian chant and other similarly traditional forms of religious music as euro centric would carry more weight… if all the alternatives were not similarly western in character.
There's nothing wrong with Gregorian Chant being "Euro-centric" either, I would say it is "Western". It is designed by and for for Western people primarily. It is the ancestral tradition of Western people. The Church doesn't have a one size fits all traditional music, rather we have a great diversity of timeless traditions with their respective sacred music for those peoples. Gregorian chant for the Latin rite, and Byzantine chant for the Greek Catholics etc.
However, like the other traditional forms of sacred music, Gregorian Chant has features that are objectively beautiful, which is what places it above the more modern/contemporary forms of Church music. Surpassing our changing tastes, orienting us towards a transcendent beauty, and connecting us with our ancestors.
Gregorian Chant is a European evolution of Byzantine Chant, via a genre known as Old Roman.
the objection to gregorian chant as "euro centric" is woke hors****t and should be ridiculed and exposed as irrational, spiteful and basically a non-problem.
Objections based on being offended is missing the point anyway to me. It takes away from the worship of God and puts the focus on a person being a grump.
@@a.p.5429
Gregorian Chant is a European form of music from the Eastern Mediterranean.
European music is typically in a major or minor scale. Gregorian Chant is modal ie Eastern.
I have a little treat for you Brian. In Ireland there is a style of singing that goes back 800 years. Its called Sean Nos and it treats the art of singing as a divine gift. The songs thenselves are personal stories about people who lived and in most of the songs experienced sad and tragic events. If your interested they can be found on RUclips. The singers i recommend are Piaras O'Larcain,
Seamus and Caoimbhe Flaherty.
Also, i recommend for Gregorian music, Jan Garbarek and the Hilyard Ensemble - Officium. It uses the alto sax in Gregorian music!
This is a sound from God. It reaches my soul, and calms my spirit...thank you lord
The same is true in nursing homes especially the dementia wing. The horrible staff insisted on playing aggressive rap music and couldn't figure out why the patients were always so agitated and violent
This piece of music is perhaps the most beautiful of all time. Tallis Scholars performance of this piece tops them all, but this powerful piece has been my favorite for over 40+ years. Thank you for addressing this piece, this genre of music.
Another excellent teaching. Thank you Brian❤
The Gregorian Chant compels me to prayer and worship.
There has been so much beautiful music written around the Christian faith and this piece honors God to the highest no matter what culture. And it’s all done with the human voice and this makes it pure of Heart and Spirit! I tend to agree with you about this piece and it’s always been one of my best favorites! Kind Thanks and Many Blessings, Love, Peace, Abundance and Joy of Being! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
Lex orandi, lex credendi!
Est
@@delvingeorge2807Not required in a short Latin sentence. Back then, they were smart enough to understand the “est” without having to write or utter it. “Lex orandi, lex credendi” is the saying; no “est,” and that’s fine, though it would be fine with it too. “Ex pluribus unum” would also be just as valid as “e pluribus unum,” but it would be far less poetic.
@@johncassani6780 then they would not be using comma( , ) now would they?
We went to a St. Josephine Bakhita Mass when we first moved to the new area. They were howling, using percussion instruments, a tambourine, an electric keyboard… I actually developed a headache. The bishop allows that but not the TLM there.
I agree with this very much! Thank You Brian! +
Gregorian chant not being the norm, the standard, is a huge black mark on the modern catholic church.
We do not worship music, we worship Christ. Yes it is beautiful, but it is also egotistical since mans ego has created it.. To over value such things can lead us astray. Enjoy it, but do not let it's absence lead you away from what is right.
@@Jerome616 Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
A lot of parishes simply don't have the singers with the skills to do it. Some don't even have an organist nowadays.
@@Jerome616 I absolutely love Gregorian chant & a modern composition Benedictus calms the spirit in preparation for prayer.
The best explanation I've ever heard on this very important subject. Thank you!
I totally agree it helps you to reflect and humbly wait upon the Holy Spirit to hear God's voice in that still small voice without distraction. It encompasses you, envelopes you in his love and understanding to encourage you to move into his presence. Love it.
Thank you for enlightening us with this beautiful heavenly music…
Just hearing those short clips of polyphony had me tearing up. So beautiful.
Brian. As a person who struggles with prayer and isn't musically inclined... that was God's way of saying I should join the choir. "He who sings well, prays twice".
I became a chanter at the TLM for the better part of a decade. Just needed a choir director who was patient enough. Some professional musicians tell me I actually got good. I gave God my ineptitude with music and stubbornly attended choir practice. It takes alot of swallowing of pride, giving God my embarrassment, etc. All my obstacles and excuses.
I love this type of music. I listen to a group that sometimes puts the words in English, my language. I love reading the beautiful words as they sing.
I'm not Catholic but I love Gregorian Chant. I learned how to read their music when I was in the College of music. However, I also enjoy Praise and Worship songs. If only I can put them together, that would be a blast❤
There is a time for everything.
You should write a comment under the video of the Common Man Show, saying that you made a reaction video to our beloved Babu, Sarru and Raeen (from right to left). I think they would be very happy about it! I also loved their reaction to the Christmas story. :)
I AGREE 💯 percent with you! And this IS beautiful and VERY much feels and sounds like prayer and a deep connection with God. Period. Amen✝️🙏🕯️💕
You don't pray while you are listening to the chant. You experience the presence of God. The singers are those who pray.
Great vid Brian. Your points are well made.
The "not prayer" argument you made is very compelling! Why on this Earth would anyone want music for Mass that is not prayer?
Music made without prayer in mind is indeed a distraction and not a help!
I adore gregorian chants its medicine for the soul so peaceful and calming makes me feel jesus is very close 💖 💓 💕 💗
I had the privilege of singing in the Vatican today. Ave Maria Angelus Domini sounded incredible. You can’t get that at the 11:30 Folk Mass or the 5:00 Praise and Worship Mass. I’m sorry, but nothing compares. I joke that music peaked when polyphony hit the scene… maybe it’s true after all
Thank you, Mr. Holdsworth for the video on Gregorian chant. I've loved it since it was first heard in the early '70's. When asking our music teacher about it, she thanked me for giving her the lesson. So many people want to pooh-pooh it as "ancient" or, too difficult to sing; and get irritated when it's pointed out that modern hip music that's played church is far more difficult. Thanks again for your efforts.
Recently someone said that Jesus sang a lot, a lineage of music minded inheritance. Beautiful angelic vibes, the chants of old are sounds of comfort. I also adore the singing nun, a joyful tune, Dominic, apostleship relatives🔆🙏🏽❤️
That’s why I love the Hallow app for it’s options of sacred music to accompany prayers
May they all come into the fullness of Truth! I love them!
The nearest church to me plays and sings pop music throughout Mass. I drive an extra 8 miles to go where they have a beautiful organ and amazing choir. It is SO important to me.
At the beginning of the performance, the guy in red is already in full worship! Amazing!
Great podcast and content as usual sir - well done
I'm catholic. I used to sing gregorian with men choir, with big choirs, church choirs...
If God allows me a zest of paradise, I'll know it while hearing gregorian chants.
Jesus's messages went through me by catholic church. But if evil inspire bad church, he'dnget rid of ART...such as gregorian chants.
But, The Church is Christians Hearts in Faith, and unity in Prayers, the Love of Jesus Christ through Live, Truth, the Only Way.
We may have difficulties ahead but, formthe Love our Lord, We'll stay united in Prayers!
That version of the Miserere is a mixture of old and modern. Mozart transcribed the original (allegedly from memory after listening to a performance). But the arrangement most commonly used nowadays includes modifications from the 19th and 20th centuries.
I believe it was St. Augustine who said, " He who sings prays twice." I would say that definitely applies to Gregorian Chant.
This video was recommended after watching the Common Man Show reaction to both the Misereri and also the Dies Irae. I too was thinking about how all the Novus Ordo, modernist arguments for "relevant" sacred music in the vernacular (which really just means appropriating Baptist and other Protestant styles of popular Christian music into the liturgy) falls apart when watching these men react to both songs, the transcendence they experience without knowing a single word. If you haven't watched the Dies Irae one, I highly recommend, as it is the better of the two reactions (their LoTR reaction video is also very good). Babu, the older man, actually makes the signum crucis duing Dies Irae! As a counter-revolutionary Catholic who solely assists at the TLM, I'm grateful to have found your channel! Pax et bonum!
"If you remove the lyrics of Gregorian Chant, it still sounds like prayer." Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the main theme from the original "Halo: Combat Evolved". No lyrics but I instinctively found something "sacred" about it without knowing a single thing about Gregorian chant or Catholicism in general. The music is partially what made me obsessed with the franchise as a kid in the first place.
Yep. Gregorian Chant is so deeply ingrained in the minds of Western people it literally became a meme for a time. It's good to remember when speaking with others, Gregorian Chant is more popular than people think.
I love this video. I couldn’t agree more, and I’m getting very sick of all the gaslighters trying to downplay the importance of genres for sacred music.
Beautiful is beautiful, music is music, both are subjective in nature.
I'm not religious but i still appreciate beauty and magic when i hear or see it.
He said “it’s as if I’m absorbed to the devotion of God” amazing
My kids ask for chant every night to fall asleep to.
I love those villager dudes. They're so cute. Look at the effect the Heavenly music had on them. Its the most beautiful sound humans could make.
Great video btw. I love your work. You recommended a great YT channel last year that does sacred music called Harpa Dei. You should re plug them when you get a minute! I still listen to them.
I listen to Gregorian Chant all the time. I heard the devils don't like it when they hear it being played. I believe it so powerful chant. Glory be to God 🙏✝️❤️
I wish there was a “love” button. Great piece of content.
No, I have the same thought as you. I have sang liturgy and it always provides the same food for the soul. God brings us music to evoke different emotions and for different purposes.
It wasn’t until the 40-50s that 440 became the standard tuning. But this frequency isn’t soothing like 432, which was the standard and not irritating as 440 can be. Being a guitar player many years, I’ve played compositions for friends in these different tunings. In 432 friends have asked, what did you do differently from the last time, this version puts me in an elevated state, like floating. Early music has all this, Love, Faith, Heart and Glory Be To God! Just Beautiful beyond words! Thanks Again! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
As an Eastern Orthodox, I like my Byzantine church music too. Just voices, no instruments. In my parish it is also all in English which helps me.
Sometimes beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, sometimes beauty simply is. It doesn't need to be excused for, and anyone arguing against it self-evidently wants that beauty stripped in favor of an agenda - they are ugly to the core. In the time many of these chants were written, discovering the scientific laws of the world and creating art were done in the pursuit of understanding God's creation. Meaning beauty is natural, inherent, and a product of the divine, not solely of a human interpretation.
I have sang gregorian music for more than 20 years, it's a beautifull music
My wife and I had the blessing of being in a church choir that performed this piece, "Miserere mei, Deus" by Allegri.
It's one of those pieces that are so moving I have to fight back my emotions, it's kind of hard to sing with tears welling up.
We've since moved to a much smaller parish and sadly will probably never have the pleasure or performing this piece again.