Gregorian Chants

If reverence had a sound it would be a Gregorian chant. Mike and I went to a Gregorian chant concert tonight. Why, you may ask, would you go to a Gregorian chant concert? It’s a far cry from the Barbershop Quartet music you were raised with. What we’ve discovered is that the more we put ourselves in the way of life – whether it be watching a World Cup soccer match at a dive bar in Cotignac, or listening to Gregorian chants in an 11th Century abbey – the more enriched we feel.

The concert was at Abbey du Thoronet which we visited (and I wrote about) soon after our arrival in France. It is striking due to its simplicity. The monks who built it believed that ornamentation distracted from worship. The beauty of the abbey comes from the simplicity of its forms with the slightly pointed vaults ending in a half dome over the altar. For the concert, the lights were very dim with only the altar lit so that the old stones glowed with a soft ocher light.

The chanters – eight men – walked in singing. Of course, there were no microphones but their voices completely filled the space. They sang in unison and slowly separated into gentle harmonies. A couple of the chanters kept up a deep, constant drone. The sound seemed to resonate inside your body so that you were a part of the music. As they released a note, the sound floated through the chambers of the abbey with soft reverberation. It was lovely. The effect was powerful but humble and simple.

I can’t say that I’m ready to go back anytime soon. A little chanting goes a long way. But it was a special experience. As a friend of mine says, get out there and make a memory. Tonight, we did that.