As early as the worship of Israel in the temples of Jerusalem, worship, liturgy, and sacrifice were accompanied by chant. This root of right worship was taken under by the newly formed Christian church, in its many rites and spheres, and thus makes the chanting of our solemn ceremonies, daily prayers, and high sacrifices, nearly essential to Christian worship.
As being nearly fully codified in the sixth Century by Saint Pope Gregory the Great, Gregorian Chant became the pride of the Latin Church. It was in full and unadulterated use until the introduction of polyphony, yet still, the Council of Trent reaffirmed that Chant was to be honored and used. It also advised against the use of overly complex pieces of polyphony in reference to more secular melodies. During the Classical and Romance Periods of musical compositions, many musicians such as Mozart and Bach wrote Mass settings with elaborate vocalists, many instruments, and monstrously expanded phrases. These pieces along with the use of more plain polyphony began to take the place of chant in the parts of the Mass such as the Graduale, Alleluia, and the Mass Ordinaries, as the traditional ones were seen as “plain.”
This was largely the practice until Saint Pope Pius X commissioned the monks of Solesmes Abbey in France, under their founder Dom Prosper Guéranger, to revivify and compile the traditional Gregorian corpus. These texts that were compiled by the Solesmes Monks are the product of years of collecting and publishing medieval documents and are the sources of what is still heard today in traditional parishes, seminaries, and monasteries.
Sadly, the modern church, in her post-conciliar era, has been marred by an alienation of liturgical music from tradition. We have lost, to a great degree, in our typical parishes, the extraordinary corpus of music that the church cultivated for nearly two millennia. What is important to note is that of all the rites and liturgical traditions that the Church and Christendom at large have to offer, (the Byzantine rites, the Antiochean rites, the Alexandrian rites, and all their particular uses, liturgical languages, and local adaptations) all chant their liturgies. What is ironic is that the only liturgical rite to no longer follow this ancient tradition of the Christian Church is the Roman Rite at large.
Holy Rome infallibly taught that chant is indispensable to solemn worship and in Chapter 6 of the Second Vatican Council’s document on the liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium. It taught that “The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy…The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy, with the result that, other things being equal, it ought to be given the foremost place in liturgical services.” Theologian, Historian, and Composer Dr. Peter Kwasniewski said in an article on chant that “Since chant was the custom-made music that had grown up with the Church’s liturgy, the chant traveled wherever the liturgy traveled. No one dreamed of separating the texts of the liturgy from their music; they were like a body-soul composite or a happily married couple. Or you could compare the chant to the vestments worn by the priest [as] [t]he chants are the garments worn by the liturgical texts.”
This ethos that surrounds the use of chant exists largely because we recognize that our sacred rites ought to feel sacred. The Christian world, and frankly almost all other religions, have come to realize the importance of chanting as a recognition that holy and sacred things ought to feel separate and different from everyday life. As the meaning of the word “holy” itself implies, our liturgy should be set apart from what we hear, what we see, and what we smell in this world.
As we enter into the holy sacrifice, and heaven and earth touch, we should be able to recognize that and thus ordain the ceremony with fitting elements that lend to its transcendence. This is why the church has always recognized chant as necessary to solemn Christian worship, and why its use ought to be widespread, celebrated, and common once again to the Roman Rite.
Born and Raised to Jewish parents in New York City, Kai Breskin is a recent convert to the Catholic Faith. A member of the Boston College class of 2026, he is studying Political Science, Philosophy, and History. His intellectual passions include Christian theology, history, and liturgical study. His hobbies include sailing, playing the piano, and singing, with a specific focus in Gregorian Chant.
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