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Essay / Gregorian Chant: A Form for Worshiping God - 1308
Of all the ways to worship God, perhaps one of the greatest methods is music. Since the beginning of salvation history, music has been used by all the faithful and perhaps one of the greatest expressions of musical worship in the Church would be Gregorian chant. With roots dating back to the ancient Hebrews and having been refined throughout Church history, Gregorian chant is arguably the pinnacle of unified Christian music, playing a central role in Catholic worship. It is still considered a great experience that all can benefit from, but it contains the words of the Lord in an elegant way. Throughout Church history, Gregorian chant has become one of the most important forms of worship in the Church through its constant influence from the past, its development from entire nations who have adopted, and its dissemination and revisions from a constantly evolving Church. Chanting developed over many years, beginning with the ancient Hebrews, and, through these different expressions of chant, Gregorian chant developed, from the first to the sixth centuries, reaching its peak in the fourth century. It became the standard for all musical worship in the Catholic Church and was taken up by a school of Frankish monks who documented and noted many of the chants in the 9th century. It is still used today, although rarely, as it declined after the rulings of Vatican II. Despite everything we know about Gregorian chant, there is no complete consensus on its history, due to a “…lack of factual information about the development of the chant” (Apel 33). This leads many historians to take different positions on its development; much of the story is left to conjecture. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of a medium of paper occupying a complete central role in the mass, often still participates in it. Although Gregorian chant is no longer common in the mass, it can still be easily found in popular culture, as the inspiration for many modern songs, as well as easy to find in any store. As one of the most iconic chants of the Church and important forms of worship, Gregorian chant is the product of centuries of development of past music, revisions throughout the ages, as well as its diffusion and his assimilation of other forms of singing. Gregorian chant, although no longer in fashion, still plays an important role as a method of worshiping God with heavenly beauty through music. Just as King David played music to please the Lord, so should all the faithful, and in doing so they will be united as one community singing together, and Gregorian chant is perhaps one of the best methods to achieve this..