Beyond the Spire
Welcome to Beyond the Spire, a podcast of the Save Our Sacred Songs project at the Catholic Shrine of St Walburge in Preston, supported by the National Lottery.
In each episode, we go beyond what you see from the street, we explore the story and the sound of Gregorian chant, the Church's sacred song, so that this treasure of faith and culture is not just preserved, but lived and loved again.
Beyond the Spire
E03 • History of music: A Day in the Cloister
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The Christian life spreads across Europe, covered by the white cloak of monasteries, mainly shaped and governed by the rule of St. Benedict. Canon Cristofoli tells how monks understand their chant as prayer turned into music, joining the angels’ song, and how every part of the liturgy – from the altar and ministers to the nave and the schola – reflects the ordered worship of heaven.
Content
- Benedictine monasteries, shaped by the rule of St Benedict, spread across Europe and carry the Church’s liturgy and chant with them.
- The monastery is a community under an abbot, ordered to continual praise of God through prayer and work, as an anticipation of heavenly life.
- The hierarchical structure of the Mass – altar, ministers, schola and faithful – mirrors the ordered worship of heaven.
- Gregorian chant is “prayer becoming music”, by which monks truly join the saints and angels’ hymn before the throne of God.
- The Church entrusts the ordinary parts to the whole community and reserves the more ornate pieces for the schola cantorum. Certain texts belong specifically to the ministers, others to the cantors, so the sacred liturgy leaves no room for approximation.
Guest
Canon Gwenaël Cristofoli
Resources
- Gradual from Abbey of St. Gall, St. Gallen (Switzerland), Stiftsbibliothek, ca. 1135, Cod. Sang. 375, p. 38 — Link
- Graduale Romanum, Desclée Ed., № 696 — Link
- Missale Romanum, Desclée Ed. — Link
Sponsors
- National Lottery Heritage Fund:
- Global Sound Movement
- University of Lancashire
- Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
External Links
Available on all podcasts platforms
Watch on YouTube @Beyond_the_Spire
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