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.
Episodes
9 episodes
E09 • Practice: The Basics
Two young men in formation join “Beyond the Spire”. Charles and Joshua introduce to the practical side of chant: books, notes and breathing. The guests explain the role of the Liber Usualis, online chant libraries, the difference between modern...
E08 • How it works: The Sung Parts of the Mass
Gregorian chant is the Church’s natural 'musical breath'. Through the sung Ordinary and Proper parts of the Holy Mass, it unites our emotions to Christ and guides them towards the Father. Each part, from the Kyrie and Gloria t...
E07 • How it works: The Chant of the Office
Two religious sisters explain what it means to devote one's life to God and spend each day singing His praises. They offer insight into a life structured around the canonical hours, describing the Divine Office and its various parts — from '
E06 • How it works: Text Into Music
Rather than 'music with words', Gregorian chant is the sacred text itself set to music. The liturgical text takes precedence, and the melody is crafted to serve it, with every note, accent, and rise or fall created to enhance the meaning of the...
E05 • How it works: The Eight Modes
DescriptionIn this episode, we cross the Atlantic—virtually—to welcome Abbé Raymond Schmidt, an oblate brother of the Institute of Christ the King in Chicago, for a deep yet accessible conversation on the eight modes of Gregorian ...
E04 • History of music: The Rise of Written Music
A bridge between two worlds: the world of melodies known by heart and shared through practice and listening, and the world of books, handwriting and then printing. In this engaging dialogue, Canon Cristofoli explains how notation preserved the ...
E03 • History of music: A Day in the Cloister
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...
E02 • History of music: From Temple to Church
Starting with the meticulously recorded historical details in the Bible, Canon Cristofoli traces the origins of Gregorian chant right back to its roots in Israel’s worship, the Psalms and the sacred ceremonies. He shows how chant slowly took sh...
E01 • What is Gregorian Chant?
This opening episode draws you into the world of Gregorian chant, the Church’s own voice, a living breath of prayer. Through candid conversation, two young parishioners explore the sacred stillness of chant, and describe how, in their own exper...
