Name commonly given to the plainsong of the Catholic church, setting the Latin liturgy. Its connection with Pope Gregory the Great (r. 590-604) is uncertain: much of the music we know comes from manuscripts of about the 10th century.

Also called plainsong or monophonic chant, these sacred Latin pieces were sung in unison by male choirs as part of the Catholic Mass during the Middle Ages. The name "Gregorian" comes from Pope Gregory the Great who collected and catalogued many of these chants. ( Lesson 3)

See chant.

Also known as plain-song. A musical form from the early Catholic Church wherein all voices sing one part in unison. The music has no feeling of tempo, and most of the motion of the notes is step-wise. This is meant to remind the listener of God. It is medatative music. If it had a beat, one would want to dance or move around. This draws the focus away from God.

the liturgical chants of the early Catholic Church, characterized by serene, unaccompanied melodies

A body of chants of the Roman Catholic Church, most of which are part of two liturgical rites, the Mass and the Offices. Origins traditionally are ascribed to the period of Pope Gregory I (590-604).

The modal chant of early Christian and continuing Catholic worship and its derivatives

Monophonic melody with a freely flowing, unmeasured vocal line; liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church. Also plainchant or plainsong.

The type of chant used in the early Roman Catholic Church. Bottom

(plainsong). The liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church.

Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in the Frankish lands of western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions. Although popular legend credits Pope Gregory the Great with inventing Gregorian chant, scholars believe that it arose from a later Carolingian synthesis of Roman and Gallican chant.