Ensemble Organum - Marcel Pérès
Chants De L'Eglise De Rome

THE REVIEW

It is commonly believed that Gregorian Chant was "invented" by Pope Gregory the Great around 600 AD (perhaps under the direct dictation of the Holy Spirit...)

Nothing could be more wrong! The attribution is apocryphal and the result of a hagiographic “deception” put together two centuries later by the biographer John the Deacon.

Musicological studies have shown that Gregorian originates from the fusion, which took place in the Carolingian era, between the Gallican Chant and the Chant of the Ancient Roman Church.

This latter, in particular, poses many mysteries, first of all those of a performative nature, since this form of Chant is closer to the Byzantine sphere (therefore Eastern) than to the Gregorian (Western).

As Pérès himself comments on this topic, the pieces contained in this CD are a sort of "preview", the first step of a research phase far from being concluded, but which constitutes a fundamental link between two cultures that today seem so distant.

The 8 pieces that make up the CD form a unicum, known as the Proprium Missae, the collection of liturgical chants with variable text that change according to different needs.

If you are familiar with Gregorian, as you listen to the various pieces, you cannot help but notice the differences; in particular, you will discover both the rich ornamentations of the Chant (as for example in the initial "Alleluia") and the continuous drone that accompanies the soloists throughout the piece as well as the Greek rather than Latin text of the initial and final "Alleluia".

On the other hand, if you are familiar with Byzantine Christian Chant, the decidedly austere tone of the performance by Ensemble Organum will not be familiar to you.

If you are curious, listen to the sample extracted from "Alleluia Pascha nostrum" (track 4) which reminds me a lot of some melodic choices, unsurprisingly, by Franco Battiato.

Ensemble Organum, Marcel Pérès - Harmonia Mundi - 1986 - T: 56'19 - ADD