Some history, if you don't know much about gregorian chants- they were made popularized by Pope Gregory, to help organize the chants for the liturgical year. There are 3 different kinds of gregorian chants, but the most popular are the neumatic chants. These are the ones you hear most often. They are monophonic, and include a reading from the liturgy, sung in different tones in a modal fashion, usually by a mens choir. The sound of a gregorian chant can fill a cathedral instantly, and the modal nature of it will send a chill down anyone's back. When gregorian chants were popularized, it changed the face of music not only in the Roman Catholic Church, but in the world. The Church, with the Pope at the head, was the most powerful ruler(s) in the world. With the Church in control of everything, any little ripple of change is going to be a tidal wave of change to the people of the world. Not only would it be a tidal wave because of the Church's power, but because of the power of King Charlemagne, which brings me to my question.
Pope Gregory basically told Charlemagne that he was the King of the earthly world but he will always be below the King of Heaven. He then basically said that God appointed him King. Now, you can imagine, Charlemagne was probably pretty happy to hear that he has full support from the post powerful person in the world, even more powerful than himself- the Pope. You can also imagine that he wouldn't want to mess things up with the Pope... so when the Pope creates a new kind of chant to replace the Gallican chants, Charlemagne is going to jump right on the boat. He helped spread the Pope's new kind of chant throughout the world and enforced the use of Roman Rite rather than Gallican Rite.
Did he do this just to boost himself? Its possible. Of course, any romantic would like to speculate that the gregorian chant is this brand new face to liturgical music, inspiring hope into thousands, and bringing the peace and love of Christ back onto earth. But more realistically, it was probably just a political ploy between Pope Gregory and King Charlemagne to increase their power and their political relationship. Its interesting how something like that could become a building block for music for hundreds of years to come...
Gregorian chants: a religious and musical breakthrough, or a toy in the hands of the most powerful world leaders at the time?
Any thoughts?
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