The conducting of Gregorian chant :

Abstract

Within the Catholic Church, the singing of Gregorian chant has always been a form of liturgical prayer. However, when sung in a modern performance it assumes a position like other liturgical repertoire from succeeding stylistic periods, and requires a conductor's understanding of stylistic parameters.

The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, the study discusses the chironomy of chant, and the application of chironomy to the interpretation of semiology. Second, it includes performance editions of five selected chants. The examples are diverse, and are drawn from those chants which are recorded by the monks of Solesmes, under the direction of their present chantmaster, Dom Jean Claire.

The conductor of chant is faced with a unique notation which includes the chironomic neumes, uncommon clefs, a four-line staff, interpretive signs of the older Solesmes editions, and square notes. Although instructional materials regarding these notational and stylistic parameters are available to modern conductors, there is a need for performance editions of the chant that reflect a clear transcription of the unfamiliar notation. Further, there is a need for editions which include guidelines for interpreting the chant, and which show a way to conduct the chant. There is no doubt that these editions make the edited chants more accessible to contemporary conductors.