Catholic ping!
The interviewee is correct that "composers writing liturgical music today - the great composers like John Tavener" have a good grounding in chant. I don't know if I agree that Tavener is "great" - he's certainly very, very good, but I'm not sure he's as good as his press. Anyhow, we just sang Tavener's "The Lamb" - and it's very chantlike (it branches out into bizarre polyphony before it finally resolves into a conventional harmony in E minor, but the chant sound is in there.)
I can vouch for the fact that anyone with a modicum of sense and a decent grounding in conventional notation can learn Gregorian notation rapidly and thoroughly.
Anglicans don't do Gregorian notation, it's all transliterated into conventional 5-line staff notation. So I never read this system until I got into the Catholic Church in the spring of 2004. Our new choirmaster didn't come on until 2005, and I caught on pretty quickly. I'm perfectly comfortable with the notation now.
Of course, NOW he's teaching us seven-character solfeggio (do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do). . . and I already knew the four-character Southern (Sacred Harp) solfeggio (fa-so-la-fa-so-la-mi-fa) . . . so now I am totally confused again. This too shall pass . . . . .
I have a CD of Gregorian Chants for Christmas, it is some of the most soothing, beautiful and meditative music I have ever listened to.
I just saw this thread. Thanks for the ping.
I think this article is good for a Classical Music Ping List ping.
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Thanks,
sitetest