Gregorian Chants: An Illustrated History of Religious Chanting

Chanting has been used in religious ceremonies since mankind first learnt to vocalise. All ancient peoples have used chanting as a way of altering consciousness and putting themselves in touch with the Divine. The flowering of the chant was reached in the early 9th century when Pope Gregory the Great made a collection of Roman chants and assigned them specific places within the liturgy. These are known as Gregorian chants and there are over three thousand different Gregorian chants extant today. Contains a CD of 16 of the most beautiful Gregorian chants.

About the Author :
Colin Shearing became a chorister and altar-boy when he was six and at eleven won a singing scholarship to choir school. After attending Theological College he relocated to Hong Kong to do missionary work and became a choirmaster. During the next five years he travelled extensively in the Far East making a study of their religions. In 1970 he relocated to Delhi in India where he joined The Theosophical Society and studied Astrology, Raja Yoga and other esoteric sciences. He travelled around India working as a foreign correspondent for a news agency for the next seven years. He returned to England in 1978 when he began lecturing at The Theosophical Society and The Institute of Trans-cultural Studies in London on Astrology, Kabala, The Tarot, The I Ching, Sacred Music and Sacred Landscapes. He also built up a collection of rare books on spiritual matters. In 1987 he became a Druid. Since then he has been writing and lecturing throughout the U.K. He was awarded a Doctorate of Divinity in 2002.

Review :
"Most of the content is on the Gregorian chants of the Catholic Church. But there is some material on the precedent of religious chanting in early and classical Mediterranean cultures, and also short sections on chanting in the world's other major religions. Gregorian chants getting their name from Pope Gregory of the late sixth century are regarded as the most mature development of Christian chanting. This Pope is "believed to be responsible for arranging the Gregorian chants which became the central pieces in religious services" with his historic reformation of Roman Catholic liturgy. Shearing puts the Gregorian chants in the context of the history of the Catholic Church, and discloses how spiritual and ecclesiastical concerns shaped them. Some technical, musicological, material on them is also included. This heavily illustrated relatively popular treatment of the chants is fortuitous considering their popularity on CDs, which takes them out of their religious context. The CD with this book contains 16 Gregorian chants. Shearing is a writer and lecturer who has traveled widely in pursuit of his spiritual interests." -- Midwest Book Review