Description
Alberto Turco is one of the foremost scholars of Gregorian chant. Father Stephen Concordia, O.S.B., of Saint Vincent Archabbey, has made his work available to speakers of the English language, translating the work of Monsignor Turco, a priest of the Diocese of Verona, Italy. This book presents a lofty and awesom vision of Gregorian Chant’s place in the Catholic Church. Never losing its focus on chant as “sung prayer,” this “initiation” provides a many-faceted foundation to the numerous, diverse disciplines that, nowadays, are implicated in the study of chant.
Of particular interest are chapters dedicated to proposals of performance practice, beginning from the perspective that the rhythm of the melodies and the rhythm of the words work together in perfect symbiosis; and the understanding that the modality contributes structure and stability to each chant. Numerous syllabic antiphons are presented in detailed, comprehensive analyses to serve as models for students. Other topics include a presentation of the practice of Psalmody, and an introduction to the modal system, including the Archaic modes used in books of chant published only since Vatican II.
