-- The Wonder of Gregorian Chant -–

John Herlihy

In his scriptorium, the holy prelate, Gregory I, now the pope,

Bowed his head as his pen scratched the parchment with hope.

His solitude was interrupted with the rush of wings from a dove,

Silence broken, then resumed, measured in heartbeats of love.

The beloved Holy Father took his dictation of music from a dove,

The exquisite bird the renowned symbol of Holy Spirit from above.

The clean, sober, solitary line of music designed for single voice,

With no embellishment of harmony or cords, in simplicity to rejoice.

Gregorian Chant bore his influence with its stamp of simplicity,

Thought to be inspired from on high by the dove’s pure felicity.

Echoes of the sacred music pour forth as if from a sacred spout;

We listen as we awake to all things within, asleep to all thing without.

In listening, one takes part in the ardent quest to perceive the sublime;

Solo sound drips note for note, drop for drop, into the cup of the Divine.

Rise and fall of monophonic rhythms stir the mind in their sacred quest;

In sotto voce, the singers unite to chant sacred psalms at God’s behest.

As a child, I was chosen to perform solo as the elect of the boys’ choir;

My boy-soprano voice as natural and light, a feather with force to inspire.

While my heart beat wildly in shyness and my speaking voice did stutter;

My singing voice as a gold stream with every note I was required to utter.

The melody arose from within me as a bird’s voice does naturally soar;

The shell of myself faded away as my voice took over to create more.

All the sweetness of the monophonic rhythms flowed from my timid throat,

Out into the open air, into the heavenly sky, to cross beyond a celestial moat.

The purity of voice well suited to the demands of Gregorian Chant as it sings.

The tonal demands well muted with this enchantment of melody with wings.

As I look back upon my childhood, I admire the shy boy with voice so angelic,

Who poured forth sacred mysteries in memory of a once pious priestly cleric.

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(c) John Herlihy 7 January 2019