Several years ago, I was on pilgrimage in Spain (Camino). One of the most memorable interactions I had with a fellow pilgrim was with a Chinese ex-buddhist who was newly evangelical Protestant. She had never heard any type of Sacred Music such as Gregorian chant or any type of polyphony. Fortunately, I brought with me an MP3 player containing various chants and polyphony. One day she asked me about what I listened to during periods of hiking and meditating. I explained that I listened to sermons, talks, and sacred music. I tried my best to explain it but realized she could only benefit by listening. The look on her face is etched in my mind when she first heard Gregorian chant. Next, the polyphony nearly blew her away. She had never before heard anything like this praising God and was simply taken aback. Her countenance seemingly transformed as if seeing an angel. She was serious, joyful, and serene as the melodies lifted her soul. It was a beautiful moment and one I hope helped this young lady begin her journey home.

My Chinese protestant best friend came into a Catholic Church and was in awe of the Gregorian chant! She said it was one of the most beautiful things ever. My Muslim Arabic friend also said the same thing about Catholic cathedrals. This isn’t Eurocentricity! It’s recognizing beauty!

The first time my little grandson heard it he thought it was God.

I'm Nigerian and I love the Gregorian Chant. Ideas don't have color or race.... they may emerge from on part of the world but are ever the common heritage of all mankind. I think the Gregorian Chant is truly beautiful ✝️

Euro-centrism does not have an ugly head. If others are allowed to be proud of their ethnic heritage, so are we.

Myself and my fiancé are practicing Catholics but her parents are not religious at all and come from a non-denom Christian background. They came with us to my godson’s first communion and it happened to be the day that the music director at the church was retiring . Because it was the music director’s last day, the choir and orchestra at church went “all out”. While not Gregorian chant, it was extremely beautiful and reverent tradition western Christian music. Both my future in-laws were remarkably moved and were both saying afterwards how they wanted to start going to Catholic Mass afterwards. Really shows the transformative power of music and beauty.

Catholic music, both Polyphony and Gregorian chant, is the highest form of music possible on earth. As Catholics we need to say that without shame.

I truly wish more Catholic Masses would utilize Gregorian chant. It is sacred beautiful and prayerful.

Guaranteed that many more people would convert and actually show up to Mass if Gregorian chants were a regular part of the music rather than folksy guitars and 70s hymns.

Gregorian Chant isn’t just ‘music’ it’s raising our hearts and minds to God in PRAYER and WORSHIP..I listen to it everyday

4:21 "Listening to this music feels like it is connecting with God, as if absorbed in the devotion of God." Yup. There you have it.

My husband had a team of oxen as a teen. He always played classical music in the barn and the oxen were relaxed and eating. My husband’s brother thought it was funny to change the radio station to rock music. With the rock music playing the oxen became very agitated , anxious and stressed and they stopped eating.

As I told our priest, "If I wanted to see a second rate musical, I would go see a high school show. I want the Mass to be as special as is the reason we celebrate the Mass.

This music is absolutely beautiful. It is why the Church is considered very beautiful.

Father Ripperger says that the demons hate Gregorian chant. It drives them away. I listen to my CD of the chant at home while doing chores. Always puts me in a reverent space.

I began singing my rosary prayers when I have enough time to do it slowly and it’s been so profound to bonding my hearts to the words of the prayers

On Mother's Day at N.O. Mass I heard Ave Maria sung by legit opera singer and I almost cried b/c it was so beautiful. I'm new to Church in general but I know for a fact that Sacred Music moves me more to a prayerful mind in the Mass.

Bach and Mozart's instrumental music is what I listened to, on the few LPs we had 50-odd years ago, to focus as I studied Eng. Lit. for my Honours degree. Gregorian chant was heard rarely in those days, if ever. Allegri I knew nothing about. (We lived in a "backwater" then! In faraway India.) But once heard loved inexpressibly. I am a devout, practising Catholic, now crippled in all limbs, praying to be taken home. Allegri's Miserere (in this recording) expresses all I say to the Lord, perfectly. Thank you, Brian for this video. 🕊

I am a Roman Catholic from India

The beauty of Gregorian chant for me goes from calming, to beauty, to emotional connection to God, to joining into the prayer of the chant to God. Also, on a stressful or frustrating day, Gregorian chant resets me. So love Gregorian chant.

You are not wrong Brian. The people who do not appreciate Gregorian chants and polyphonic sacred music are all too often in a hurry to go on with their own things in life and such music to them seems to be a waste of time and should be suppressed. God, however, is today touching the hearts of many among the young generations. Pray and keep being positive; things are changing and turning hearts towards the sublime.

Brian, worry not! Gregorian is almost heavenly. As such it is meant to uplift the soul, ergo it is universal. Just like classical music, which is played in Korea, China, Japan, Europe and in America from Canada all the way thru Central America, and every country in South America as far as Argentina and Chile. Sacred music is a heritage of Christianity.

Allegri's Miserere is in my opinion the best piece of music ever written, and that's coming from a classical pianist who has listened to tons of classical music as well as many other works of chant.

That video was heartwarming.

I’m Protestant and I pray with chants on what it does for me is brings me into a space where I feel like I’m in the presence of God worshipping along with the saints and angels in heaven I’m more focus on God and less focus on my emotions…it’s truly powerful

I had never heard this piece...I burst into tears

I love this! (And Allegri's Miserere has been with me for many years now, long before I ever considered becoming Catholic in 2021. The first time I ever heard it, I was stunned speechless, it moved me so, even to tears! Unbeknownst to me, it and a few other Gregorian-type Catholic works in my then-growing music collection were working on me even then, preparing me for what someday would be. This music is very, very powerful stuff, and I'm absolutely floored that we collectively have allowed the "modernists" to try to discard it in favor of their preferred modern music styles - so sad! This is the music of Heaven, and it moves hearts!)

Yes. We have obligation to introduce Gregorian chant to masses that we all know suffer enormously under current church hymns.

Maybe some people come to church to be entertained, hence secular music with “religious “ lyrics instead of coming to worship in the mystery of GOD.

The gifts of the church are universal, not merely cultural!

To sing is to pray twice! And that is from a Saint!

It is definitely divine. The first time I heard it live was in a Latin mass. It felt like heaven came down to be with us as we received Him. I rescued a vintage copy of a set of Gregorian vinyl LPs recorded in a monastery. It’s amazing that I scored such a rare recording in 100% playable vinyl, pretty much new, for 10 dollars. I love playing it.

I started learning Gregorian with the intention of applying it to the mass I serve as a cantor, this after learning what the missal and SC says about sacred music and what place Gregorian Chant holds in the liturgy. It was not an easy task as there is no other community in my diocese that does this that I’m aware of and the material that is available online is not quite clear for someone that never had a prior experience with this kind of music, but I slowly started adding Gregorian chants as I learned them (at this point I already expressed to my priest that I wanted to learn it and sing it) I got to the point of singing the entire ordinary, as my end goal was to be able to sing the propers as well, but I got stopped as my parish priest told me I should actually not sing the entirety of the ordinary, after interchanging some words he asked me why I wanted to do this, I told him is what SC says must be done, then he said I was reading SC literally and not in the spirit of the council, I was speechless, I thought the phrase “spirit of the council” was a caricature or exaggeration from traditional circles but no. I can’t help but feel like wanting to follow the rules is punished by our own pastors. I ask for your prayers.

I’m a catholic convert but I still teach vocal lessons to Protestant worship leaders. The songs are mainly from Hillsong, Maverick City, Elevation Worship etc…It’s very energetic music. It takes so much effort to sing. I couldn’t imagine being sick or just tired or sad going to church and basically not being able to participate because I wouldn’t be able to get into the “energy” of the music. It’s about creating a mood and evoking emotions. I would say this isn’t relying on the Holy Spirit but a stirring of emotions.

On the topic of sacred music and it's impact on us, a family member of mine who is not a practicing catholic once attended a confirmation Mass that had very, very beautiful music and said that if she had grown up with music like that in the Mass she probably would have stayed catholic.

The other day a beautiful choir performed in my church on Sunday mass. I was delighted… until they introduced percussion.

Miserere Mei psalm 51 ❤ create in me a clean heart oh god and a new and right spirit within me

Lex orandi, lex credendi!

Yup sometimes I walk out during the last hymn because its either like a childish nursery rhyme or a silly advertising jingle, or something schmaltzy from a 50s movie.

Excellent work! May God bless you and your family. Amen

I’m east Indonesian Christian and I love the Christian hymns and chants, Irish, Gregorian Russian orthodox all glorious beautiful worship….

We musicans need the support of good Shepperds that will help the flock understand the theology of worship. The music is a reflection of our ego centric culture and worship attitudes. Musicians and pastors have to be one with this. I've worked for priests that have told me they want to give people a lift and feel good about things, and I've worked for priests that get it and have the mind of the church. Pray for sheppards to tend to the flock that will put effort into changing hearts towards a more Christ center worship. Too many are bogged down by demands of administration and are overworked. We need more priests

I absolutely love chant. I listen to it whenever I pray the rosary. It helps turn my mind and focus on God

You can see how the grace acts, Gregorian Chant has the capacity to lift up the soul to God and that's what gives peace because its something so sublime and It makes us think of Heaven and drives us to conversion. Im proud of being Catholic and being part of the Only and real Church, God and Mary bless you all

"The main place should be given, all things being equal, to Gregorian chant, as being proper to the Roman Liturgy" (GIRM 41, cf. SC 116). But what gets the main place at many Masses these days? Classics like Missa My Little Pony and friends.

The objection to Gregorian chant and other similarly traditional forms of religious music as euro centric would carry more weight… if all the alternatives were not similarly western in character.

I went to my TLM last Sunday in Edmonton, it’ moved me in a different kind of way, I felt a beautiful connection - it’s almost as though the mass came alive - I’ve never heard chant in real life - it brought tears to my eyes - they don’t have TLM where I live

As a specialist in this field, I agree with everythig you said. I believe the position of those against authentic sacred music (ie Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony) stems from relativism and sentimentality. Words like euro-centric and colonialism, as such, don’t belong in a discussion about Catholic sacred music. Whenever someone starts speaking in those terms to me it tells me good will is not their motivation, so I form my responses carefully but completely in line with Church teaching about sacred music. Yes, different forms of sacred music can be used liturgically, but one always has to keep the rule of Pope St. Pius X in mind. The closer a composition resembles Gregorian chant, the more it is appropriate for Mass, and the less it sounds like Gregorian chant, the less it is appropriate for Mass.

What I love about your presentations, Brian, is that you so beautifully unwrap them explaining the subject matter in a precise and crystal clear method. Always intellectually satisfying. Thank you.

The Gregorian Chant compels me to prayer and worship.

I have a little treat for you Brian. In Ireland there is a style of singing that goes back 800 years. Its called Sean Nos and it treats the art of singing as a divine gift. The songs thenselves are personal stories about people who lived and in most of the songs experienced sad and tragic events. If your interested they can be found on KZfaq. The singers i recommend are Piaras O'Larcain, Seamus and Caoimbhe Flaherty. Also, i recommend for Gregorian music, Jan Garbarek and the Hilyard Ensemble - Officium. It uses the alto sax in Gregorian music!

I love how they naturally raise their hands! ❤🤗

We went to a St. Josephine Bakhita Mass when we first moved to the new area. They were howling, using percussion instruments, a tambourine, an electric keyboard… I actually developed a headache. The bishop allows that but not the TLM there.

This piece of music is perhaps the most beautiful of all time. Tallis Scholars performance of this piece tops them all, but this powerful piece has been my favorite for over 40+ years. Thank you for addressing this piece, this genre of music.

My kids ask for chant every night to fall asleep to.

Thanks Brian…I’ve had My Little Pony stuck in my head for hours now 😅

The best explanation I've ever heard on this very important subject. Thank you!

Great podcast and content as usual sir - well done

The same is true in nursing homes especially the dementia wing. The horrible staff insisted on playing aggressive rap music and couldn't figure out why the patients were always so agitated and violent

Another excellent teaching. Thank you Brian❤

superb video!

This was very powerful. Thank you 🙏🏼

"If you remove the lyrics of Gregorian Chant, it still sounds like prayer." Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the main theme from the original "Halo: Combat Evolved". No lyrics but I instinctively found something "sacred" about it without knowing a single thing about Gregorian chant or Catholicism in general. The music is partially what made me obsessed with the franchise as a kid in the first place.

I had the privilege of singing in the Vatican today. Ave Maria Angelus Domini sounded incredible. You can’t get that at the 11:30 Folk Mass or the 5:00 Praise and Worship Mass. I’m sorry, but nothing compares. I joke that music peaked when polyphony hit the scene… maybe it’s true after all

That version of the Miserere is a mixture of old and modern. Mozart transcribed the original (allegedly from memory after listening to a performance). But the arrangement most commonly used nowadays includes modifications from the 19th and 20th centuries.

I agree with this very much! Thank You Brian! +

You don't pray while you are listening to the chant. You experience the presence of God. The singers are those who pray.

Thank you for enlightening us with this beautiful heavenly music…

Just hearing those short clips of polyphony had me tearing up. So beautiful.

I wish there was a “love” button. Great piece of content.

As an Eastern Orthodox, I like my Byzantine church music too. Just voices, no instruments. In my parish it is also all in English which helps me.

I walked down the aisle on my wedding day to "Ave Maria" which is not necessarily Gregorian chant, but it's certainly one of the most beautiful songs in all of human history. Who can listen to it and not get goosebumps? I liken these songs to what it will sound like in heaven. "Christian" contemporary music does not have the same effect.

I believe it was St. Augustine who said, " He who sings prays twice." I would say that definitely applies to Gregorian Chant.

Great video btw. I love your work. You recommended a great YT channel last year that does sacred music called Harpa Dei. You should re plug them when you get a minute! I still listen to them.

Sometimes beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, sometimes beauty simply is. It doesn't need to be excused for, and anyone arguing against it self-evidently wants that beauty stripped in favor of an agenda - they are ugly to the core. In the time many of these chants were written, discovering the scientific laws of the world and creating art were done in the pursuit of understanding God's creation. Meaning beauty is natural, inherent, and a product of the divine, not solely of a human interpretation.

Thank you 🕊

There are some really good videos with them reacting to all sorts of music.

Gregorian chant not being the norm, the standard, is a huge black mark on the modern catholic church.

There is definitely music that lifts the soul to God. Some of my favourites are: O come, O come Emanuel (Gregorian Chant) Battle Hymn of the Republic (Mine eyes have seen the glory of The Lord) Amazing Grace (Ex slavers poem set to music) I watched the sunrise (often played at Catholic funerals, apparently gets the funeral directors every time) I, The Lord of Sea and Sky (Is it I Lord) Sing of The Lords goodness. In all cases true art touches the soul.

Thank you. 🙏🏽

I love this type of music. I listen to a group that sometimes puts the words in English, my language. I love reading the beautiful words as they sing.

I love those villager dudes. They're so cute. Look at the effect the Heavenly music had on them. Its the most beautiful sound humans could make.

Music, for the most part, is sacred. It touches our souls.

Thank you, Mr. Holdsworth for the video on Gregorian chant. I've loved it since it was first heard in the early '70's. When asking our music teacher about it, she thanked me for giving her the lesson. So many people want to pooh-pooh it as "ancient" or, too difficult to sing; and get irritated when it's pointed out that modern hip music that's played church is far more difficult. Thanks again for your efforts.

Well said Brian.

Love the short Gabber clip! I miss those days.

He said “it’s as if I’m absorbed to the devotion of God” amazing

May they all come into the fullness of Truth! I love them!

Gregorian and Carpathian Chant easily metamorphosizes the line length to fit any number of sentence syllables.

They also did one reacting to Dies Irae

“Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me” something about that part just hits hard, the way that verse starts with such power, and the overlapping “confirma me” my favorite part. Shame that he didn’t let that part play.

I'm not Catholic but I love Gregorian Chant. I learned how to read their music when I was in the College of music. However, I also enjoy Praise and Worship songs. If only I can put them together, that would be a blast❤ There is a time for everything.

Agreed . Amen 🙏🏽🌹

I AGREE 💯 percent with you! And this IS beautiful and VERY much feels and sounds like prayer and a deep connection with God. Period. Amen✝️🙏🕯️💕

The nearest church to me plays and sings pop music throughout Mass. I drive an extra 8 miles to go where they have a beautiful organ and amazing choir. It is SO important to me.

My wife and I had the blessing of being in a church choir that performed this piece, "Miserere mei, Deus" by Allegri. It's one of those pieces that are so moving I have to fight back my emotions, it's kind of hard to sing with tears welling up. We've since moved to a much smaller parish and sadly will probably never have the pleasure or performing this piece again.

I have my musical preferences, like everybody, and I actually enjoy rock and folk. But. At mass it's gotta be chant and old time hymns. I will blast Hillsong in my car once in a while, and I rarely listen to church music outside of church itself. But chant and old time hymns are the only befitting music for liturgical worship.

I'm just listening to this in the background, the song starts, and within 3 or 4 seconds, I have goosebumps. What are you doing to my mind?

I love to hear (and sing!) beautiful music in church. I chuckled at your reference to that modern Mass setting that unfortunately resembles "My Little Pony" ("Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to God in the hiiiiighest"). 😄 I wish more people would join in singing in Church (where appropriate). I know it's difficult for those who don't read music or don't have experience singing.

Those Villagers React videos are fun (like first plane ride); but this is perfect for the purpose you described.