Ambrosian Chant

In our listening lab we were able to listen to several examples of Ambrosian chant.  They were sung by women.  All of the songs were incredibly beautiful and peaceful.  It almost made me want to join a convent.  I am guessing that the women on the recording were all professionally trained and selected so that their voices matched beautifully. In an actual convent over 1,000 years ago, this probably would not be the case.  In fact, I am guessing that at least a few of the women who joined were tone deaf.  But it is nice to imagine that their music may have sounded this beautiful.


The phrase being sung in the Kyrie is "Kyrie eleison" which translates to "Lord have mercy".  It was sung in a responsorial fashion with a leader singing first and the chorus repeated.  It is in Mixolydian mode.  The melody is descending at first and then changes in the middle and begins ascending.  It is mostly syllabic, meaning one syllable per note. The overall effect of the chant was peaceful and prayerful.


We also listened to "Gloria"  This was also responsorial, although not as strict in it's structure.  The response was not always the same as the call.  The first line was mostly two or three notes, centered around the reciting tone.  Then the melody became much more complex, first ascending and then descending in mostly step wise motion.


The third song was "Alleluia"  which precedes the reading of the gospel.    The text mostly consisted of "Alleluia" and the melody was long and complex.  This song was mostly melismatic with many notes per syllable.   It was in Dorian mode.   This was my favorite of the three.  The overall effect was love and adoration.  It was sung so beautifully and lovingly.