VA - Essential Gregorian Chant (2013)

Among the oldest pieces of music familiar to man today are the chants known as the "simple song", which have been performed by monks in Christian monasteries for many hundreds of years.
Gregorian chants are named after Pope Gregory the Great (540,604). According to medieval legend, he was inspired by God with simple plaintive melodies, which have since become the main means by which monastic communities praise God in songs.
Although the origins of singing date back to the period preceding Gregory, and most of the surviving chants were composed in the period from the eighth to the tenth century, the story of Gregory has some foundation: this highly cultured and educated pope undoubtedly played an important role in gathering together and systematizing the various chants that already existed in his time.
The hymns are grouped according to various events and holidays of the church year, and the piece that opens mass on the first Sunday of Advent at the very beginning of the church year, called Ad te levavi, sounds here as track 6 on CD 1. The first disc ends with a group of hymns performed on Palm Sunday, and the second begins with the hymns of Holy Week, the most important part of the Easter holiday.
These timeless chants have gained new popularity among the modern public due to their serene beauty and the ability to evoke a sense of calm and relaxation.