The Healing Qualities of Gregorian Chant
  • AriasitaAriasita
    Posts: 32
    Hello friends,

    I am in search of studies, papers, or essays that highlight empirical evidence of Gregorian Chant’s healing qualities; whether that be physiological, emotional health, or otherwise. I am looking for both evidence of those simply listening to and those actively engaged in singing. Thank you in advance for anything you might be willing to share.
  • sergeantedward
    Posts: 195
    I'm not aware of anything personally. But there is a whole new field of research under the umbrella of "Music Therapy." I imagine digging through sources in that field, and contacting folks at universities in such titled departments, might get you going in the right direction.
  • drjones
    Posts: 24
    I've seen mention of the concept but not evidence or research behind it.
  • Charles_Weaver
    Posts: 76
    I discussed this subject in my very first CCWatershed post:

    https://www.ccwatershed.org/2020/06/29/chanting-and-spiritual-health/

    I was referring to a story I first came across in a Joscelyn Godwin book, but I can’t remember that original source at the moment.

    You can probably find plenty of stuff (on a whole spectrum of new age to orthodoxy) online on sound healing and the like; to keep it grounded in the Church, it might be worth investigating the opinion that Gregorian chant is a sacramental. Along those lines, I suggest Dom Hourlier’s little book on the spirituality of chant.
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  • MarkB
    Posts: 1,085
    You might find Peter Kwasniewski's recent book helpful: Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence.

    The first few chapters are devoted to a philosophical analysis of the characteristics of different genres of music and what makes music beautiful and nourishing. Here is a screengrab of the beginning of the table of contents:

    image

    That's from the Amazon link, at which you can conveniently read the first 2.5 chapters as free samples to determine whether you want to purchase the book:

    Click here.

    The author discusses his book and ideas in this interview, and a transcript is included:

    https://crisismagazine.com/podcast/the-best-music-for-life-and-the-liturgy-guest-peter-kwasniewski

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