I don’t usually choose the places I go on holiday for musical reasons, but when I found out that we were going to spend a fortnight only half an hour’s drive from the monastery of Solesmes in Western France, it became essential to go and hear the singing of plainchant there. I went to two services, a Vespers and a Mass. Both were attended by several dozen lay people and clearly visitors come from far and wide to hear the community perform, though Solesmes doesn’t have the trappings of religious tourism apart from a shop at the monastery gates. The Vespers was lightly accompanied on the organ; the Mass was unaccompanied and for the chanting of the Propers with their more elaborate music a smaller group, rather than the entire community, was used. It isn’t really appropriate to apply ‘reviewing’ criteria to a religious community which isn’t performing for your benefit. I’ll only comment on one stylistic aspect; the marked ‘tailing off’ at the ends of lines which is often copied elsewhere but which doesn’t always travel well to drier acoustics.
I have been exposed to a lot of plainchant over the years. This becomes obvious when I have to sing a plainsong hymn in a Cathedral or perform a work which uses plainsong in some way; I can usually sing the melody straight off while others struggle. And being able to identify the eight psalm tones is a party piece of sorts. But it was clear from inspecting the publications in the bookshop at Solesmes, as from earlier experiences such as a workshop with Mary Berry in Oxford, that there are whole dimensions to Gregorian chant that I’m ignorant of, as I’ve never really got into the neumes business.
Ultimately I have to admit that I miss harmony when singing with or listening to a choir doing plainchant, or anything else in unison for a long time. This also applies to unison hymns (which is why I haven’t enjoyed the last couple of weddings where I’ve been in the choir!).
Other musical points of interest in the holiday included the five pianos on view in the château at Le Lude and the extravagant piece of French organ music we heard someone practising in Angers Cathedral. We were able to listen to concerts on France-Musique though the area we were staying in wasn’t covered by digital broadcasting.