Gregorian Chants: The Illustrated History of Religious Chanting [Hardcover]

Colin Shearing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

Chanting has been used in religious ceremonies since mankind first learnt to vocalise. All ancient peoples have used chanting as a way of altering consciousness and putting themselves in touch with the Divine. The flowering of the chant was reached in the early 9th century when Pope Gregory the Great made a collection of Roman chants and
assigned them specific places within the liturgy. These are known as Gregorian chants and there are over three thousand different Gregorian chants extant today. Contains a CD of 16 of the most beautiful Gregorian chants.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Colin Shearing had a deeply religious upbringing. After attending Theological College he relocated to Hong Kong to do missionary work and became a choirmaster. During the next five years he travelled extensively in the Far East making a study of their religions. In 1970 he relocated to Delhi in India where he joined The Theosophical Society and studied Astrology, Raja Yoga and other esoteric sciences. He travelled around India working as a foreign correspondent for a news agency for the next seven years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Mercury Books (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904668526
• ISBN-13: 978-1904668527
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 10 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,224,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars popular introduction to Gregorian chants with CD, January 26, 2005

By 

Henry Berry "Henry Berry" (Southport, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gregorian Chants: The Illustrated History of Religious Chanting (Hardcover)

Most of the content is on the Gregorian chants of the Catholic Church. But there is some material on the precedent of religious chanting in early and classical Mediterranean cultures, and also short sections on chanting in the world's other major religions. Gregorian chants getting their name from Pope Gregory of the late sixth century are regarded as the most mature development of Christian chanting. This Pope is "believed to be responsible for arranging the Gregorian chants which became the central pieces in religious services" with his historic reformation of Roman Catholic liturgy. Shearing puts the Gregorian chants in the context of the history of the Catholic Church, and discloses how spiritual and ecclesiastical concerns shaped them. Some technical, musicological, material on them is also included. This heavily illustrated relatively popular treatment of the chants is fortuitous considering their popularity on CDs, which takes them out of their religious context. The CD with this book contains 16 Gregorian chants. Shearing is a writer and lecturer who has traveled widely in pursuit of his spiritual interests.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars So full of errors I don't know where to begin, July 16, 2007

By 

Michael R. Wilson (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gregorian Chants: The Illustrated History of Religious Chanting (Hardcover)

The pictures in this book are beautiful, the words in the book are so riddled with anti-Catholic non-truths that it makes one question the validity of anything that Mr. Shearing has to say. Early in the book he gives a 'history' of the Catholic faith that I believe he took straight from the pages of one of Dan Brown's novels. Some examples:
- Early Christians never believed that Jesus was divine
- Constantine founded the Roman Catholic Church and appointed it Popes
- The 'brothers' of Jesus started what became the Eastern Orthodox Church
- The Church was forced to adopt the idea that Jesus was divine to assuage the 'divine' Constantine.

The list goes on and on.

I am comforted in knowing that I bought this book used and did not support this anti-Catholic author with my purchase.

1.0 out of 5 stars Tons of false information, June 14, 2011

By 

BardonB - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gregorian Chants: The Illustrated History of Religious Chanting (Hardcover)

First of all, this book is very poorly written. It reads like someone whose native language is Pakastani wrote it. Many sentences don't make sense, and many other sentences are contradicted by the following sentence. Much of the historical and musicological information is flat out wrong. The origins of Christian chant described were disproven long before this book was written. Jewish worship is especially misunderstood. There is even a remark that reminds one of the Nazi party, written of the Copts: "Descended from the Ancient Egyptian peoples, they are considered one of the most anthropologically pure races in the world." (p42)