Gregorian Chant: Songs of the Spirit

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0912333138, Paperback)

One of the most surprising musical fads of recent years is the craze for Gregorian chant, a musical form whose recordings were once largely restricted to the pages of the Musical Heritage Society catalog and the output of obscure religious labels. Now chant in its various permutations is big business and something to be greatly hyped by mainstream record companies. Hopping onto the plainsong bandwagon is this book, a handsomely illustrated volume of essays and thoughts on assorted styles of chant, complete with a compact disc of examples tucked into a sleeve in the back. This book should satisfy any curiosity on the subject for most people who are neither monastic nor musicians.