This original post can be found on International Chant Academy’s Facebook page.
A story goes, in the wake of the liturgical reforms following the Second Vatican Council, the monks of a Benedictine religious community in southern France fell mysteriously ill, with no remedy to be found. In desperation, the esteemed researcher Dr. Alfred Tomatis was called to the scene. The son of an opera singer, Tomatis grew up with music, and spent much of his childhood watching his father sing opera on the stage. Tomatis went into medicine, where he discovered the Mozart Effect, became a specialist in problems with hearing and language, and father of the field known as audio-psycho-phonology.
Tomatis ascertained that not long before the onset of the monks’ malaise, the monastery had altered their daily practice of singing the Divine Office together. They had switched from singing the formerly prescribed Gregorian chants, in favor of praying in their native tongue, and had reduced the total amount of time devoted to daily prayer in community. Tomatis knew from his research that if you change the way the ear works, you affect all the body’s major functions. These changes, in turn, can produce profound transformations in how we function: this is known as the “Tomatis Effect”. Tomatis prescribed that the monks’ former practice of chanting the Hours be restored, and the listless monks were quickly restored to health.
Tomatis wrote later in his book, Pourquois Mozart?: “Woe to us if we wish to present Church singing as a therapeutic material. Yet, few works, besides Mozart’s, have such a radical impact on the human being…A soul attuned to the chant starts to vibrate to the first and essential rhythms. Gregorian chant allows us to perceive this vibration of the soul when it reaches the register of serenity. Then, man is involved in a timeless communication and regains his natural breathing, that is, unstressed and without gasping. Through the Gregorian modulations, he discovers a privileged space where his being momentarily can rest, aloof from the daily trials.
“To tell the truth, Gregorian chant gives a glimpse of paradise to those who wish it. Man is reintegrated into the creation and sings the glory of the Creator. The Gregorian muse is certainly a jewel which centuries have slowly elaborated. In matters of religious singing, it is assuredly the summit of what man can do in search of God. Obviously, there are here and there some variations due to the temperament of the composer or the requirement of the liturgy at a certain period. But regardless of those variations, the Gregorian pieces are universal in their musical and vibratory content. “
Today, Gregorian chant is an essential component of therapy according to the Tomatis Method. The Method is used to heal auditory processing problems, dyslexia, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, autism, and sensory processing and motor-skill difficulties. It is also claimed to have helped adults fight depression, learn foreign languages faster, develop better communication skills, and improve both creativity and on-the-job performance.
What do *you* notice when you sing Gregorian chant?
How does it affect you?
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