Cantica Divina - Singing with the Early Church

This session provides an introduction to Cantica Divina - a form of prayerful chanting which is easy for individuals to learn, and which focuses one's consciousness and prayers on Almighty God. It is the sung counterpart to Lectio Divina for meditating on Scripture or the Fathers, and has been in daily use round the world for nearly 2000 years.

Following Jewish tradition from the earliest days, the Church has not only said Services every day - notionally seven times a day, as commended in the Psalms - but has also sung or chanted them.

As Saint Augustine of Hippo puts it "he who sings a psalm prays twice", and Christians from all over the world join - not only with other Christians the world over, but with the Saints down through the ages, in chanting the psalms throughout the day.

This half day discusses insights into the psalms, and chants which are easy for individuals (and congregations) to learn, and which have been popular since around 700AD.

Although chanting is an integral part of Cantica Divina, equally important is what one chants and the underlying messages, which are not always obvious.

The methods and insights originally date from before the Christian era, but were described by Saint Augustine (died 430AD) and popularised, most notably through Gregorian Chant (named after Gregory the Great (died 604AD).

In England they are particularly associated with St. Augustine of Canterbury (also died 604AD), the Venerable Bede (died 735AD), St. Acca of Hexham (died 742AD) and many others.

More modern versions of the Chant - Cistercian or Ambrosian chant date from around 1200, and Anglican Chant from 1600+. The counterpart chants in the Eastern Churches have likewise evolved over time.

The words - psalms, hymns, prayers, readings and responses have similarly been used worldwide for for many years, although with notable reorganisations around 500AD by St. Benedict; 1000AD on reorganisation following the Dark Ages; 1200AD with the 12th Century Renaissance, and again in the 16th Century following the widespread availability of printing for cheap books, and more recently.

Styles, languages and the surface appearance change from time to time, but the underlying structure remains constant.

Handouts provided (see separate directory):

• • What is Cantica Divina?

  • The Psalms - meanings and illustrations

  • Words and meanings.

  • Office appropriate to the time of day, both for chanting and to illustrate the points made. (in this case - the Sixth Hour, also known as Sext, from the Monastic Diurnal)