Buckfast Abbey Choir

Sarum chant (the plainchant of the Use of Salisbury) is the medieval English variant of Western plainchant used across much of England, Wales, and parts of Ireland and Scotland before the Reformation. It belongs to the broader Gregorian tradition, but preserves local melodic, textual, and ceremonial peculiarities tied to the Sarum Rite. It is monophonic, modal, and unaccompanied, designed for Latin liturgical texts in the Mass and Divine Office. Its melodies range from simple recitation formulas to elaborate melismas, and its rhythm follows the natural accent and syntax of the text rather than strict meter. Distinct processional customs and a rich Proper (seasonal and festal chants) give the repertory its characteristic color.

Gregorian chant is the central Western tradition of plainchant: a monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) used in the Roman Catholic liturgy. It employs free rhythm guided by the prosody of the text rather than by strict meter, and is sung in unison by clerics or scholas. Its melodies are organized by the system of eight church modes, with characteristic finalis (final), tenor/reciting tones, and melodic formulas. Repertoires include the Proper and Ordinary of the Mass (e.g., Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory, Communion, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) and the Divine Office (e.g., Antiphons, Responsories, Hymns, Psalms). Although legend credits Pope Gregory I, modern scholarship sees Gregorian chant as a Carolingian synthesis of Old Roman and Gallican chants, standardized across Frankish realms and later the broader Latin West.