The Benedictine Nuns of Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation, Le Barroux

Convent is a sacred vocal tradition centered on music sung by communities of nuns in Roman Catholic (and, at times, Eastern Christian) convents. The core repertoire comprises Gregorian chant and office hymns in Latin, sung in unison without instrumental accompaniment and shaped by the liturgical calendar. While fundamentally monophonic and modal, the sound world ranges from syllabic psalm tones to highly melismatic antiphons and responsories. From the Renaissance onward, some convents cultivated simple polyphony and, in Baroque Italy, even sophisticated multi-voice music written by cloistered women composers. Modern recordings typically feature a cappella female choirs in resonant chapels, emphasizing clarity of text, steady breath, and a contemplative, prayerful delivery.

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.