Gregoriana Amsterdam

Notation and repertoire

Gregoriana sings from Fluxus notation, which places tenth-century notation on lines and preserves rhythmic, stylistic and ornamental nuances. The ensemble focuses on rarely performed but constitutive parts of the repertoire, such as the great responsories of the Night Office and offertories with verses.

Over 2,000 medieval responsories survive, and more than 100 tenth-century offertories contain the most virtuosic Gregorian chant, with long melismas, wide ambitus, and text repetitions. Mozarabic chant, which existed from the sixth to the eleventh century on the Iberian Peninsula and southern France and was abolished in 1085, is a high priority. Over 5,000 Mozarabic chants survive in pitch-unreadable notation, and Gregoriana has performed dozens of computer-aided reconstructions.

Cooperation, publications and radio

Gregoriana has collaborated with imams, chazans, and representatives of other religions, as well as musicians from classical, improvised, and folkloristic traditions. The ensemble has released eight CDs, two with the Egidius Kwartet, and published several books, including three on Mozarabic chant. From 2010 to 2016, its director compiled radio broadcasts on Gregorian chant for the Dutch Concertzender, many focusing on related traditions; all episodes are available online.