A space set apart: Good Samaritan Episcopal Church offers Gregorian chants to community
Last month, Beaver’s Digest—Oregon State University’s student lifestyle magazine—ran a feature on Good Sam’s sung Compline service, which is held every Sunday at 7pm.
The article was based on an interview with our Director of Music and Organist Zachary Duell. Please enjoy, and be sure to share this wonderful article with your friends and followers on social media!
Rain patters down on the soaring A-frame roof, protecting the still air inside. Dozens of tapered candles tremble in the silence, until eight black-robed figures step onto the dais. A single tuning note echoes through the chapel, and the chant begins.
This chapel at the Good Samaritan Episcopal Church transforms into something harkening back to a medieval monastery at 7 p.m. on Sundays. For about 30 minutes, the choir intones Gregorian chants; a form of unaccompanied sacred song, most of which were written centuries ago.
“Chant has been around for as long as the church has existed,” said Zachary Duell, the director of music and organist at Good Samaritan.
There is only one melody and no instruments in a Gregorian chant, lending them an atmosphere oscillating between solemnity, reverence and peace.
“People have been singing this same thing, in this same way, at this same time of year for 1000 years,” Duell said. “To be able to connect to something that’s … over 1000 (years old), a lot of the singers find that really cool.”