Dr. Carly York
The 1,000-year-old sound of one of the earliest hymns of Gregorian chant seemed to have been lost over time, before a New Jersey-based Catholic artist and cantor discovered it and created what may be the first-ever recording of the chant.
Dr. Carly York shares the chant “O Nata Lux de Lumine” as one of six tracks on her new album, “I Heard the Voice,” an album that threads a combination of chant, ancient hymns and original compositions.
York said the hymn was written specifically for the Feast of the Transfiguration and that numerous composers over the last 500 years including Thomas Tallis and Morten Lauridsen have created choral works based on it.
Since a recording of the original chant has been impossible to discover, York went to the leading source or Gregorian chant to find the original: the Benedictine monks of Solemes in France.
“The monks of Solemes are the great archivist, basically, of the Gregorian chant,” she said. “They realized that so much of the chant music that is our great heritage of the Catholic faith was being lost and being taken over by other forms of music, or just no singing in the Mass.
“They started to archive a lot of what was in their own libraries in the form of manuscripts, and started to write it into modern chant notation and put it into books.”
York said she eventually found the original chant, reached out to the monks for permission, and received a letter saying they were thrilled she was recording and championing the music.
“I can’t legally say that it is the one and only recording of the actual chant melody,” she admits, “but from what I have found, I can’t find another recording.”
York, who serves as principal cantor at the Parish of St. Mary in Colts Neck, N.J., converted to Catholicism from a Baptist tradition. She first learned about Gregorian chant while studying music at American University in Washington, D.C., and learned of Guido of Arezzo who played a major role in inventing musical notation.
“He did so to train other monks and priests on how to sing and chant liturgical prayers (in) the Mass (and in) the Liturgy of the Hours. Because he did that in the year 1000, we have this huge repertoire of Gregorian chant,” York said.
She moved across town to get a master’s degree at Catholic University of America, where chant became an even more important focus not only for her musical career but her faith in Christ.
“It just was something that really called to me and gradually it helped me become the Catholic convert that I ended up becoming,” said York, who received a doctoral degree from Seton Hall University.
The words of “O Nata Lux de Lumine” evoke Christ as the light to help us see the wonders of God, inspiring us to praise. York’s full translation of four of the seven verses is below:
O Light born of Light before time,
Lord Jesus, world’s Redeemer, hear:
Receive in mercy, gracious King,
The praise and prayer your servants bring.
You brought the ancient seers of old
To meet your new disciples’ eyes,
And gave to both the grace to see
And to confess you God most high.
The Father’s voice from heaven’s height
Proclaimed you his beloved Son;
With faithful hearts we too confess
You King of all the heavenly hosts.
To you our songs of praise we raise,
Eternal God, of kings, the King,
Who, Three in One, rule all that is,
And reign through never-ending days.
“Light born of Light before time,” she quotes. “If we think about the hugeness of the universe and the expansion of creation, nothing more says it better than that line.”
Joining that selection on York’s new album is, “Breathe on Me, Holy Spirit,” her arrangement to words written by St. Augustine. The song was released through Spotify on Aug. 28, his feast day.
“It was his own prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to speak and work in him a little bit more strongly,” York said. “I took that prayer and put it to modern music in a modern, very simple melody.”
Many forms of music can evoke the presence of God. York especially espouses Gregorian chant as a way to enter prayer with God with a special reverence due to its unique sound.
“The goal of this acoustic sound is to help us slow down our nervous system, slow down our thoughts, and allow the Holy Spirit to work and speak to us through the music,” she said. “That is the goal of using Gregorian chant because it’s so different from anything else we hear in modern life.”
York said that the combination of sonic quality and Scriptural lyrics which form the foundation of Gregorian chant creates a mystical connection to the divine.
“This combination of divine music with the divinely inspired Scripture comes together and makes a wonderful medium for prayer and reverence,” York said.
“Gregorian chant helps us enter into a spirit of reverence before the Lord.”
The full album including “O Nata Lux de Lumine” will be released Sept. 25. All of her music is available on Spotify, YouTube, and other digital platforms.
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