Listening For The Lord Helps, Say Chant Fans

TAMPA - Linda Taggart doesn't claim to be an expert in music.

But she knows what she likes - and says she has witnessed its divine power.

When her husband, Jim, first underwent a liver transplant, and then treatment for cancer a year later, she kept a vigil both times by his bedside at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. She watched helplessly as he slipped in and out of consciousness.

"I wanted to do something, anything, to bring him some peace," she recalls. "Something to distract him from all the noise going around him at the hospital."

She tried Frank Sinatra recordings, which didn't work. Then someone suggested the soothing sounds of Gregorian chants.

Even in his medicated state, Jim Taggart's body responded to the sounds of men praying liturgical Roman Catholic Latin chants in unison in a single note. Five years later, as she watches her husband of 23 years cook dinner in their Tampa kitchen, Linda is convinced those centuries-old chants played an integral role in his recovery.

"He's my miracle man," she says of Jim, retired chief financial officer of TECO. "And it wasn't just him who felt the effects of that beautiful music. Nurses would come in the room and sit there quietly, taking a coffee break in quiet contemplation."

Chants can also serve to calm the nerves of those caught up in an overbooked, jam-packed holiday season.

For the sixth year in a row, Florida Pro Musica presents that gift of contemplation to people who need a break from the party and shopping frenzy that invariably accompanies December.

"Gregorian Chant VI: Mass for the 3rd Sunday of Advent" takes place Dec. 14 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in downtown Tampa.

"It's the same music that would have been heard 1,500 years ago," says Larry Kent, director. "We get so much noise and commotion this time of year. This is an antidote to the craziness of the shopping malls, the hustle and bustle, the bells. This is the opposite of that."

For 45 minutes or so, audiences will get a time out for reflection on the true reason for the season.

Gregorian chants are named for Pope Gregory I, who led the Catholic Church from 590 to 604. Although the origins remain a mystery and continue to spark debate in the music community, the constants cannot be argued: The chants are prayers taken directly from the Roman Catholic Mass, and the austere texture of the music is meant to draw listeners into a realm of meditation.

A musician who regularly performs before audiences, Kent is accustomed to the shuffling of programs and coughing noises in the crowd. Not so at the Gregorian chant concerts.

"It's as if the whole audience is holding its breath," he says. "Everyone is so still and so quiet. People tell me afterward that they sit without moving with their eyes closed the entire time."

With three children and a busy practice as an ear, nose and throat doctor, Dan Vincent Jr. has precious time to spare. Participating in the concert as one of the seven male singers is a respite and a privilege, he says.

With his wife out of town this week, he's juggling extra duty as Mr. Mom, along with a full load of patients. He slipped into rehearsal Monday five minutes late, but it didn't take long for him to transform.

As soon as he began chanting with his fellow Florida Pro Musica singers, the Tampa physician was at peace.

"It helps me enter into worship," Vincent says. "Everything else just slips away for a little while. This is my time to listen to the Lord's voice."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Gregorian Chant VI: Mass For The 3rd Sunday Of Advent

WHEN: 4 p.m., Dec. 14

WHERE: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 509 Florida Ave., Tampa

ADMISSION: Free

INFORMATION: http://floridapro musica.com or call (813) 259-9744