An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church

Taizé Chant

This form of contemporary liturgical song was first developed for use by the ecumenical Christian community at Taizé, France. It uses repetitive structures that can easily be memorized, along with other parts for solo voices, choirs, and instruments. Jacques Berthier prepared the musical settings for Taizé chant. In recent years it has gained acceptance and is used in many denominations. Latin is now used for singing Taizé Chant at Taizé because of the international nature of the community. However, settings of Taizé Chant are edited for use in other languages, including English. Wonder, Love, and Praise has a variety of hymns that use Taizé chant, such as “O Lord hear my pray'r” (Hymn 827) and “Laudate omnes gentes” (Hymn 830).

Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.