The Gaudeamus Omnes is sung in the Roman Catholic Church at the beginning of the Latin Mass on certain feast days. It is used for the Introit, the time when the priest enters the sanctuary to begin celebration of the mass. This chant dates back at least to the fourteenth century and is not to be confused with the Gaudeamus igitur, a gradual also used in the Roman Catholic Church. The text of the Gaudeamus Omnes in Domino (Let Us All Rejoice in the Lord) can change to accommodate a different feast day. For example, the words "Mariae Virginis" can be substituted for "Benedicti abbatis" in masses celebrating the Blessed Virgin. The melody in Gaudeamus Omnes conveys an angelic sense in its several upward leaps and seamless flow from note to note. It could be heard as serene, but the active path of the upper-range sonorities infuses the music with a sense of radiance and great warmth, at times bordering on the ecstatic. This is a rather colorful chant, then, filled with fervor in its unison singing, sounding full in its Gregorian modesty, a modesty, of course, lacking harmony and accompaniment. This is a gem in the realm of chant.

© Robert Cummings, Rovi