Medieval chant books and the parchment they were made of were designed to last a long time—so long, that pages of them can outlast the book itself. Across medieval Europe, monks and nuns and clergy in city cathedrals sang daily chants in communal forms of timed and sung prayer still practiced by some Christians today. Fragments of…

Music calls out to us, evoking an array of feelings, and at its best, it renews a sense of aliveness and hope within us. A masterfully crafted musical composition renews our spirits and gives us access to parts of ourselves that otherwise remained dormant. Unless deeply steeped in the sounds of classical music of old,…