Prior to 1040 A.D. instruments were not used in Christian services because they were considered to be part of pagan rituals. The only music approved by The Roman Church was Gregorian Chant.

 

News traveled slowly mainly from those passing through a village or hamlet. The finer things were only the priveledge of the clergy and royalty. The peasantry didn't have much and the Mass, especially Christmas Eve Mass, was truly a spectacle to behold; soaring spires and vaulted ceilings, stained glass, richly colored ornate vestments, gold crosses and candelabra, incense and beautiful paintings created an overwhelming aura that here, truly one could touch the hand of God within these sacred walls.

A small boy of about 10 heard the news months before of the addition of instrumental music to the Christian service at the Midnight Mass. It would be a beautifully crafted Scottish cruit (A harp as we know today). He was determined to travel by foot on Christmas Eve to witness this. Filled with a mix of excitement and fear, he displayed an undaunted cleverness in avoiding drunken robbers on the road. He braved miles through dark raw cold and sleeting rain, through thick briar and forest to witness this celebration for himself. This was new music to his ears and he was not going to miss this. His father, being one of the drunken highwaymen on the road, would surely beat him for slipping into the night while he was "working", yet he was sure it would be worth the price.

Arriving just before midnight he was turned away by the church guard as he was perceived to be a beggar boy. Not to be thwarted he circled the church to find a way in and spotted serfs carrying linen, food and wine into the church from the rear. He picked up a basket of bread, blended in with the others and made his way into the church where he lost himself within the many who had gathered for the service. Happy and satisfied with his accomplishment he relished in the two hour procession, pageantry, and music from an instrument he had never heard before.

 

The music here is an impression of what a young boy of that period, possessing an untrained ear, might have remembered from that wonderous night.