Quite a number of musical artists, who have studied the development of modern music in our culture, have been misled about the origins of such development. In point of fact, all musical history seems to be told as if it revolves around Rome and its Papacy.
Modern liturgical music was not a by-product of Gregorian Chant. The Romans did not invent Christianity or any of its forms of worship. The de facto standard definition of true Christian worship and practice actually comes from Jewish and Greek traditions that had come directly from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Romans and Arian culture, being heavily under the influence of Roman domination, made their imprint upon the Christian communities residing within their jurisdiction. The pride and arrogance of these peoples sought to re-write history to fit their hypothesis of superiority over all other peoples and cultures.
The Romans sought and obtained world domination.
Gregorian Chant comes from Byzantine Chant. St. Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome, set up his system of eight tones for use in the patriarchate he governed after hearing Byzantine Chant and deciding the Latin rite should have its own system.
Since the time of Pythagorus, the Hellenistic Civilization had exhibited advanced principles of musical theory that were applied to civilizations conquered by the Greeks. Alexander the Great and his conquests ushered in a multitude of advances, both artistic and scientifically speaking.
The Jewish people were greatly influenced by the Hellenes, who brought a high degree of intellect, scholarship, and art. These influences made a great contribution to the Jewish people. By the time of Christ Jesus, Jewish musicians had developed a cantorial system of worship. Early Christians, adopted these same worship practices in the rendering of their musical offerings. Due to the journeys of the Apostle Paul, Christianity spread through Asia Minor and Greece. Worship practices in these jurisdictions, although influenced by Jewish custom, were modified in its musical form to take into account the Pythagorean model of chordal harmony, creating a symbolic association with the planets and the numbers 7 and 8. The Greek idea of music theory included advanced concepts of soul interactivity.
Throughout Greek antiquity, it was widely recognized that music rendered in certain tonal arrangements would cause the heightening of Evil Passions. In an effort to push the idea of a passionless state of being, the Early Church Fathers admonished all Christians to abstain from the use of certain kinds of music that would negatively affect the soul. It was generally accepted that the use of instrumental music would be a source of such pagan forms of music that were a direct cause of drunkenness, licentious, and riotous living.