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Views from the Choir Loft

Free Download • “Liber Usualis” PDF Online (Solesmes, 1961)

Corpus Christi Watershed · March 19, 2013

Here’s the direct URL link.

ANY PEOPLE think they need the Liber Usualis, but might actually prefer the Graduale if they knew about it. The Liber Usualis is (of course) the “Vatican Edition” (Editio Vaticana), but with rhythmic signs added by Dom André Mocquereau in 1908 (and not one of these marks was ever changed in a subsequent edition, even 100 years later). If you don’t understand what the “Vatican Edition” is, please watch these videos or read this article. Anyway, here’s an online PDF copy of the 1961 Liber Usualis published by the monks of Solesmes:

* *  Liber Usualis (Solesmes, 1961) • free PDF
—Liber Usualis, with Introduction and Rubrics in English Hardcover • 2340 pages.

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Liber Usualis book scan courtesy of Jeffrey Tucker.

If you like the Liber Usualis, you should download the 1957 version that includes English Translations:

* *  1957 Solesmes Liber Usualis with English Translations

“LIBER USUALIS” DESCRIPTION:
The 1961 Edition of the “Liber Usualis” by the Benedictines of the Solesmes Monastery • The “Liber Usualis” contains the complete Latin settings of Gregorian Chant for every Mass of the year (Sundays, Solemnities, Commons and Feasts) as well as for Nuptial Masses, Requiem Masses, Holy Week, and Ordination. Additionally it provides much of the Gregorian Chant to be sung in Latin for the Divine Office (Vespers, Compline, etc.), as well as many other traditional Latin chants and hymns (Litanies, Benediction, and so forth). • Gregorian Chant for Every Mass of the Year • There’s no such thing as a “1962” Liber Usualis, because the 1962 Liber Usualis is identical to the 1961 version +

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: 1962 Liber Usualis Solesmes, PDF download Liber Usualis Last Updated: August 25, 2023

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President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

He stood firm against nepotism, rebuking his predecessor Pope Pius IV to his face when he wanted to make a 13-year-old member of his family a cardinal and subsidize a nephew from the papal treasury.

— Re: Pope Saint Pius V (d. 1572)

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