Liber Usualis With English Translations (Solesmes) • “Mass and Vespers” (Solesmes Abbey, 1957)

Corpus Christi Watershed · March 19, 2013

OCTOR WILLIAM MAHRT, an outstanding scholar of chant, has provided us all with a tremendous gift: the famous Solesmes “Liber Usualis” with English translations! The technical title is “Mass and Vespers with Gregorian Chant” (1957). Some call it simply “1957 Mass & Vespers.” It is slightly different from what most people refer to when they talk about the Liber Usualis (“useful book”). Then again, in 1913 the “Liber usualis” referred to the Antiphonale—so we needn’t be more strict than the printer!

* * Mass & Vespers (Solesmes, 1957)

To help you navigate this monumental book, here’s a special index containing the page numbers for each INTROIT, COMMUNION, OFFERTORY, etc.

Keyword: “Mass and Vespers” (Solesmes Abbey, 1957)

Keyword: “Mass and Vespers” (1957)

Keyword: Mass and Vespers (1957)

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

Father Adrian Fortescue on the “Agnus Dei”

Speaking about the AGNUS DEI, Father Fortescue wrote: “Agnus as a vocative is curious, evidently in order to reproduce the original text (John 1:29) exactly.” [Altera die vidit Joannes Jesum venientem ad se, et ait: Ecce agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccatum mundi.] Father Fortescue, as usual, is correct; but in some medieval manuscripts you can find “Agne Dei.” Here’s an an example of that.

—Jeff Ostrowski

List • Responses by each bishop!

This incredible website gives each bishop’s response to the recent MOTU PROPRIO Traditionis Custodes, a decree by Pope Francis which seeks to reduce the number of celebrations of the “Extraordinary Form” (Traditional Latin Mass): traditioniscustodes.info

—Jeff Ostrowski

Tomorrow is Sunday…

When you were in school, you would have gotten in trouble if you wrote the Roman Numeral “9” as viiii. You were supposed to write: IX. But look how an ancient manuscript writes “9” as a Roman Numeral. That’s the Introit Ecce Deus for tomorrow’s feast in the Extraordinary Form: The 9th Sunday after Pentecost.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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