THE FAMOUS 1934 Antiphonale Monasticum published by the monks of Solesmes can now be downloaded in its entirety:
* * Part 2 of 3 • pp. 364 – 763
* * Part 3 of 3 • pp. 764 – 1,296
Part 3 had some missing pages. These were added as of 10 December 2013 thanks to Gustav Valencia.
Father Brian T. Austin, FSSP, has created a B/W version—based on our scanned copy—which can be downloaded:
* PDF Download • ANTIPHONALE MONASTICUM (1934)
—Scanned and uploaded by Corpus Christi Watershed.
IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE that Fr. Paul Jausions (†1870) was born in 1834, precisely a century before the publication of the Antiphonale Monasticum. After Jausions’ death (in America!), his associate, Fr. Joseph Pothier, took the reins, and history knows what he was able to accomplish. The 1934 Antiphonale, however, might be regarded as the “crowning achievement” of the Solesmes monastery (unless it was the 1903 Liber Usualis). Dom Gajard is generally believed to have been the motivating force behind its publication.
Not everyone appreciated this work. In 1960, Msgr. Francis P. Schmitt wrote in the Caecilia:
“The Monastic Antiphonal is proof that the archaeologists never gave up. One can have no objection to the adherents of Solesmes singing what they please, but it is a fair and conjured guess that a cursory reading of the Monastic Antiphonary, and other books said to be in preparation, will make most people grateful that the like was not released upon the unsuspecting public some fifty years ago.”
THOSE WHO WISH TO LEARN MORE about Abbot Joseph Pothier, Fr. André Mocquereau, and the Vatican Edition might be interested in the following:
VIDEOS: 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07
Article by Jeff Ostrowski — The rhythm of the Vatican Edition (PDF)
(1906) Fr. Henry Bewerunge’s Attack on the Vatican Edition (PDF)
(1906) Prior T. A. Burge, O.S.B. Defense of the Vatican Edition (PDF)
(1907) Dr. Peter Wagner’s Article on the Vatican Edition (PDF)
A few extra items worth noting:
Alternate Version of Article (with minor changes)
Hayburn Dissertation (Page 317)
Translation Explained
