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Views from the Choir Loft

Peter Wagner 1903 Kyriale In Gregorian Notation

Jeff Ostrowski · March 2, 2014

758 Wagner OCTOR FRANZ KARL PRASSL has sent us a wonderful gift: the 1904 Kyriale of Dr. Peter Wagner. But first, a bit of history, so I can “build this up.” I’ve had the honor to speak about the “mora vocis” of the Editio Vatican in a series of video lectures here. I donated a rare book called Our Position to the CMAA, and this was subsequently printed in Sacred Music. The author of the book, Fr. Raphael Molitor, was a monk at the Abbey of Beuron and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the creation of the Vatican Edition. Watershed’s Lalande Online Library was the first to make available online both Graduals by Peter Wagner’s teacher, Fr. Hermesdorff. My copy of Dr. Peter Wagner’s 1904 Kyriale has been part of the Lalande Library for years, but that version is modern notation, not Gregorian.

      * *  1903 Kyriale — Dr. Peter Wagner (PDF) in Gregorian Notation

The Preface contains much important information, but perhaps most significant is image (upper right). Remember that Dom Molitor had written of Peter Wagner’s “good little book” as follows:

In other places, owing to the varying width of the space between the note-groups, it remains doubtful whether the editor really desired a mora or not. He seems to have felt this uncertainty himself when he wrote on p. VIII: De his omnibus rebus utile erit, transcriptionem in notas musicas modernas hujus libelli consulere. But what singer will buy a Kyriale when he finds he must purchase a second book as a key to the first? Even a choirmaster would scarcely do so. Finally, Professor Wagner’s Kyriale is not so rich in melodies as that of the Solesmes fathers.

I suppose 100 years later, the choirmaster could say, “I can download the modern notation edition freely at the Lalande Library.”

Here is the excerpt from Peter Wagner translated:

Hic non solum ultima nota ante finem partis cantus, sed etiam duae aliae * assignatae prolongandae sunt; ita divisio melodiae clarissima apparet et linea melodica minime dissecatur.

De his omnibus rebus utile erit, transcriptionem in notas musicas hodiernas huius libelli consulere.

Here not only the last note before the end of this part of the chant is to be lengthened, but the two other assigned *(starred) are to be lengthened so that the division of the melody becomes very clear and the melody line is in no way interrupted.

It will be helpful in all these matters to consult what this booklet says about transcribing music into modern notation.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Graduale Romanum Roman Gradual Propers Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The authority of the Pope is not unlimited. It is at the service of Sacred Tradition. Still less is any kind of general ‘freedom’ of manufacture, degenerating into spontaneous improvisation, compatible with the essence of faith and liturgy. The greatness of the liturgy depends—we shall have to repeat this frequently—on its lack of spontaneity.”

— Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (2000)

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