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Views from the Choir Loft

Sloppy 1953 Schwann

Jeff Ostrowski · October 7, 2015

HAVE OFTEN SPOKEN of the “pure” Editio Vaticana rhythmic system. Those who wish to learn more can read my 2008 article in Sacred Music on this subject. This method was supposed to have been used for singing the official Graduale. For better or worse—and mostly because the system itself was needlessly unclear—the editorial markings of Dom André Mocquereau stole the show … and the rest is history. I sometimes consider having my choir sing the “pure” method but always end up balking, because the Solesmes rhythm really has become the traditional one. (In the 1950s, perhaps coming to the same realization, the Holy See officially gave permission to use it, saying it could be “tolerated.”)

The 1953 Schwann Edition—edited by Abbot Urbanus Bomm, Karl Gustav Fellerer, and Msgr. Johannes Overath—was perhaps the most valiant effort to revive the Editio Vaticana method. However, the “white notes” (as Dr. Joseph Lennards called them) are quite inaccurate, and this took me by surprise:

230 Schwann sloppy


Ultimately, the 1908 Vatican Press Edition is the best way to see the correct “white notes,” although even this edition contains typos. The Solesmes editions are also (surprisingly) faithful to the blank spaces.

Sometimes, Pothier wanted to make it absolutely clear there was to be a mora vocis, and here’s an example from the 1908 Vatican Press Graduale Romanum which drives home this point:

229 Vaticana


Abbot Pothier hinted at his opinion of Mocquereau’s rhythmic changes in a 1906 Letter. When the Vatican officially gave permission for the Solesmes alterations during the 1950s, presumably the 1910 Letter by Cardinal Martinelli was abrogated. Some claim the Martinelli letter applied only to Haberl, but that assertion is false.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Editio Vaticana Preface, melismatic morae vocis, Pothier De Caetero 1906, Pure Vatican Edition Rhythm Last Updated: May 24, 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Hymn by Cardinal Newman
    During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world's experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. Father Louis Bouyer—famous theologian, close friend of Pope Paul VI, and architect of post-conciliar reforms—wrote thus vis-à-vis the elimination of Septuagesima: “I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed (with no good reason) Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Whether celebrated with priest and people facing each other or with priest and people together facing the same direction, every Eucharist is Christ coming to meet us, gracing us with a share in his own divine life.”

— Most Rev’d Arthur J. Serratelli (1 December 2016)

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