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Views from the Choir Loft

“Morae Vocis” acc. to the Vatican Edition

Jeff Ostrowski · February 22, 2017

HE PAUCITY of melismatic morae found in the Vatican Edition KYRIALE is stunning. However, one notable exception is Kyrie V (SEE BELOW). The Solesmes editions were always in violation of Church law—I know this will shock some people—because they altered the rhythm of the official edition. Even as late as 1958, after Solesmes Abbey had been the official Vatican editor of the chant for several decades, the Vatican insisted:

The signs, called rhythmica, which have been privately introduced into Gregorian chant, are permitted, provided that the force and meaning of the notes found in the Vatican books of liturgical chant are preserved.
§59 “De Musica Sacra” (3 September 1958)


Compare Kyrie V in various editions and you’ll see how Solesmes alters the mora vocis clearly indicated by the Vatican Edition. Perhaps they simply couldn’t bring themselves to abandon the rhythm of manuscripts like this one:

344 melismatic morae


The Solesmes rhythmic theories were called by Peter Wagner an “untraditional garment draped over the melodies.” Abbot Pothier’s analysis was uncharacteristically cranky in his famous “de caetero” letter of 1906, which you can download here. Indeed, when Pope St. Pius X was presented with editions by publishers without any rhythmic markings—Pustet, Mechlin, Schwann, and so on—Cardinal Merry del Val wrote a letter (dated 9 June 1906) saying:

His Holiness was pleased to receive this gracious gift and had, furthermore, words of praise for publications of this character which, in not presenting any sort of additions, are in true conformity with the aforementioned Vatican Edition.

But this is another topic for another day…

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: melismatic morae vocis, Pothier De Caetero 1906 Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Jeff Ostrowski

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

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Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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