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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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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

    William Byrd • Simple “Agnus Dei” Canon
    Time flies! Back in July, I posted a PDF setting of a perfect canon by William Byrd (d. 1623) arranged as an AGNUS DEI for three voices. Last Sunday, we sang that arrangement with our volunteer choir. To hear a ‘live’ recording of it, click here (Mp3). In my humble opinion, this would be a perfect piece for a choir just beginning to experiment with polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Except the psalms or canonical Scriptures of the new and old Testaments, nothing composed poetically shall be sung in church, as the holy canons command.”

— ‘Council of Braga, 563AD’

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