• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Feasts Website
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

Graduale Renovatum: New Resource Brings Chant Rhythm to Life

Keven Smith · September 14, 2020

AVE YOU BEEN frustrated in your search for a reliable approach to Gregorian chant rhythm? This topic has been the cause of much controversy. Some choir directors adhere to the rhythmic system developed by Dom Mocquereau about 110 years ago. In my experience, those little ictuses under certain notes are the most commonly asked-about marking among people who are new to Gregorian chant. In fact, just yesterday someone stopped me in my church parking lot between Masses to ask me what they mean. (How does one explain without mincing words?)

If you’re ambivalent about the Dom Mocquereau system, then you’ve probably delved into the marvelous Graduale Triplex, which provides semiological markings from the Laon and Saint-Gall manuscripts above and below the neumes from the Vatican Edition. You may have also read Dom Cardine’s landmark 1982 work, Gregorian Semiology. (I would probably have a Dom Cardine poster over my bed if such a thing existed—and if I weren’t married.)

Having the semiology—and in particular, the Laon neumes—at our disposal is a big help in determining the proper rhythm of a particular chant. But there’s a translation that takes place on the fly; a singer must keep one eye on the square notes and another on the “chicken scratch.”

Hoping to overcome this challenge, many choir directors (including me) have taken to editing the propers using such handy resources as the Illuminare Score Editor and Gregobase. Still, the questions about rhythm abound: “Are we taking time on that last note before the descent?” “Should those next two notes be a little lighter, or are they equal to the others?” The central problem is that the commonly accepted system of chant neumes doesn’t allow for fine distinctions of rhythm. We can use horizontal episemas (lines) or dots to indicate the lengthening of notes. We can remind our singers that these signs aren’t meant to double the notes, but rather to indicate only a slight lengthening. Nevertheless, rhythm often remains a tug-of-war.

That’s why I’m excited to announce a new resource for chant propers: Gradule Renovatum, developed by my good friend Royce Nickel.

Meet the Man Behind Graduale Renovatum

If you’ve dug into the many resources Corpus Christi Watershed has to offer, Royce Nickel’s name will ring a bell. He has composed beautiful yet accessible settings of the Responsorial Psalms and Gospel Acclamations for the Ordinary Form. Royce described his approach to this project in a 2013 guest article.

I’ve had the privilege of calling Royce my friend for about nine years. He joined the St. Blaise Schola Cantorum in Fresno, California while I was still the director. As I prepared to move to Sacramento in 2014, Royce graciously agreed to take the reins. He has since brought the schola to a new level of artistry. Meanwhile, the Fresno Latin Mass community is now Holy Cross Chaplaincy, administered by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. How fitting, then, that I should be writing this article on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (which, by the way, is a felicitous mixture of two of my favorite liturgies: Holy Thursday and Good Friday). Happy feast day to Royce and his Fresno colleagues!

Capturing the Rhythmic Nuances of Gregorian Chant

Over the years, various chant scholars have issued reformed manuscripts that corrected wrong notes in the Vatican Edition and perhaps attempted to clarify Gregorian rhythm. What’s different about Graduale Renovatum is that the manuscripts indicate rhythm by repurposing two existing elements of chant notation:

  • Note shapes. You’ll still see virgas, punctums, and diamond-shaped notes, but now they have a specific rhythmic significance. You’ll also see a few signs that don’t appear in the Vatican Edition but do show up in more recent scholarly editions such as Graduale Novum.
  • Note spacing. The amount of space between notes indicates their relative rhythmic value and function.

For an in-depth description of the rationale behind Graduale Renovatum, I highly recommend you read Royce’s essay, Reformed Chant Notation: An Introduction to Method and Rationale.

But why go to all this effort? Royce explains at length in his essay. To me, this sentence sums it up:

The singer needs to be able to see in the notation which note or notes bear the weight of the syllable and represent the melody’s underlying structure and which of the notes are an ornamentation of that structure. 

Royce is generously posting the manuscripts of Graduale Renovatum online for free download. Many (including those for the next several Sundays) are already available—so check out Gradule Renovatum now. I’m looking forward to bringing these propers to my choir and will share the results in a future article.

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

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Gregorian Chant Last Updated: September 15, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Keven Smith

Keven Smith, music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr, lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “14 September 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 14 September 2025) discusses OFFERTORY ANTIPHONS and contains a wonderful quote by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Draft Copy (Pamphlet)
    A few days ago, I posted a draft copy of this 12-page pamphlet with citations about the laity’s “full, conscious, and active participation.” Its basic point or message is that choir directors should never feel embarrassed to teach real choral music because Vatican II explicitly ordered them to do that! We’ve received tons of mail regarding that pamphlet, with many excellent suggestions for improvement. Please feel free to chime in!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Entrance Chant” • 23rd (Ordinary Time)
    This coming Sunday, 7 September 2025, is the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). You can download the “Entrance Chant,” conveniently located at the feasts website. I also recorded a rehearsal video for it (freely available at the same website). The Communion Chant includes gorgeous verses in FAUXBOURDON. I attempted to create a rehearsal video for it, and it’s been posted at the feasts website, called by some: “church music’s best kept secret.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Karl Keating • “Canonization Questions”
    We were sent an internet statement (screenshot) that’s garnered significant attention, in which KARL KEATING (founder of Catholic Answers) speaks about whether canonizations are infallible. Mr. Keating seems unaware that canonizations are—in the final analysis—a theological opinion. They are not infallible, as explained in this 2014 article by a priest (with a doctorate in theology) who worked for multiple popes. Mr. Keating says: “I’m unaware of such claims arising from any quarter until several recent popes disliked by these Traditionalists were canonized, including John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II. Usually Paul VI receives the most opprobrium.” Mr. Keating is incorrect; e.g. Father John Vianney, several centuries ago, taught clearly that canonizations are not infallible. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen would be another example, although clearly much more recent than Saint John Vianney.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Vatican II Changed Wedding Propers?
    It’s often claimed that the wedding propers were changed after Vatican II. As a matter of fact, that is a false claim. The EDITIO VATICANA propers (Introit: Deus Israel) remained the same after Vatican II. However, a new set of propers (Introit: Ecce Deus) was provided for optional use. The same holds true for the feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great on 3 September: the 1943 propers (Introit: Si díligis me) were provided for optional use, but the traditional PROPRIA MISSAE (Introit: Sacerdótes Dei) were retained; they weren’t gotten rid of. The Ordo Cantus Missae (1970) makes this crystal clear, as does the Missal itself. There was an effort made in the post-conciliar years to eliminate so-called “Neo-Gregorian” chants, but (contrary to popular belief) most were retained: cf. the feast of Christ the King, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and so forth.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“To me it is a most inspiring reflection that, while empires and kingdoms have tumbled down, while language and custom of every kind have changed beyond recognition, still day by day the humblest Catholic priest in the remotest mission stands at his altar dressed in the garb of old Rome.”

— Father Adrian Fortescue (8 February 1912)

Recent Posts

  • Do You Recognize This Hymn? Do You Like It?
  • Charlie Kirk’s Fascination with Traditional Catholic Liturgy
  • “Novus Ordo Parish … With Polyphony?” • Is that possible? How specifically does that work?
  • “The Injustice of Traditionis Custodes” • (Private Meetings at the Vatican)
  • New Bulletin Article • “14 September 2025”

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.