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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.”

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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.

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

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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).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 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 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

The union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it, for in the past they have unhappily left it.

— Pope Pius XI (6 January 1928)

Recent Posts

  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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