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

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Catholic Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Solesmes Publishes “Antiphonale Romanum I” for Lauds

Fr. David Friel · September 16, 2020

HE YEAR 2020 has brought more than its fair share of unpleasantries, liturgical and otherwise. One marquee exception is the publication of an important new chant edition by the Abbey of Solesmes: Antiphonale Romanum I.

To understand the importance of this volume, a little background is necessary. When the first typical edition of the Liturgy of the Hours (LOH) was published in 1971, it included only texts and no music. Since the texts of the LOH are quite different from the texts of the earlier Divine Office, many portions of the new LOH simply had no melodies provided in the chant books. (For the chants as they existed prior to the publication of the LOH, see the Antiphonale Romanum 1960 here.) In the decades since, various communities have attempted to fill the gap, creating their own local melodies for singing the LOH. What has been lacking for a very long time is an official Antiphonale Romanum, designed specifically for the singing of the LOH.

In 1983, Solesmes published Liber Hymnarius (available here), a collection of all the Latin hymns included in the LOH. This was an important start, but it still did not provide melodies for all the antiphons, responsories, and other texts of the LOH.

In 2009, Solesmes published Antiphonale Romanum II (available here). This volume provides pointed texts and chant melodies for the hymns, antiphons, psalms/canticles, lessons, responsories, intercessions, and collects for the celebration of Vespers on every Sunday and feast of the liturgical year. A detailed review of Antiphonale Romanum II is found on pages 72-75 of the Spring 2010 issue of Sacred Music, available here.

Now, in 2020, Solesmes has published Antiphonale Romanum I (available here). This volume provides all the same pointed texts and chant melodies as Antiphonale Romanum II, except that they are for the celebration of Lauds (and the Invitatory), not Vespers, for Sundays and feasts through the year.

Why was Antiphonale Romanum II published before Antiphonale Romanum I? Presumably because more parishes around the world celebrate sung Vespers than sung Lauds. The Second Vatican Council particularly encouraged parishes either to continue or to reclaim the tradition of sung Vespers, especially on Sundays and feasts:

Pastors of souls should see to it that the chief hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and the more solemn feasts. And the laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually (Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 100).

The original plan, as Fr. Ruff explains, was actually for Liber Hymnarius to serve as the second volume of the Antiphonale, with the first volume presenting all the texts for Lauds and Vespers together. This plan evidently changed somewhere along the way, such that volume I pertains to Lauds, volume II pertains to Vespers, and Liber Hymnarius is simply a separate collection of hymns.

My copy of Antiphonale Romanum I took some extra time to arrive from Solesmes, thanks to postal delays caused by COVID-19. It is a well-produced volume, with a solid binding, clear engravings, and two ribbons. In these respects, it is exactly like Antiphonale Romanum II.

This new volume includes a decree from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments bearing the signature of Cardinal Sarah. It also includes 17 pages of Praenotanda, featuring excellent sections on “The Significance of Singing in the Liturgy” (De cantus momento in liturgia) and “The Excellence of Gregorian Chant” (De cantus gregoriani excellentia).

Following are several pictures of the newly published Antiphonale Romanum I.

Front Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright & CDW Decree
CDW Decree & Praenotanda
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Benedictus Antiphons (Year A)
The Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle
One of Several Tones for the Invitatory
One of Several Tones for the Benedictus
Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: chant, Divine Office, Gregorian Chant, Liturgy of the Hours, Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, Vespers Last Updated: December 6, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

Fr. David Friel

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anselm Parish in Northeast Philly. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

19 January 2021 • Confusion over feasts

For several months, we have discussed the complicated history of the various Christmas feasts: the Baptism of the Lord, the feast of the Holy Family, the Epiphany, and so forth. During a discussion, someone questioned my assertion that in some places Christmas had been part of the Epiphany. As time went on, of course, the Epiphany came to represent only three “manifestations” (Magi, Cana, Baptism), but this is not something rigid. For example, if you look at this “Capital E” from the feast of the Epiphany circa 1350AD, you can see it portrays not three mysteries but four—including PHAGIPHANIA when Our Lord fed the 5,000. In any event, anyone who wants proof the Epiphany used to include Christmas can read this passage from Dom Prosper Guéranger.

—Jeff Ostrowski
6 January 2021 • Anglicans on Plainsong

A book published by Anglicans in 1965 has this to say about Abbat Pothier’s Editio Vaticana, the musical edition reproduced by books such as the LIBER USUALIS (Solesmes Abbey): “No performing edition of the music of the Eucharistic Psalmody can afford to ignore the evidence of the current official edition of the Latin Graduale, which is no mere reproduction of a local or partial tradition, but a CENTO resulting from an extended study and comparison of a host of manuscripts gathered from many places. Thus the musical text of the Graduale possesses a measure of authority which cannot lightly be disregarded.” They are absolutely correct.

—Jeff Ostrowski
2 January 2021 • Temptation

When I see idiotic statements made on the internet, I go nuts. When I see heretics promoted by people who should know better, I get angry. Learning to ignore such items is difficult—very difficult. I try to remember the words of Fr. Valentine Young: “Do what God places in front of you each day.” When I am honest, I don’t believe God wants me to dwell on errors and idiocy; there’s nothing I can do about that. During 2021, I will strive to do a better job following the advice of Fr. Valentine.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

I basically don’t favor Cardinal Kasper’s proposal; I don’t think it’s coherent. To my mind, “indissoluble” means “unbreakable.”

— Daniel Cardinal DiNardo (19 October 2015)

Recent Posts

  • 19 January 2021 • Confusion over feasts
  • PDF Download • “Mass Propers For Sundays And Holydays Set To Simple Melodies” (429 pages)
  • Hidden Gem: Salvum Fac Populum Tuum (Bruckner)
  • Landmark Documentary on the Renewal of Sacred Music
  • Thou Hast Saved the Good Wine until Now

Copyright © 2021 Corpus Christi Watershed · Charles Garnier 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.